I am looking for any information, documents or photographs that relate to the Ammunition Depot and Barracks at Washaway, Cornwall. The site is near Pencarrow House between Bodmin & Wadebridge and I have visited it several times. It is known to have been the depot of supply in action for fortifications along the Bodmin Stop Line, including, for example, the Coastal Battery at St Catherine's Castle at Fowey. I'm looking for any information of or from anyone or their relatives who may have served there, especially in the summer/autumn of 1940, spring of 1941, or any documents that may refer to it, or photographs of the site or its personnel. It was also used by the Americans pre- D-Day but it is its earlier history I am most interested in. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Phil I have a map with the buildings showing on it. Only seems to have been four from this source although it possible there were more.
Hi Skoyen89, Your map shows the 4 Nissen huts which are still extant and used by the Estate and Scouts as stores. These as you can see are to the right of the main driveway to the house on your map. The buildings in my photographs are in the bottom left hand corner of your map, across the road from where it says council houses and to the left of the looped track, and are not marked on your map. There is only one still standing (my first photo) but there are the bases of several more amidst the undergrowth. My second and third photographs simply show the one most revealed.
I have found it in the 203rd Inf Bde Location Statement of 15 April 1941. It is under 'Miscellaneous' and just says '65 CAD Washaway'. There was also 64 CAD at Latchley, Callington. Phil - note this is CAD not DAD but I am sure it is the same place. Is it worth seeing if there is a RAOC file for Cornwall at Kew?
Good work. The document I have definitely has it typed D.A.D. What could these variations stand for? Obviously Ammunition Depot, but C for Central? and D for? Any assistance from those who've worked such places gratefully received. Latchley is a small village right down in the Tamar Valley and in an area of old mines. That's the first I've heard of an Ammunition Dump there. I've tried various search requests on the Kew catalogue including RAOC Cornwall but it only throws up WW1 medal cards. I'm sure there's something tucked in a file somewhere. Just the other day I came across a detailed Maintenance Schedule for a Cornish Radar Station tucked in the midst of a Coastal Gun Battery document so it's surprising where things show up. I guess some RA or RE's had helped out with the maintenance given its rural location and kept the manual!
I always thought it was Command Ammunition Depot. The field Army was organised into Command-Area-District portions so maybe it is District Ammunition Depot but that is a guess.
Hi, there is no war diary at Kew for 65 CAD but this depot was a Corps Ammo Depot. There were also Command and District ammo depots and these often switched designations when District boundaries changed. A Corps Ammo Depot was usually a small site only. 65 CAD would have supported one of the Corps stationed in Southern Command. Most of these depots closed mid 1943 when the threat of invasion had passed. Regards, JB
Thanks JB. Working backwards through your post: My understanding is this site was in use until past D-Day as the Americans utilised it for the troops stationed in Bodmin. In 1940 it would be 8 Corps under Lt Gen Franklyn. Any suggestions which paperwork might reference the Ammo Depot?
Hi, Thanks for the detail about the handover to the US, I was not aware of the depots retention as I have no war diary. I have the war diaries of most of the 60 or so Command, District and Corps Ammo Depots that were formed, initially as storage sites for the anti-invasion forces in 1940. Agree that 8 Corps would have been the primary user of Washaway. I know 5 Corps utilised several of the other depots in Southern Command in 42/43. I have a document that lists all the depots in Southern Command, and elsewhere in UK to that matter, dated 1941. The list runs consecutively from 60 to 70, but as luck would have it, the only number missing is 65. My references to 65 DAD are from other war diaries who visited or transferred ammo there. Regards, JB
If you want, please send me an email address so I can send a few documents rather than uploading them. JB
