The Royal Engineers were at Howbery Park, Wallingford in 1940 and 1941 with a camp set up in the grounds of Howbery House. Engineer units of V Corps were there in 1940 but others were there too. Interested in any details, maps, refernces of the camp etc.
The Royal Engineers were at Howbery Park, Wallingford in 1940 and 1941 with a camp set up in the grounds of Howbery House. Engineer units of V Corps were there in 1940 but others were there too. Interested in any details, maps, refernces of the camp etc. Hi, Wallingford rang a bell with reference to a project of mine - 591 (Antrim) Field Company RE were at Wallingford from 17/2/41-16/3/41 undergoing bridging training, Bailey Bridges I assume, according to their War Diary in NA, WO166/3825. I have two letters from a Sapper there with them, although he puts the location on his letter is Bowberry Manor - is this the same place ? They were also there 17/5/42-2/6/42, if the later period is also of interest, more bridging training (NA WO166/8244). This time the same Sapper puts the location on his letter as Howberry Manor ! Hope of some use.
Yes, I think it probably was Howbery Manor the first time as well. There were a string of these units arriving, training and departing but all the War Diaries I have seen in kew say just that and nothing more! I'm even struggling to find the location of the camp and training area. Is tghere anything in the letters or diaries that gives details of the location, what it was like, what they did? Thanks
Yes, I think it probably was Howbery Manor the first time as well. There were a string of these units arriving, training and departing but all the War Diaries I have seen in kew say just that and nothing more! I'm even struggling to find the location of the camp and training area. Is tghere anything in the letters or diaries that gives details of the location, what it was like, what they did? Thanks Hi, no nothing that really helps on location. In terms of activity, he says, e.g. on 27/2/41, "[the weather] cleared up a bit at dinner time so we had to go this afternoon and dismantled the bridge we put up yesterday..." This implies (to a former modern TA Sapper - well, of 30 years ago...) that they are training by building and then dismantling Bailey Bridges. In another letter on 3/5/41, he talks of building a bridge at night. He also mentions some local air raids...one on an aerodrome "near here" around 27/2/41, and "a big load near here" around 3/5/41. Could the location be around this modern site - Howbery Park: Science, Business & Office Park in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK ? It is a science park right next to the Thames. Looking at it on Google maps, it feels right compared to bridging camps I was at in more modern times. My guess might be that if you found an aerial photo of the area from the time, you would see a hutted army camp and evidence of bridging going on - piles of Bailey parts etc. Why not email the Howbery Park science park and ask them if they know if the site was an army camp in WW2 ? Couldn't do any harm. It's not impossible, if the camp was there for some years, that some of the old huts, or remnants of them, might remain. Or the owners might know something of the history of the site anyway.
Hello chaps, I did a little work in this area a few years ago and came across a reference in some English Heritage records: Pastscape - Detailed Result: HOWBERRY COURT ROYAL ENGINEERS CAMP Howberry Court was definately the site of an RE camp and it appears to have been recorded by the Defence of Britain project. CS PS Might be worth a check in here: ADS: ArchSearch: Please accept the terms and conditions
Thanks for the replies. I misled you earlier in this thread. The RE camp at Howbery Park is as you say in the grounds of Howbery Park. It was mainly tented and it seems the officers may have used the house. The river Thames nearby was used for the bridging exercises. It was the camp in Pangbourne I was having difficulties locating (I posted both requests on the same day and was replying in a hurry - sorry!). I'll check out the Pastscape record but they are normally pretty thin. Skoyen89
