Trumpington Local History Group Trumpington World War II Prisoner of War Camp

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The Trumpington Prisoner of War (POW) Camp held German and Italian prisoners during and after World War II. There were hundreds of camps across the country and this was number 45. It is described by English Heritage as a ‘standard type’ of site. At the time of an International Red Cross inspection on 9 February 1943, there were Italian prisoners, with a capacity of 750. In 1945, it was described as a German working camp. It is understood that the prisoners worked on surrounding farms.

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The camp was on the west side of Hauxton Road, near the path between the former Shepherd’s Cottage and the road (NGR 441 541) (aerial photograph in Trumpington Past & Present, p. 51). This area became part of the PBI site and is now earmarked as part of the Trumpington Meadows housing development (close to the line of the new footpath/cycle path from Trumpington to Hauxton).

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Ordnance Survey map, 1954, former POW camp marked as 'Hostel'

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Ken Fletcher notes that the history of the camp was discussed at the Local History Group meeting on 20 October 1998. It was understood that Italian and German prisoners were based at the camp after the war and that they were lodged with local farmers. After the camp closed in July 1947, it was occupied by Polish displaced persons and soldiers. Ken Fletcher has also provided information from Hauxton in Times Past (1993). The author, Ivor Jordon, writes that the camp was a collection of prefabricated single storey buildings surrounded by barbed wire aloft a high wire fence. It originally housed Italian POWs; as time passed, they were seen as non-aggressive and were dispersed. Some worked on farms and lived at the farmer’s house. Salvatore Bellisimo stayed at Manor Farm, Hauxton, and worked there for Bob Howard. Some did not return home. Although consorting with POWs was generally frowned on, some did develop relationships with local women and eventually married them. Ivor Jordan says that the Italian prisoners were followed by Germans, who did not have the same degree of freedom, although a few were eventually released from close custody to work in agriculture. In the main the Germans only came from the camp under escort and they would be marched through Hauxton under guard on Sunday afternoons. Ken Fletcher also has notes of an interview on Radio Cambridgeshire, 10 January 2000, when Christopher South talked to a former German POW. The prisoner was in his early 20s when he was captured by the Canadians while serving in Normandy. After a period in hospital in Glasgow, he was sent to Canada for internment. He said that the Trumpington camp was used to de-Nazify young soldiers (he had been a member of the Hitler Youth). There was a relaxed atmosphere with no barbed wire and the prisoners signing an agreement not to escape. The interview had been prompted by a television documentary about German POWs. Many had been held in the US and were moved to the UK at the end of the war. They were subjected to a questionnaire assessment to determine the degree of Nazism and were graded white, grey or black. Greys and blacks were sent for de-Nazifying courses before repatriation. The UK government delayed repatriation, arguing that the POWs should help with British post-war recovery. Some were used for road building, but most were used on farms. Conditions in Germany also delayed repatriation, as there were food shortages and many had lost their families and they were becoming aware of conditions in the Russian zone. The parents of this POW had written to their son advising him not to return. He had heard that ex-prisoners who had returned earlier had disappeared or been barred from good jobs. Arthur Brookes has provided newspaper cuttings and a letter from one of the prisoners to his wife in Austria, dated 30 January 1946. Other Web sources: Prisoner of War Camps, 1939-1948. Twentieth Century Military Recording Project. Roger J.C. Thomas, 2003, English Heritage Wartime Memories Project German prisoners of war in Britain, including list of camps If anyone has additional information or recollections about the camp, please let us know.

Copyright © Trumpington Local History Group, 2012. Updated 29 January 2012. Email: admin@trumpingtonlocalhistorygroup.org