NHER 55867 (Monument record) - Hempton Green Prisoner of War Camp

July 2011
The site of Hempton Green Second World War prisoner of war camp. The extent of the camp is visible on 1946 aerial photographs (S1). It comprised of a central enclosure containing the prisoners' huts, an eastern enclosure containing the exercise ground and sports pitches and a western area containing the guards' huts. It is listed as Camp Number 82 and described as a standard type German working camp in (S2). This source describes it as 'Class 2- Near Complete' survival, however comparison of the aerial photographs with current Ordnance Survey mapping suggests that no original structures survive. The western part of the camp has been replaced by the Green Lane housing estate and the area of the prisoners' huts is now a caravan park with mobile homes located on the sites of the former huts. The area of the exercise ground to the east is under arable cultivation. It is possible that the camp was used for temporary housing at the end of the war that was later replaced by the current housing on the site.
J. Albone (HES), 26 July 2011.