Information for record number MWA9591:
Birdingbury Prisoner of War (POW) Camp

Summary The site of a Prisoner of War camp from WWII and the associated administrative buildings at Birdingbury, located 800m southeast of Frankton Church. The evidence is derived from an aerial photograph of 1947. Later variously used as a Hostel for Displaced Person and for Temporary Council Housing.
What Is It?  
Type: Prisoner Of War Camp
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Birdingbury
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 43 69
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The site of the Prisoner of War Camp. The administrative buildings lay to the west of the site, and the camp itself to the east.
2 The Birdingbury Prisoner of War Camp is recorded as number 97 in the overall listing of POW camps in Britain. The camp was a German working camp of standard type.
3 The working camp first held Italians, then Germans. After the war, in 1948, it was used as a hostel for displaced persons, mostly from Eastern Europe: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1953 it was modified to provide rental accommodation for young people for a while before being dismantled.
4 The site of a Second World War Prisoner of War Camp at Birdingbury, known as Camp 97. This was a purpose-built, standard type camp. Common buildings and facilities at standard type camps included water towers, offices, officer's mess, a canteen, guard rooms, barrack huts, ablution blocks, cell blocks, a camp reception station (medical facility/hospital), a cookhouse, dining rooms, recreation rooms and living huts or tents. It functioned as a German work camp, where prisoners were sent out to work in the local area. It could have been in use up until 1948. The camp has since been removed but a footprint of the site could survive
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP46NW
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 1947
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Prisoner of War Camps (1939-1948): Project Report
Author/originator: Roger JC Thomas
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Premises, Sites etc. within 30 miles of Harrington Museum used for Military Purposes.
Author/originator: John Brace
Date: Before 2017.
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Premises, Sites etc. within 30 miles of Harrington Museum used for Military Purposes.
Author/originator: John Brace
Date: Before 2017.
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
monument COOKHOUSE * A camp kitchen, usually associated with the military. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CANTEEN * A self-service dining room, especially for workers/employees; also in institutions, such as schools, hospitals, etc. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument FOOTPRINT * An impression made in soft ground by a passing animal or human. The soft ground may have subsequently hardened. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WATER TOWER * A tower serving as a reservoir to deliver water at a required point. back
monument HUT * A building of basic construction, usually smaller in size than a house and constructed from a variety of materials such as mud, turf, branches, wood, brick, concrete or metal. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument MESS * A military dining room where members of the armed forces eat and take recreation. back
monument PRISONER OF WAR CAMP * A prison site for the containment of servicemen captured in war. back
monument HOSTEL * A building, usually containing several dormitories, used as a cheap, short term residence. Use more specific term if known. back
monument CELL BLOCK * A building containing a number of single roomed cells used for detaining prisoners. back
monument OFFICE * A building or room where business, administrative or professional activities are conducted. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record