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Summary

Racecourse used as a Prisoner of War camp during WWI and WWII, and military depot in WWII

Monument Type(s):

• ARMAMENT DEPOT (First World War - 1914 AD to 1918 AD)
• PRISONER OF WAR CAMP (First World War - 1914 AD to 1914 AD?)
• MILITARY DEPOT (Second World War to Mid 20th century - 1941 AD to 1948 AD)
• PRISONER OF WAR CAMP (Second World War to Mid 20th century - 1944 AD to 1948 AD?)

Full Description

Newbury racecourse was constructed in 1905. During the First World War the course was taken over by the military and housed prisoners of war behind fenced enclosures. Racing resumed between the wars, but in the Second World War in August 1942 the course was requisitioned by the US army and became a vast ammunition and stores depot known as G45 <8>. Railtracks were laid across the course and linked to the main line at Thatcham Depot. The courses stables were used as a Prisoner of War camp after D-Day. In 1949 the course was restored as a racecourse <1 and 2 >.

In August 1915 the War Office took over parts of the racecourse for use as a prisoner of war and troop camp. The centre of the track was used by the South Midlands Mounted Brigade to pitch their tents. A monograph on major First World War prisoner of war camps <11> includes Newbury, noting however that the Newbury Weekly News reported the arrival of the first three Germans on Friday 4th September 1914. The prisoners lived in the horse boxes and also in tents. German and Austrian civilians were also brought to Newbury; by early November about 3000 were held there. By December 1914 the detainees were moved from tents and stables to ships off the south coast <11>.

In August 1916 the Ministry of Munitions requisitioned the entire racecourse as an inspection depot and tank repair park <4>. It was also used as a hay dispersal centre for cavalry units.

At the beginning of WWII the camp was again requisitioned as a troop camp for the Berkshire Yeomanry followed by the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Lancashire and Royal Fusiliers. The stables were used to house prisoners of war. On 9th April 1941, two bombs fell on the racecourse <9>. In August 1942 the racecourse was handed over to the US Army as a depot and marshalling yard for Greenham Common and during the remainder of the war 37 miles of railway track and concrete roads were laid at the racecourse along Straight Mile towards Lower Farm. The racecourse was used by the Ministry of Supply as a depot for the disposal of military equipment at the end of the war and following lengthy clean-up operations it reopened as a racecourse in spring 1949 <4>. British Pathe has a film of surplus equipment dumped by the US military in 1946 <10>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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