See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A military camp of Second World War date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as a series of Nissen Hut type structures arranged around the perimeter of a field to the south-west of Kensham Avenue, Bradninch. The camp might be the site of Prisoner of War camp 1022.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MILITARY CAMP (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
• PRISONER OF WAR CAMP? (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RS, RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RS 4043-4044 04-NOV-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356902.

28 Nissen Hut type structures and 2 larger buildings are visible.

Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.

Orderly arrangement of rectangular buildings around a large quadrangle shown on Royal Air Force aerial photograph on south-west side of Kensham Avenue may be the site of the Prisoner of War Camp noted by Thomas. The site is now a recreation ground.

Thomas, R. J. C., 2003, Prisoner of War Camps (1939-1948), 52 (Report - non-specific). SDV347543.

Bradninch Camp. Prisoner of War Camp No. 1022. German working company. Precise location not identified.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A military camp of Second World War date was visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as a series of Nissen Hut type structures and a smaller number of larger buildings arranged around the perimeter of a trapezoidal shaped field to the south-west of Kensham Avenue, Bradninch. The huts are connected by a number of tracks or footpaths. A larger structure in the north-west corner of the camp and a second larger structure between the body of the camp and the road probably have housed communal facilities, such as the mess and washhouse. Two open rectangular spaces on the north and north-eastern side of the camp, closest to the road, might have been used for exercise. All structures have since been removed and no traces are visible. The field is now in use as a recreation ground.

Dean, R., 2017, Land at Bradninch Cricket Club, Bradninch, Exeter: An Archaeological Resistance Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV360924.

This report presents the results of an archaeological earth resistance survey at the above site. It has been prepared for AC Archaeology Ltd as part of a Bradninch community research project. The area covering the current cricket and its immediate surroundings was an American army temporary camp constructed prior to the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War 2. The camp was subsequently used as a POW camp for German soldiers (Devon County Council Hstoric Environment Entry MDV80418, summarised in Section 6 below). This survey was designed to help assess the state of beneath-ground preservation of the camp and contribute to the understanding of its history.

Forty-six resistance anomaly groups were mapped as representing possible archaeological deposits or features. Fifteen of the groups appear to be associated with structures and paths of the former army camp recorded on an RAF aerial photograph taken in 1946. A further eleven groups are probably associated with the below-surface remains of the camp but cannot be characterised further. Six groups may be associated with the camp but other origins, such as ploughing disturbance or separate archaeological deposits, cannot be ruled out.

The anomaly groups recorded as ‘likely’ in Figure 2 and Table 1 correspond to features recorded on an aerial photograph taken in 1946 (Royal Airforce, 1946) and shown in Figure 8. Groups r1, r6, r13, r14, r16, r19 and r27, and possibly r26, r28, r42, r43 and r45, are most likely to represent the remains of former paths that crisscrossed the camp. Groups r11, r27 and r30 are most likely to be associated with former huts.

Groups r4, r5, r17, r20, r21, r22, r24, r25, r29, r31 and r44 are more likely than not associated with the camp paths, structures and infrastructure but have a less certain relationship than those anomalies listed above.

Resistance anomaly groups r2 and r3 may relate to a footpath associated with the army camp but may equally well relate to an earlier archaeological deposit.

Groups r7, r8, r9 and r10 lie outwith the area of structures shown the 1946 aerial
photograph (Figure 8) but have a similar orientation to those more likely to be associated with the camp and may relate to the camp or cultivation traces or, indeed, have a different archaeological origin.

Leonard, M., 2018, Oral History of PoW Camp and Images of remnant material probably associated with WWII Military Camp, Bradninch (Ground Photograph). SDV362747.

Ground images of remnant material visible in hedge line. The material looks like concrete and is probably associated with the World War II Military Camp.

Americans were first based at the camp, followed by African-Americans then German prisoners of war.

Oral history indicates there was a religious mural painted on a wall of one of the huts and there may also have been a Prisoner of War Camp for Italian prisoners of war at Ashclyst Forest, as of yet no evidence of the camp has come to light.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV342938	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946 - 1949. Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Digital).
SDV347543	Report - non-specific: Thomas, R. J. C.. 2003. Prisoner of War Camps (1939-1948). English Heritage. Digital + A4. 52.
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV356902	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RS. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RS 4043-4044 04-NOV-1946. [Mapped feature: #107223 ]
SDV360924	Report - Geophysical Survey: Dean, R.. 2017. Land at Bradninch Cricket Club, Bradninch, Exeter: An Archaeological Resistance Survey. Substrata. 1704BRA-R-1. Digital.
SDV362747	Ground Photograph: Leonard, M.. 2018. Oral History of PoW Camp and Images of remnant material probably associated with WWII Military Camp, Bradninch. Digital.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV7554 - An Archaeological Resistance Survey: Land at Bradninch Cricket Club, Bradninch, Exeter (Ref: 1704BRA-R-1)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.