In my original research i loacted a Camp 20 Bixham as at SX 504 653. In my subsequent research i found the War Diary WO 166/17821 details the move of Camp 20 from Bramham Park to Abbostsfield House Tavistock. This place is now called Abbotsfield Hall Nursing Home location SX 46909 73690 However, I have have been going through a database Archaelogical Data Services https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/record?titleId=55708 And its cross link to Defence of Britian Database It is listed Bickham Camp Roborough Down Yelverton at SX 504 653 The SX 504 location is actually heath land that i have visited at its very simalr to Seatley Plain but there is nothing to see except for what looks like the entrance road. So, can any one help as to if Camp 20 is the Heathland Site or the Hall/ Nursing Home thats is about 10 miles away by raod
For what its worth Abbotsfield Hall was HQ 29th Division of the US Army: American WW2 Veteran’s Visit to Tavistock https://www.heritageintavistock.org/hods The time Eisenhower came to West Devon to inspect the American troops
This article states that it held German POWs in 1945 http://www.morrissociety.org/JWMS/14.3Winter2001/W01.14.3.Latham.pdf
Thanks your your reply and yes I was aware of the past usaged of Abbotsfield. The War Diary says that the PoW Camp was moved from Bramham to Abbostfield late May 1945 with the movemnt order dated 17May45. So it sort of implies that Bramham was closed around the end of May as part of the camp closure programmes and that they moved south after the US had moved out of Abbotsfield. WO 166/17821 PoW Camp 20 Bramham Park | PoW Camp 20 Bramham Park War Diary The question is though was the site at Roborough Down Yelverton at SX 504 653 also used as another PoW Camp 20 ? or is it simply wrong?
Surely the answer is both. Doesn't the movement order state: Issue No. 1, Order dated 17 May 1975 - 20 POW Camp will move from Bramham Camp to ABBOTSFIELD HOUSE, Tavistock between 17 and 23 May 1945. Issue No. 2, Order dated 23 May 1945 - 20 POW Camp will move to new location at Bickham 935875 (Sheet 137). The advance party will move to Bickham on Saturday 26 May 1945, leaving Abbotsfield House at 1000hrs. Map ref 935875 is here which concurs with SX 504 653 Google Maps
Thank you and you have brought in another item - how do you translate the old WW2 Mil Map to either a Lat/Long and or modern OS? The current UK Mil Maps that use a translation actaully have a straight 100Km East West Shift
Thinking about this, I know from the research I did for my dissertation that from the end of 1944 many camps changed in the way they were organised in that they became hostels rather than enclosed and guarded camps and their occupants dispersed across a wide area on farms or building sites often only returning to the camp between assignments to farmers etc. The camp administration changed from prison management (security , feeding etc) to running a large dispersed labour pool dealing with County War Agricultural Committees, Labour Exchanges and farm managers etc. In these circumstances might it not be possible that a part of the camp administration remained at Abbotsfield House dealing with labour pool administrative issues and 20 became spread across two locations with the hostel facilities at Bicksfield ? This would explain the double reference - for the WO 20 would be where the centre of administration was located but for local Archaelogical Data Services it would be where the bulk of buildings were set up.
The letter on your website suggests to me that the main camp office was at Bickham. Other documents you have confirm: "HQ Staff and remainder of Guard Coy will move to new location" "Orderly Room files and documents, QM and Coy stores will be packed ready to move" "Delivery of tents for German PWs direct to the compound" so presumably no substantial buildings at Bickham.
I find this post confusing. Obviously if Bickham was to be the new location for POW accommodation there would be no buildings there to start with
Not sure I said that there were any buildings - presumably there wasn't, which is why they sent down a load of tents?
You said Delivery of tents for German PWs direct to the compound" so presumably no substantial buildings at Bickham. And given the scenario I suggested you wouldn't expect any which is why I found your post confusing
Looking at the dates on the movement orders, I rather think that Abbotsfield House is a bit of a red herring and was merely a temporary stop over on the move from Yorkshire to Devon. For several years I lived at Roborough. The location of the Camp you have identified would seem to be in the vicinity of Bickham House. Bickham House's address is given variously as Buckland Monachorum, Milton Combe or Roborough. From: Every prisoner of war camp in the UK mapped and listed we have: Milton Combe ties in with your archaeology link in #1 and the fact the camp was tented accommodation also ties in with the information that the camp has been destroyed. Tim
Okay and thanks every one for help confirming the location. The site when i visted in the Summer was actually a disapointment. It looks as I said at the start very simlar to PoW Camp 65 Setley Plain in that although the site has been cleared the outline remains. At the Bickham site you have the same type of Plain / moreland but all I found there was the remains of what was an entrace and a few bits of rubble. My count now is about 220 sites visited of which I have 145 as confirmed and it s what makes this reasearch so interesting. Out of the non confirmed i think about 20 are close but not enough evidance. My photos for the Camp 20 Bickham site are at: PoW Camp 20 Bickham My own project is as part of an MA in Photography and the plan is that i will be putting on an exhibition during the summer as welll as launching a website showing what these sites look like now - or at least for the confimed sites. Not sure if any one has come across this source yet: Defence of Britain Archive Defence of Britain Archive It has helped me to tag a few more sites as confirmed as well as find more smaller hostels