On trail of prison camp tales

A Shropshire local historian is trying to track down some of the tens of thousands of Germans who were held at prison camps during World War Two and its aftermath, with the view to compiling a book telling their story.

Phil Fairclough of Telford said: "There were more camps than you might imagine in Shropshire. There were three big camps with 2,000 prisoners each at Shrewsbury, near Copthorne barracks; on the golf course at Oswestry; and at Sheriffhales.

"There were also many smaller work camps, including at least three in Donnington alone. Nothing remains of these.

"I'm writing a history of German prisoners of war in England, and if there are any who would be willing to co-operate and give me their stories about what it was like and what happened to them, I would like to hear from them."

Mr Fairclough is toying with the title "Staying On" for his work, reflecting the fact that huge numbers of prisoners were held in England after the end of the war, remaining until 1948, and significant numbers settling in England then.

"Prisoner of war is a bit of a misnomer. Really what they were were forced labourers, as by 1948 it's difficult to describe them as prisoners of war."

He said it seemed that those who never returned to Germany were all from East Germany, which was in the tough sector occupied and controlled by Russia in the post-war period.

Mr Fairclough already has about half a dozen contributors from Shropshire and the Welsh border, and says anyone else who can help his project can contact him at 2 Arrow Road, Shawbirch, Telford TF5 0LF, or on (01952) 417633.

"I have always been interested. We used to live near one of these camps, up in Lancashire, near Preston, and I used to go by it on the bus. It is something that hasn't been heavily written about. I was amazed by how many there were when I started researching the subject. There were about 400,000 prisoners in England in over 1,000 camps."