Camp - Woodmancote , west sussex

[deanC]

Morning All ,
to set the scene ! .. My fathers younger sister has said that at the end of WW2 and some time after , their Mother and neighbours use to collect food parcels thrown over the 'wire' or hedge from a camp that had Polish soldiers .
My Grandfather was still serving with the Royal Warwicks' at the time and with no major income coming into the home , with 11 children and the rest of the terrace block virtually in the same predicament … there are a lot of memories /stories about these events .
My question is ; Was there a Camp at Woodmancote, Southbourne , west sussex , at this time ?
If so who ? army RAF , Pow's ?
Thanks
Dean

[Pam Downes]

I'm sure that at one stage I found a list of PoW camps in England, but I can't find the link. I don't think this one was it, but feel free to have a browse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...United_Kingdom

Pam

[Pam Downes]

Perhaps this was the list I was thinking of. You have to scroll quite a way down till you come to a box headed 'POW camps holding AXIS Forces' https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/pow/index.php

Pam

[StintonLomas]

Hi
If we are talking about the Woodmancote near Chichester I have found an old map which shows what appears to be an encampment on Cemetery Rd between Woodmancote and Westbourne.
https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/476...7543/10/101324

You mention Polish soldiers, so they could have been men unable to return home because of the Soviet occupation of their homeland and the camp may have been a previous PoW camp being re-used as a re-settlement camp.
The same site now looks like this.
https://goo.gl/maps/EnfZ8VDk4ex

Thinking further this is so close to the Channel coast, is it not more likkely that it would have been a UK forces hostilities only camp being re-used for the Poles, maybe even, one they used during the war.

[mikejee]

The larger scale map c1968 marks it as a military families hostel, whatever that may be.

[deanC]

Hi All
thanks for all your help , I have spoken to the relatives and yes as you have said,it is the one in cemetery lane , It would be nice to find some information out about what regiments etc were there , thank s again
Dean