Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a World War II prisoner of war camp in the west of England. Around 2,000 German soldiers were interned in the camp from 1940 to 1948. The discovery of a metal dog tag could even help to identify one of those arrested at the time. As further finds and historical documents suggest, the prisoners in this camp fared relatively well.
Although most of the fighting of World War II took place on mainland Europe, there were around 1,500 camps for German POWs in Britain as well. Soldiers captured in fighting on the continent were interned there. It has long been known from reports from the Red Cross that such a camp must have existed near Mile End in the county of Shropshire in western England.
Unexpectedly good conditions
A team of archaeologists from Wessex Archeology has therefore carried out underground investigations and excavations at the alleged site of the camp. In fact, the researchers came across the remains of a camp surrounded by fields with scattered barracks and a kind of sports field. In the soil, John Winfer and his team discovered everyday objects such as eating utensils, a beer mug, a tin can, glass bottles and disinfectant containers. A small toy camel made of a soft lead alloy was also among the finds.
“These artifacts help us understand what life was like for prisoners and guards at this camp, both during and immediately after the war,” says Winfer. The dating of the finds suggests that this prisoner of war camp existed from 1940 to 1948. During this time around 2000 German soldiers were interned there. The remains of the huts, sanitary facilities and the objects found show that these prisoners were treated comparatively humanely. Accordingly, there were sufficient toilets, washrooms with warm water and possibly also workshops and a kind of school.
The archaeological finds confirm what historical Red Cross documents say about the Mile End camp. “Their report underscores the diversity of facilities and activities offered to prisoners,” Winfer said. “This is also confirmed by our archaeological evidence.” According to the Red Cross, there was electricity and heating, sports facilities and music, and even two hot baths a week for each prisoner. “All this paints an unexpectedly civilized picture for such a prisoner of war camp,” says the archaeologist.
Dog tag of a soldier
Among the objects left behind by the German soldiers are two particularly interesting finds. One is a loaded German Sauer 38H pistol, which the researchers found near the wall of a hut. It is not yet clear whether this Wehrmacht weapon was secretly hidden by one of the prisoners or whether it was confiscated and used by the guards. The second find is the metal identification tag of a German soldier. These usually two-piece, engraved metal plates were used to identify the wearer and were divided in the event of death: one half remained with the buried corpse, the other half was passed on to the responsible army authorities.
“In this case, the stamp tells us that its German bearer belonged to the 3rd company, Landesschützen Battalion XI/,” reports Winfer. “We know that this unit, mostly made up of older reservists, was renamed Landesschützen-Bataillon 211 in April 1940. According to this, this soldier must have been captured early in the war.” Because the identification tag also contains the service number of its wearer, the archaeologists hope to soon find out the identity of this German who was interned in England at the time. “This story isn’t over yet, we want to fully explore it,” says Winfer.
Source: Wessex Archeology