Monument record MDO44875 - First World War POW camp, Blandford Camp, Tarrant Monkton

The compound fence and external watchtowers of a First World War Prisoner of War camp at Blandford Camp are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

A First World War Prisoner of War and subsequent repatriation camp is visible as assorted structures on aerial photographs taken in 1947, most of which were removed by 1953. The site is centred at ST 9303 0813 and comprises an asymmetric four-sided fenced compound with an external watch tower placed at all except the south-eastern corner. Within the enclosure are eleven rows, orientated east / west, of up to twelve tent pitches which provided accommodation. Administrative and domestic buildings or larger marquees are arranged to the west and east of the tents, within the compound.

The fence extends between ST 9295 0822, ST 9315 0818, ST 9310 0807 and ST 9294 0805 and has two entrances; one in the northern side at ST 9309 0813 and one in the western side, at ST 9295 0820. The northern side of the compound measures 200m and is the longest. The watch towers each measure circa 5m square and are located at ST 9293 0804, ST 9295 0822 and ST 9315 0819. The tent pitches each measure circa 4.5m square and are visible either as white chalk squares or as cropmark squares where the grass is growing back. Pathways extend along and between the rows of tents.

The POW camp was established after 1916 for German Prisoners of War and was located at the eastern edge of Blandford Camp. By early 1919 it had become a repatriation camp for the German PoWs. Although the rest of the First World War camp at Blandford was demolished by the end of 1920 it appears that the PoW camp was still extant for some time and it may have been re-used as part of the 1939 tented encampment in this area (see SO 90 NW 132 / UID: 1478835). The camp surrounds a Bronze Age round barrow (see ST 90 NW 42 / UID: 209382) which it appears to have adopted as an ornamental feature. <1-2>

The compound fence and external watchtowers of a First World War Prisoner of War camp at Blandford Camp are visible on 1940s aerial photographs <3-4>. The features comprise a rhomboid shaped double fenced enclosure 175m by 200m at its widest and longest points, with three watchtowers at each corner, bar the southeastern one. The Prisoner of War camp was constructed in 1916 and by 1919 had become a repatriation camp for POWs. It continued beyond 1920 when the rest of the First World War military camp was demolished (NRHE Hob UID 1478826). The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Rows of square 5m by 5m pads for tents or temporary structures within the compound, along with several military buildings, visible in 1946 and 1947, may be part of a subsequent temporary encampment during the Second World War (see MDO44876; NRHE Hob UID 1478835).

<1> Harfield, A, 1984, Blandford and the Military: including a history of Blandford Camp, 57-63 (Monograph). SDO19289.

<2> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<2.1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 4006-4007 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19286.

<2.2> 20-APR-1953, NMR RAF/58/1090 F22 0130 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19295.

<3> Royal Air Force, 18-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1845 FS 2062 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18910.

<4> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 RS 4008 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18888.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1478826 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 26 2023 2:53PM