# POW Camp 166 - Hertfordshire



## Zedstar (Apr 15, 2014)

Prisoner of War Camp 116 was set up in 1941 to house Italian prisoners of war. From 1943-1944 it mainly held German and Austrian prisoners. The POW's were allowed out to work on the nearby farms.

From a Harlow Star article in 2008:

Many people may not be aware that the area we now call Harlow was once a place where captured soldiers were sent to work the land.

German and Italian troops caught during the conflict had the opportunity to break from the incarceration of prison camps to feel some sense of normality working on the farms which dotted the area.

The work was totally voluntary and the lifestyle quite enjoyable in comparison to the life British POWs endured in German hands.

There were a lot of Italians at the main camp in Hatfield Heath, which was built for about 750 people. The camp was non-Nazi, so it was classed low-risk and there was a War Agricultural Committee which arranged for Land Girls to pick up prisoners and take them to allotted farms and then take them back again.
There were also two satellite camps, one in Matching Tye and one in Bishop's Stortford, which were on a smaller scale and the prisoners at the Matching Tye camp were sent to work on land which is now Harlow.

I spoke to a local person and he said that this place will be gone in a few months as they are going to build houses on the land !!


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## DirtyJigsaw (Apr 16, 2014)

Very interesting. Nice find and nice photos. Thanks for sharing


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## Kezz44 (Apr 16, 2014)

Cool! Thanks for sharing!


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## flyboys90 (Apr 16, 2014)

What a great find! wonder how many of the ex pow,s are still alive?thanks for sharing.


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## Stealthstar79 (Apr 16, 2014)

great set and very interesting!
thanks...


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## tumble112 (Apr 16, 2014)

A fascinating piece of history captured just in time. Nicely photographed.


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## UrbanX (Apr 16, 2014)

Fantastic shots! 
Can you just remove the vehicle shots, we have a rule against them!
Great stuff cheers for sharing!


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## Onmyown (Apr 17, 2014)

Nice find mate, great shots


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## karltrowitz (Apr 18, 2014)

Sad to hear it will soon be gone. More history lost....


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## FFerret (Apr 25, 2014)

Great to see POW Camp 116 still standing.

First visited with Outkast a few years back, then popped back a few months after on my own to see that the owner had cleared all the rubbish out the huts and tidied the site up.

Havent been back recently but its good to see its still standing.

Btw, the business on the occupied part of the site (Guards Quaters) will occasionaly allow you to take external shots of there buildings if you ask.


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## caiman (May 11, 2014)

FFerret said:


> Great to see POW Camp 116 still standing.
> 
> First visited with Outkast a few years back, then popped back a few months after on my own to see that the owner had cleared all the rubbish out the huts and tidied the site up.
> 
> ...



Wrong way round. The occupied part (egg packing business) were the actual prisoners huts, the huts shown here are the guards camp.


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