With some notable exceptions, very little is known about World War II Prisoner of War (PoW) camps (1939-48). This is despite a large volume of documentary material surviving in public records at the National Archives. Even less work has been undertaken to identify the total number and location of the camps, now a significant historic feature in the landscape, and a place of memory for many veterans and their families.
To help understand this subject, and inform future management of what are often now vulnerable and unstable sites, a study was undertaken by English Heritage of sites in England. The results are included in a report, 'Prisoner of War Camps, 1939-1948'.
