World War 1 Prison Camps In County Durham

While we quite rightly remember those who fought and gave their lives to defend our country during the First World War (my grandfather served as a Royal Naval Reserve and his brother lost his life), we have almost forgotten the 116,000 German troops who were imprisoned in this country. Across the UK, there were 563 POW camps, with research revealing four located in County Durham. A labour shortage due to conscription necessitated German POWs being put to work, and the Durham camps were situated in Weardale, a significant source of raw materials such as lead, iron, coal, lime and gannister.

Shipley Moss.

Situated just over a mile away from Harperley Camp 93, the well-known WW2 POW camp, a WW1 camp was established at Shipley Moss. Like Harperley and other POW camps, the prisoners originally lived in tents while they built the camp. Of the four Durham camps, Shipley Moss appears to be the only one to have standing archaeological remains. A brick-built circular enclosure with a circumference of 33.2m and a diameter of 5.26m stands in what would have been the southeast corner of the camp. This feature is the remains of a filter bed, which,  according to John Ruttley, was part of the ‘latrine system’. Water from Shipley Beck is still channelled into the bed via a sloping, staggered block. With no road access, the camp was supplied via the rail station at Harperley, a steep climb for the POWs. Fortunately for the occupants, the gannister they excavated from nearby Knitsley Quarry was transported to the Weardale railway by a 5km aerial ropeway. At its peak occupancy, the camp held 230 POWs, with the numbers reduced by 27 following a Spanish Flu outbreak during two weeks in November 1918.

1. Wall around the septic tank at Shipley Moss 

2. Aerial ropeway from the quarry to the railway 

Handsforth Sub Camps

Handforth, a large WW1 POW camp in Cheshire, was directly responsible for 17 small sub-camps across Britain, supplying the camps with food and equipment. Once the prisoners at Handforth were deemed low risk, they were sent to the smaller camps, depending on their abilities. Two of the camps were in County Durham; Healeyfield (Castleside) and Newlandslide (Stanhope).

Healeyfield (Castleside).

This was a small camp with 110 POWs, and like all the WW1 camps in Durham, the POWs were originally billeted in tents. Initially, food had to be cooked over a ‘fire trench’ until the tents were replaced with wooden huts,  including a dedicated kitchen, in 1917.  As with the other WW1 POW camps in Durham, the inmates worked at a nearby quarry, probably Healeyfield (ganister) quarry, 0.3km to the SW. The ganister was transported to the railway via a tramway which was probably constructed by the POWs.

3. Healeyfield Camp in Winter

4. Healeyfield Camp on horizon with Dene Howl (left)

5. Prisoners clearing snow for trains & 6. Guards at the camp

Newlandslide (Stanhope).

This camp, situated near to Low Shittlehope Burn housed 563 prisoners firstly in Bell tents and eventually wooden huts. Red Cross reports state that the camp suffered from low morale, especially after the accidental death of Joseph Ingert in May 1917. The prisoners worked at a nearby quarry; presumably this would have been the nearby Newlandside quarry which is still being worked today.

 In 2017, Northern Archaeological Associates, (NAA), carried out a survey on behalf of Durham County Council to assess the impact the construction new houses would have on any archaeological remains of the camp. The watching brief concluded that “no in situ archaeological evidence relating to the WW1 Prisoner of War camp remained”. This was probably due to any structural remains being demolished to make way for a council depot. However, numerous early 20th century bottles were found during the assessment but and some were photographed before disposal. Thanks to Cura Terrae, the archaeology company that acquired NAA, we can see some of the ceramics and glassware. 

7. Clay pipes, stone jars and other ceremics found near Newlandside Camp

Eastgate

Eastgate POW camp was at Rose Hill Farm near Eastgate and housed 310 prisoners.  The precise location has been difficult to locate although it was positioned somewhere between Rosehill Farm and Heights Quarry.  POWs from here worked limestone at Heights quarry, and constructed the Cambokeels Incline, from the quarry down to the North Eastern Railway Wear Valley. The POWs were also employed as platelayers, labourers and boilermen on the Rookhope Railway System.

8. German POWs Eastgate, 1915

9. “Weardale Iron Co. September 1915. Constructing new line from Height’s Quarry to Cambo Keels using German POWs.”

10. Map showing location of WW1 POW Camps

1. Image taken by Peter Laurence

2. National Library of Scotland, OS One Inch

3. 4. 5. 6. History of Castleside Facebook Group

7. Cura Terrae

8. German prisoners of war - Eastgate, Weardale 1915 | German p… | Flickr

9. Peter Nattrass -Weardale Through Time 

10. Google Satellite, QGIS, Peter Laurence