Summer 1946

Abstract

That summer of 1946 was indeed a question of all hands on deck. All the prisoners available were being brought to England. All the prisoners in England who could be persuaded to work were employed. In many cases too, officers who could not be compelled to work under the terms of the Geneva Convention had volunteered. A noted example was in Featherstone Park (Camp 18), where, under the inspiration of Colonel Vickers, voluntary work had already begun in October 1945. In that summer of 1946, the camp opened hostels within a 50 miles radius of the camp for prisoners doing agricultural work. With only an English sergeant and two privates to act as guards, the atmosphere was immeasurably pleasanter for the prisoner. But this was not the object of the exercise. The main purpose that summer was increased production.