Uncategorised Records of German POWs held in UK in WW2

[Paul_1957]

I am interested in identifying the location of any records that would give information on a German POW held captive in England during the Second World War. The man in question was a Captain in the merchant marine.

Do any records exist in UK or Germany that would allow me to find out a bit more info on the POW. I know which camp he was held in in England but I am interested in finding out anything such as date and place of capture and any personal info such as age, place of birth etc.

Alternatively, are there any German merchant marine records which would give his record of seaman's service?

Thanks

Paul

[M Hunter]

Paul,

The person you seek may not be here but it is a start. http://www.islandfarm.fsnet.co.uk/

Maybe contact the facilitators of this site and see if they know of other camps in England.

Kind regards

Matt

[M Hunter]

Paul,

Here is the actual link from the site i gave you above. This lists the POW Camps in the UK.

http://www.islandfarm.fsnet.co.uk/LIST%20OF%20UK%20POW%20CAMPS1.htm

Kind regards

Matt

[Paul_1957]

Paul,

Here is the actual link from the site i gave you above. This lists the POW Camps in the UK.

http://www.islandfar...OW%20CAMPS1.htm

Kind regards

Matt

Matt,

Thanks for providing that link to the list of camps. Camp 196 at Arbury Hall near Nuneaton, Warwickshire is the camp where the prisoner I'm interested in was held. At least I now know the camp number which is a step in the right direction.

Regards

Paul

Edited July 2, 2010 by Paul_1957

[Paul_1957]

I reckon I have found an answer to my query.

An organisation called the Prisoner of War Information Bureau was set up by Britain at the start of the Second World War. That organisation held the records on individual POWs held in Britain. The Bureau closed down after the last POWs were repatriated in 1948. In the 1960's the Bureau's records were dispersed to the respective national government according to the nationality of the POW. Therefore, the records I am interested in are now held by Germany. The Prisoner of War Information Bureau also sent POW info to the International Red Cross Committee - so another set of records are held there. See WO 307 record description in the UK National Archives on-line catalogue.

Paul

[Echobeach67]

Hi Paul,

this is an old post I am responding to so not sure you are still out there..... My partners father was a German POW at Arbury Hall. We have managed to find a lot of information about him from the German military records and the Red Cross. We visited Arbury Hall in September last year and have photo's of the engravings the POWs made on a bridge there. Get in touch if you are interested in sharing info.

Regards,

Maz

[Ulsterman]

Excellent post. I seem to recall the Red Cross records for WW1 are available......and maybe now WW2? Germany has some rather unhelpful privacy laws, which may prohibit you getting info from their archives. I am surprised the IWM does not have copies.

[Joe Bloggs]

I am currently researching the life of a German pilot that crash landed on the Isle of Wight in October 1940 and was taken prisoner. I would dearly like to know to which camp in the UK he was taken and if possible his release date, almost anything would help. Felwebel Horst Hellriegel is the name. 

[hucks216]

On 09/03/2023 at 12:15, Joe Bloggs said:

I am currently researching the life of a German pilot that crash landed on the Isle of Wight in October 1940 and was taken prisoner. I would dearly like to know to which camp in the UK he was taken and if possible his release date, almost anything would help. Felwebel Horst Hellriegel is the name. 

 

This article ( https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/19070516.german-pilot-crash-landed-isle-wight/ ) makes an assumption by saying...

 

Horst spent the rest of the war as a POW. There were no camps on the Island until 1943 so he almost certainly went to the only British camp at that time, Grizedale Hall in Cumbria.

Sadly, despite best efforts, Horst’s post-war life is unknown.

 

The Red Cross does take requests on a quarterly basis for those seeking details on PoW's but when they open up for requests all the slots get taken within an hour or two so you need to be very quick.