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 !!
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 !!
Last edited:
