53°22′14″N 1°34′48″W / 53.3706°N 1.5800°W / 53.3706; -1.5800Lodge Moor was a British military camp based near Redmires Reservoirs, Sheffield, that was best known for housing prisoners of war during World War II. It held approximately 11,000 at its peak, mostly Germans. It was established in World War I for training purposes.

History

World War I

In World War I, Redmires Camp was set up in the area around Redmires Reservoir as a training camp for the Sheffield City Battalion.[1] Archaeological surveys of nearby training areas, including trench systems dug by the trainee soldiers, were undertaken between 1999 and 2006, but no investigations were made of the camp.[2] When the Sheffield City Battalion went overseas, the camp area was used by other British military units.[1] It subsequently became a prisoner of war camp, with its most famous inmate being the future Admiral Karl Dönitz who had been commanding a U-boat when he was captured on 4 October 1918.[3]

Inter-war Period

In 1925, a severe outbreak of smallpox meant that nearby Lodge Moor Hospital was unable to house all the patients, and Redmires Camp was used as an auxiliary hospital. It remained in use as such until 1935.[4]

World War II

At the beginning of World War II the name of Redmires Camp was changed to Lodge Moor Camp, becoming Prisoner of War Camp 17.[1] The camp housed Italian POWs who established a friendly rapport with the locals. As the war progressed they were replaced by German prisoners who endured overcrowding; the International Committee of the Red Cross described the conditions as "insufficient/uninhabitable". A witness suggested there were more than 70 prisoners in huts designed for 30. Others were in tents.[3]

Murder

On 24 March 1945, Gerhardt Rettig, a German prisoner of war, was severely beaten by fellow German prisoners of war, and later died of his injuries in hospital. Two men were subsequently tried for his murder and executed.[5]

Current condition and uses

Many of the concrete bases for the Nissen huts remain, along with remains of toilet blocks and emergency water storage tanks.[6] However, apart from the concrete bases, the area is now overgrown with trees, bracken and brambles, and used mainly by dog walkers. It is signposted as Redmires Camp Plantation and owned by Sheffield City Council.[7]

In 1979, a small part of the area was cleared to make a permanent site for Travellers, for which it is still in use.[8][9]

Archeology students from the University of Sheffield, working with the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership (SLLP), undertook new searches of the World War II camp remains in the Summer of 2019.[10] In April 2021, visitors to the site reported that Sheffield City Council workers, clearing trees from the site, had damaged concrete bases of the prisoners' accommodation, broke one of the toilet blocks, and crushed the remains of sewage pipes.[11] The site is protected as a Scheduled Monument.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Redmires First World War Training Area, Non Civil Parish (1417488)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Ullathorne, Helen (2006). "Training Trenches at Redmires, Sheffield" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 Halliday, Josh (4 July 2019). "UK's biggest second world war prisoner camp unearthed in Yorkshire". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Lodge Moor Hospital, Sheffield".
  5. ↑ "Murder at Camp 17 Lodge Moor Sheffield 24th March 1945". www.chrishobbs.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  6. ↑ "Picture sheffield". www.picturesheffield.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "SHEFFIELD MOORSMASTERPLAN 2013-2028" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Picture sheffield". www.picturesheffield.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Gypsy and traveller sites". www.sheffield.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  10. ↑ University of Sheffield. "Remains of Britain's largest prisoner of war camp uncovered by archaeologists - Latest - News - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Visitors claim council work damaged Sheffield WW1 site". BBC News. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
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