The Prisoner of War camps of Westbury

A talk by local historian, David Jenkins as part of the museum’s Westbury at War summer exhibition.

Did you know that there were prisoners of war held here in Westbury during WW2?
David will talk about those prisoners and include how PoWs were processed after capture and why Westbury was chosen as a location for PoW camps. He will describe how men lived, including the work they did and how some integrated into the community and contributed to the national war effort before their repatriation.

David grew up in Westbury and says his interest started because of the swastika etched into his garden path by German PoWs and because his parents lived in former prisoner of war huts due to the housing shortage after the war.