PoW Camp 59 Sawtry

Site of Former PoW Camp 59 and US Air Force Fuel Line Pumping Station

Location

B1043 Woodwalton Lane Sawtry Cambridgeshire

Description

Site Visits

May 2019

Materials

DSLR and Drone Photos
UK Foreign Office Inspection Report

The site as it exists today consists of two fenced enclosures with entry through a double gate system and guard room. The smaller of two fenced compounds is to the left of the entrance and contains a couple of old PoW Accommodation type huts that have been vandalised and or neglected along with a lot of cleared space. The main compound is I guess is an abounded version of what the site was when used to supply fuel to Alconbury except that it is neglected and has been subject to minor vandalism. Alconbury closed a few years ago and it looks like this site did to. In talking to the farmer that owns Abbey Farm but not this site which is within the farm said that the site used to be heavily manned and was a secure site.

Now when you approach the site you come across a corroded barrier and the remains of what used to be a guard post. As you get to the site itself you can see that the fence and gates are there but have holes in them and that the site has been vandalised with graffiti and a degree of fly tipping. There are signs up saying that’s it is private property and monitored and when you approach the double gate a Yellow and Blue Security Device sounds off along with a recorded voice saying that you are being monitored and that the police and Site Owners etc have been informed. All of which in my case was fine as I had no intention of entering the site as I was on my own and being disabled it simply was not safe, also I could achieve my objective in talking my photographs from outside the fence.


Camera and Drone Images of the site of the former PoW Camp 59 Sawtry


Extracts from UK Foreign Office Inspection Report from UK National Archives Kew:

FO 939/140 PoW Camp 59 Sawtry Narrative Visit Report