#frith hill

Among the many interesting stories about German WW1 prisoners of war held in the camp at Frith Hill in Frimley is the link between the Frith Hill camp and Knockaloe camp in the Isle of Man, where prisoners were moved from Frith Hill to the Isle of Man. The current Surrey Heath Museum exhibition explores those links

Led by Roy Sellstrom BEM, the walk revealed the earth movements and visual signs of the use of the area as a military training area. Frith Hill was a practice area for trench warfare, and the site of a German Prisoner of War camp during the First World War.

In his researches Roy discovered a map of the trenches in Frith Hill. These have now mostly be filled in. It’s fascinating to realise that of the paths in the area, though difficult to recognise, many are on the filled in trenches.

Roy pointed to post World War II trenches, some small and for only two soldiers. He also pointed out a mine crater [see photo below], previously considered to be elsewhere, see Remains of Mine Explosions, reading the following rpoert of the event at the time.

“Blackdown Camp, October 1916, Wessex Field Company Royal Engineers: The company moved into an excellent hut-camp, … leaving No.4 section to complete Claycart Bridge. The chief interest at first was the mine that had been made on Frith Hill, some of our men assisting in the tunnelling. It was to be blown up by 5,000lbs of gun cotton, and was the first of three that were to be blown for experiment and training. To make the affair more like an operation at our front line, our company made wire entanglements all about the imaginary ‘No man’s land’ above the charge, and practised the consolidation of the mine craters after seizure by infantry.”

“On the great day , VIP’s arrived, the Sandhurst cadets came over and were shown by us how to consolidate a crater. All the windows for miles around were left open, so as not to be blown in by concussion of the explosion. At the last moment the spectators, numbering several thousand, were moved from ½ to ¾ of a mile away. The guns and trench mortars began to fire blank, machine guns and rifles the same, up went the mine, and attacking parties seized the craters with much cheering and throwing of dummy hand-grenades and bombs, while our Sapper party, under Lt Davidson, started entrenching in the lip of the craters.”

“The actual explosion and upheaval of the mines was most disappointing. The charge had been divided, by order from above, so that two little craters were made instead of one large one. We hardly felt any concussion, heard no noise, and the spectacle was far from alarming. The soil was thrown up about thirty feet, in the form of a plum-pudding, then it subsided through a dense volumes of smoke. So slight was the effect that it was said that parties in a dug-out 300 yards away did not know the charge had been blown under they were told of it by a runner.”

Here are the photos from the walk,

It’s taken local military historian, Army veteran, and local resident, Roy Sellstrom BEM considerable research to identify the exact location. Roy spoke about his research in his recent talk on the subject at the Heritage Gallery in Camberley.

I’m delighted to post Roy’s talk here, along with some photos used in his talk. The timing of the article is appropriate as on Sunday 10th September Roy is leading a Frith Hill Trench Walk for Surrey Heath Museum’s Heritage Open Day events programme.

Frith Hill has had many military camps and practice areas during both World Wars. The area was a practice area for trench warfare and the site of a German Prisoner of War camp during the First World War. In the walk, Roy will reveal the earth movements and visual signs that reveal the use of the area during the war years and the stories and facts from the past.

Roy Sellstrom on WW1 POW Camp at Frith Hill, Frimley

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On My Doorstep – Part Sixteen

Prisoner Of War camps in Frimley What to do with German internees and prisoners of war? Well, send them to Frimley Common, of course. Opposite the Brompton Sanatorium, near what is now the Pine Ridge Golf Club, was a piece of common land near Frith Hill which was used prior to the outbreak of the First World War as a venue for a number of regiments, particularly the 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers…

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Surrey Heath Museum is currently displaying some wonderful paintings and drawings by German artist George Kenner who spent time at the Frith Hill POW camp in Deepcut in 1915as one of the german civilians who had been living in Britain after the outbreak of World War I.

He recorded his time at the camp, and although they were  censored by the British Army, they still give a fascinating insight into what life was like for those a British Prisoner of War camp. Well worth a visit, and while you're there you can have a look at the engraved spoons that we acquired which were engraved by someone in the camp. 

The woods at Deepcut were once open heathland and then home to a barracks and a POW camp in the First World War. The barracks expanded and was in use beyond the end of the Second World War. The buildings were removed long ago now, and for decades nature has slowly taken back the land,  and like ungrazed heathland, became mainly mixed woodland. 

While out searching for new springtails, I wandered into an area that although fairly near to where I live, I'd never been in before and saw the largest area of remaining evidence of the military buildings that once stood here. Practice trenches both 100 years old and very recent (the area is still used by the MOD for training) fill the woods, as does the occasional pile of rubble and lost telegraph pole, but this is the first of this type I've seen. It appears to be a system of tunnels and bunkers just visible with the ironwork of tunnel roof supports showing on the largest of these. 

Can anyone ascertain how old these structures are, and what their purpose would have been? I assume this is training for similar structures on the battlefield (in the same vein of the replica FOB base elsewhere on the Deepcut barracks land), but would be good to know what era it belongs to. It certainly is probably not going to be around for many more years as nature, footpaths and tracks for 4WDs and motocross cross the tunnels and take their toll.