With the ongoing discussions on the future development of the Prisoner of War Camp 116 in Mill Lane, last summer Mark Ratcliff organised some walks around the perimeter of the camp (the developer not wanting to allow access into the camp grounds).
Over several afternoons and an evening, nine groups totalling 90 villagers and locals enjoyed a stroll down tracks few had visited before with a knowledgeable commentary from Mark for 90 minutes. These walks also caused further memories of the camp and its inmates to be aired. Bob French wrote in to say that growing up in Sheering, he remembers that once after his father had returned home following Demob in 1946 (when Bob was about 4 years old), he walked the family up to the camp one summer Sunday afternoon to see the German prisoners from the adjacent field to say that was the reason he had been away fighting in the war. His second memory was at Christmas in 1949 when the 1st Sheering Wolf Cub pack was taken by their Akela (Peggy Austin) one evening to sing carols to the Irish workmen who were billeted there whilst helping build Harlow New Town and could not return home for Christmas. They stayed for about 1½ hours. Jacqueline Jackson remembers her father, Malcolm Jackson, told her that as a young child growing up on Ardley Crescent, he saw the Italian working parties marching off to work at Down Hall. The Italians loved children and used to hand out sweets to them and he was given a woven belt and a ring fashioned out of a coin. One Italian was seeing a lady on the crescent and if he was able to get a pass out for the evening then he would tie a hanky to his stick on his shoulder to indicate to her that they could meet that night! Its good that even now after all the passing years we are able to record new tales of the camp. ----------
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