Monument record 0668300000 - Hartwell Dog Track

Hartwell Dog Track was used from 1942 as a Prisoner of War Camp for Italians captured in North Africa (B1).
The camp is visible on 1946 RAF vertical APs and the layout still appeared to be intact in 1960 as shown on the 6" OS map (B2).
Location of the camp confirmed by members of Stone Local History Group (B3).
Recorded by Red Cross as a 'German Working Camp' (Camp no. 36) (B4).

A Second World War Prisoner of War camp is visible on historic aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located in a field at the junction of the A418 road, Portway and Sedrup Lane and centred at SP 79708 12069, the POW camp was constructed early in the war on the site of the Aylesbury and District Greyhound Racing Track which had operated since the early 1930s but whose renew licence was refused in 1940. The track buildings were demolished in 1941 and the camp was then built on its site, the first Italian prisoners of war arriving in 1942. The camp then operated in 1946 or 1947, when German POWs were being repatriated. The camp’s main entrance was off Sedrup Lane, with a guardroom inside on the right-hand side, next to which is a small formal garden. Around the perimeter were four raised sentry posts, along with searchlights. The British army guards were quartered in Nissen huts, along with a dining hall, a canteen, a sergeants’ mess, stores, administrative offices and a MT (motor transport) section. The Axis prisoners were both German and Italian, who were accommodated at the camp’s centre in Nissen huts. Other buildings included a cookhouse, an entertainment centre and medical facilities. Many of the prisoners worked on local farms. The camp comprised 76 rectangular military buildings of various sizes, being a mix of Nissen type and pitched roof, with a fence visible along the A418 road. By 1946, five of the POW camp buildings had been demolished and only the concrete platform bases are visible. A road and pathway system provide access around the camp. The remaining camp buildings remains extant in 1950, but by 1961 all but one of the buildings have been demolished though the road system remains visible, the former camp heavily overgrown. By 1971, the remaining building has been demolished and new residential housing estate has been constructed on the site. No evidence of any wartime camp remain visible (5-12).