National Camps Corporation
The National Camps Corporation was a British government-funded non-profit organisation established under the Camps Act 1939. The role of the corporation was to construct and administer camps in the countryside that could be used for educational experiences.[1]
Contents
Origins
In the context of preparations for war, a Camps Act was passed in April 1939, which provided for the construction of government-financed camps for use as educational holiday centres for children during peacetime, and as camps for evacuees during war.[2] The Act prompted the creation of the National Camps Corporation to oversee these camps.[3] Lord Portal was given the task of chairing the Corporation.[1] The initial funding given to the Corporation was £1.2 million, half of which was as a loan.[1]
Construction of the camps
The government's expectation was that the corporation would construct fifty camps, but in reality only 31 were built in England and Wales, with a further five in Scotland.[1] The cessation of the construction of new camps was mainly due to the increased costs as a result of war, and the realisation that such camps were not a completely adequate solution to the problem of evacuation.[3] The sites were chosen by Lord Portal and members of the board, out of an original short-list of 155, although some of these sites were taken by the Royal Air Force before the Corporation could decide on them.[1] The design of each camp was similar, consisting of huts made out of Canadian cedarwood, designed by architect Thomas Smith Tait.[1] Each camp was designed to accommodate approximately 350 children.[3] The average cost of each camp was £25,000.[3]
Wartime and post-war use
During the Second World War these camps were used as schools for evacuated children, run by local education authorities.[2] The first camp to be used in this way was at Kennylands, near Reading.[2] Some modifications were required for this purpose, as the camps had been intended for temporary holiday guests, rather than a semi-permanent population.[3] This had the obvious consequence of reducing the number of evacuees who could be housed at such camps to over 9000 nationally.[3] Nevertheless, in November 1940 the Minister of Health Malcolm MacDonald described the camps as "one of the most significant pieces of work that Parliament has lent its hand to in recent times".[2]
In the decades following the war, most of these camps were sold to county councils and education authorities for use as schools.
List of National Camps Corporation sites
Name | Location | Initial Authority (WW2) | Users after sale/lease | Subsequent Users | Current Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brownrigg Camp School[4] | Bellingham, Northumberland | Newcastle | 1945, Northumberland Education Committee | Co-educational boarding school | Caravan site |
Colomendy Camp School[5] | Loggerheads, Denbighshire | Liverpool | 1957, Liverpool Corporation | Residential secondary school | Outdoor activity centre |
Finnamore Wood Camp | Marlow, Buckinghamshire | Redbridge, Greater London | 1960, Home Office | HM Prison | Derelict/Disused |
Sayers Croft Camp School[6] | Ewhurst, Surrey | Catford | 1946, Greater London Council | Rural Studies Centre | Outdoor and Environmental Learning Centre |
Sheephatch Camp School[7] | Tilford, Surrey | Leyton | 1946, Surrey County Council | Co-educational boarding school | Owned by Ahmadiyya Muslim Association |
Stokenchurch Camp School[8] | Horsleys Green, Buckinghamshire | Disabled children | 1947, Lancashire County Council | Horsleys Green School, an all-boys boarding school | UK headquarters for Wycliffe Bible Translators[9] |
References
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