Most of the prisoners went out working on local farms. Lorries would arrive to collect them in the mornings, and after roll-call they filed off to their transports. Some men worked at the sugar beet factory ensuring that the camp had ready supplies of sugar by smuggling it out through the factory searches.

In 1998 a former prisoner described how they occasionally brewed home-made schnapps from sugar beet.

Each camp had a designated Lagerfuhrer or camp leader, and the men had a bakery, tailor's shop, shoemakers, church and recreation hut.

As well as the German POWs, there were large numbers of foreign troops who had fought alongside British forces, and now needed to be returned home. One particular group did not wish to return, and these were people whose homes were now under Soviet occupation or control. The Polish were particularly fearful of returning, particularly as Stalin had already deported a million Poles to Siberia during the years since annexation of eastern Poland under the Ribbentrop and Molotov Pact of late 1939. In addition, there were rumours about the Katyn massacre, which was a series of mass executions of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. Some 250,000 Poles therefore chose to remain in Britain and were eventually joined by their families and dependents from wherever the war had left them. The only way such numbers could be accommodated was by placing them in camps recently vacated by the British armed forces or by the Americans. A Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC) was raised in 1946 as a corps of the British Army into which Poles were enlisted for the period of their demobilization up to 1948.

Where camps were housing Polish Families they were administered by a number of organisations including the National Assistance Board, Local Authorities and the National Service Hostels Corporation. One such camp in our area was Weeting Hall, just ouside Brandon, lasting from 1949 to 1955. By 1953 there were still 47 families in residence. There is also evidence that Rougham Camp housed Polish personnel in 1947, and there may have been Polish troops at Fornham Park camp in 1946 and/or 1947. Zosia Biegus of website "www.polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk," informs me that, "I believe that Rougham Camp was used as short term accommodation for Poles who had chosen to return to Poland after the war."

On 15th September, 1946 the government announced that repatriation of German POWs would commence immediately, with an intention to return 15,000 a month, despite the serious lack of labour force in the country. It was hoped to replace the German labour with European Voluntary Workers, (EVWs) and men from the Polish Resettlement Corps. The EVWs were largely Ukrainian, Polish and Latvian unskilled men, part of the millions of displaced persons currently impoverished around the continent. It was hoped to recruit 90,000 such men. There were plenty of objectors to repatriation, but humanitarian arguments finally prevailed.

In March, 1947 occurred the last great flooding of the Fens. Dykes were breached all across the Fenlands from Suffolk to Lincolnshire. Some 3000 acres of Lakenheath Fen were inundated and the floodwaters reached to the edge of the village. The Womens Land Army was still in operation, and the Lakenheath hostel, being situated at a low point at the north end of the High Street, was flooded - including the dormitories, the water being right across the road. The W.L.A. girls were evacuated to a large house at Risby and elsewhere until the floods receded.

RAF Mildenhall was mobilised to help rescue the flood victims. The worst day was 16th March, when 110 flood victims were collected by RAF Mildenhall transport and given temporary accomodation on the base. Some 44 NCOs and men were then deployed to Lakenheath Lode on 22nd March to help with heavy flood relief work. On 23rd March, another party of 28 volunteers and 36 former POWs went to help at Southery Pumping Station. Flooding was less bad during April, but RAF Mildenhall continued to supply lighting equipment to allow night working to help restore the damage.

• Grade A - high priority and fit for release
• Grade B
• Grade C - ( no grade Cs got released in 1947)
• Sick and wounded
• Needed to rebuild Germany - with specialist skills
• Compassionate grounds
• Special Cases

"It has been announced that in many cases prisoners of war receive reports of their wives having extra-marital relationships with other men. Until now it has not been permitted for the POW to seek early release in such cases on the grounds of family problems. It has been decided that applications on the above grounds will, from now on, be looked into.

Such applications must however be accompanied in every instance by an official confirmation that the couple's children are suffering as a result of the wife's bad conduct."

Through 1947 the Suffolk Free Press reported various incidents involving German POWs, who were awaiting repatriation.

August - "The Suffolk Football Association have ruled that German P.O.W.’s may not play for civilian clubs in the league games but games between civilians and P.O.W.’s may take place with the consent of the camp commandant and no admission charges may be made."

October16th - "German P.O.W.’s from Halstead, Borley and Liston almost filled the public section of Sudbury Town Council on Tuesday night to watch how Local Government conducted their affairs."

During October, five German P.O.W.,s were fined 10s each for distilling spirits without a license at Tendering Hall Camp at Stoke by Nayland.

The availability of sugar beet on the local farms and from the beet factory meant that home-made schnapps was also ocaasionally produced illicitly at Hardwick Camp.

Hardwick Camp was closed and locked up in July, 1948, by Camp Orderly Joe Brooks who later became Rector of St Leonard's church in Horringer.

At least one family took matters into their own hands and took over the quarters previously occupied by Colonel Osborne, the last British camp commandant from 1945 to 1948. He had now retired to Great Barton. These squatters were visited by council officials and evicted by the police, returning after officialdom had left. They remained for six months before the "official" tenants began to arrive in November and December.

The Borough Council's Housing Construction Committee held a special meeting on 22nd July, 1948, to consider the future of the huts at Hardwick Heath Camp and the Huts at the rear of the Flax Factory, Hardwick Road. At Hardwick Heath it was reported that plans were in hand to convert the huts into living units for temporary housing accomodation for a 5 year period. Water stand pipes were to be installed at intervals and a maintenance fitter would be engaged to maintain the water and sewerage services. Plans drawn up by Mr H Lister Coates would need to be submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval.

As for the huts behind the Flax Factory, the committee hoped to persuade the Hand Laundry, (now in the Flax Factory premises) to take over these huts for temporary accomodation.

Contractors began work on converting the nissen huts to living accomodation in October, 1948. Footpaths on the site had been closed to the public while the POWs were in residence. These now had to be officially opened again by judicial orders.

The work was in three phases, tendered seperately. Group A was priced by Mr L C Pearson at £3,250-9s-0d; Group B was won by Mr A Bland at £4,594-10s-6d and Group C went to Messrs Moore Bros for £3,198-19s-0d. A few buildings were demolished, and remainder produced 56 living units.

At Hardwick Heath, the huts which had housed POW's were now pressed into service as temporary housing while families were waiting for one of the new houses on the Mildenhall Road Estate, or for a prefab elsewhere in the town as they became available. Many of these were ex-servicemen with new wives and babies.

While some families had moved in, work continued on the remaining dwellings at the camp. This inevitably led to conflicts. On 1st April, 1949, the Bury Free Press reported on a "rebellion smouldering" at Hardwick Camp. Tenants met to form a Ratepayers Association, led by Mr J Bishop to protest to the council against rubbish and builders rubble left around the camp. They also wanted a housing points allocation system to ensure fair treatment in allocating permanent homes to residents. The current rent of 14/- a week should be cut to 8/6d Mr Bishop said. Mr Woodhouse pointed out that the nearest telephone was three quarters of a mile away and a proposed communal laundry was impractical and ill sited. Tenants had to do all the day to day maintenance themselves.

Of the 36 families on site, 35 had signed a petition to the council asking for a water supply and a small copper to each hut, proper drains and drainage, and a rent reduction.

On 13th May the Bury Free Press reported the re-opening of the chapel at Hardwick Camp for the use of the residents. The Revd. A C Pelly of St Mary's church presided over the ceremony. Hardwick Camp with 35-40 families needed its own "parish" church said Mr Pelly. Repairing the derelict chapel cost £6 and 5/- a week was needed for its rent. It would be run on multi-denominational grounds and donations were made by the Congregationalists, Methodists and Baptists as well as St Mary's church. Mr Woodhouse, chairman of the camp ratepayers association thanked all concerned for their voluntary efforts.

The work on converting all the huts did not finish until July, 1949.

Tenants attempted their own draught proofing and decorations, but conditions were damp and freezing in winter and excessively hot in summer.

This sketch was drawn by Frank Whitnall from descriptions taken in March, 1996, from Mrs Peggy Clarke, resident from December 1948, when they were one of the first "official" tenants. They stayed until 1951, when they moved to a council pre-fab in Priors Road.

Mr and Mrs Clarke had been one of the first to move in in December 1948, and now, with a new baby, they moved to one of the newly erected pre-fabs in Priors Road.

Johann Hopfensperger was another POW who was now known as John and ran a popular fish and chip shop in Risbygate Street. He said, "I have no bad memories of the camp and I decided to stay in England after the war because of the friendliness of the people."

Mr Brooks most vivid memories were of the camp staff football matches against the prisoners, "They were very competitive games, and could be very tough. It resulted in the settling of many old scores, and we never won because they had more players to choose from." Mr Brooks even took a party out of the camp to watch Ipswich Town play.