Staff already knew that the camp was located near to the site that Petroc and the High School occupy in Tiverton today.
It appears that it was first used for Italian PoWs, and then German PoWs later on. There was another camp near Cruwys Morchard which housed Italian prisoners of war.
Members of the public contacted the museum to share stories and information about some of the former PoWs, and the camp itself.
During the day, the PoWs worked on local farms, often forming long lasting friendships with the farmers and their families.
Some of the PoWs made toys and wooden ornaments in their spare time.
The museum has been loaned two wonderful pecking chicken toys that were made for local children by German PoWs. They have been made from packing cases and scrap wood, and are beautifully decorated with some scorch marks and paint.
These have been kindly loaned for the summer (on display in the entrance until the end of September), and the museum would love to hear from anyone who has similar items who would be happy to give them to the museum.
The museum is also working with Mid Devon District Councillor Judi Binks, from Kennerleigh, who is trying to help a lady whose Sicilian grandfather was interned at Tiverton and Holsworthy POW camps.
Sebastiano Raciti was captured in Libya in 1941. He was transferred to the prisoner camp of Zonderwater in South Africa and stayed there until the beginning of 1943 when sent to Britain.
Once in Britain, he was located in both the PoW camp at Holsworthy and then Tiverton (February 1945 to March 1946).
CAN YOU HELP?
During this time he became ill, and was nursed back to health by a woman called Christine or Christina, who was connected with a local farm. Sebastiano’s family would love to try to find the Christina’s family.
Mrs Binks told the “Courier”: “An Italian lady called Maria Grazia emailed me after reading one of my online articles on PoWs in Devon to help track down some details of her Sicilian grandfather, who died before she was born, because he had been interned in Devon from 1943 to 1946.
A lovely lady from the farm where he was billeted nursed him back to health and Maria wants to connect with the family of this “angel” called Christina.
“I have trawled through the entire 1939 Devon Census looking for a Christina or Christine living on a farm and have narrowed it down to 12 possible ladies, but I still have a lot more detective work to do on this case.
“Both Tiverton and Holsworthy Museums have been so helpful, but, sadly, neither has any records relating to Italian PoWs.
“My only hope is that someone out there might remember hearing an aunt, mother or grandfather talking about a young Italian prisoner working on their farm during the war.
“The Italians were generally trusted to live on the farm, and after Italy was defeated, their status was changed to cooperatives, if they renounced Fascist beliefs.
“Their story is not written down and only lingers on in recent folk memory soon to disappear forever - unless we can record the memoirs now.”
If you have any information, please contact Cllr Binks on 01363 866668 or Tiverton Museum on 01884 256295.
Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life is open from February to Christmas and provides extensive permanent displays on the history of Mid Devon, as well as running a lively temporary exhibition programme consisting of displays put on by the museum as well as those featuring local artists and groups. The museum is family-friendly and runs holiday activities.
Children (Under 16) can visit the museum for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
For further details visit: www.tivertonmuseum.org.uk .