Can you remember any of the original buildings Alan? It's just shown as two continuous parallel rows on the map above. Were they Nissen huts?

(someone out there MUST have a photo of the camp surely! )

Another interesting feature on that map is that it shows RAF Acklington as a complete blank!

I may be wrong, I often am, but those parallel lines must be the first bit of Links Avenue? Melrose Gardens and St Cuthberts are on there too.

You are right Janwhin, my bad :o

...because it lines up with the cemetery it must be the proto housing estate. The camp would be to the south a bit.
nothing showing there but one small building?

hey... what's all this then:

German PoWs

http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1469723

(possibly over the site of the Links Caravan Park too?)

Ok I'm confused. :confused:

I'll post a sunny summer picture of the Lord Mayor's field to cheer you up on this chilly day.

http://www.coquetandcoast.co.uk/imag...yors_field.jpg

That is the Lord Mayor's field isn't it? I'm having a self doubt crisis :D

'Her indoors' has just looked over my shoulder and said 'that's the dogs field that is',.. 'whippets'. So there you go. The voice of authority. :D

Ah just because English Heritage says that's what it is, doesn't mean to say its right! I tried to establish their sources and seemed to go round in circles. Good aerial shot though.
My brother in law used to race his whippets there in the 1960s :)
Always listen to her indoors.

Lord Mayors Camp.
 

There was at least one Green wooden building on the site until fairly recent years. This was, I think, used by the council as storage etc., for the caravan site maintenance men and as far as I can know it had been one of the original huts of the camp. I have seen a "not very good picture" somewhere of the camp and will try to remember where and dig it out.

These might be of interest, ignoring the musket balls (?) all the rest are ww2 era and were within 1/4 mile of the Lord Mayor's field on the beach. I found them a few years ago, along with a couple of hundred pennies! I did research them at the time - someone can perhaps refresh me about the cap badges, Cambridge, Dorset? but the German medal has 1939 on the back and I believe the recipient got one after service beyond the call of duty in battle but not worthy of an Iron Cross (exceptional bravery) . I stand to be corrected though. A war trophy lost? or from German pows nearby?

POW/Lord mayors camp
 

As far as my memory serves me the camp was across the road from the southern wall of the east cemetery.adjacent to that wall was the large wooden "cafe"which was probably a canteen for soldiers.My earliest memory was a fancy dress parade in which I was dressed as a chef!This was on the back of a truck in the parade ,no photo though.Do the council have an archive of pictures of that period?Something for my old firend Alan.J. to get his teeth into!!

Some very interesting finds. Badges are my cup of tea. Got boxes and boxes of 'em.

The lower badge is the Essex Regiment (I've photographed a Dorset next to an Essex below) Now the construction of yours with the oval brazing holes, normally covered by the title scroll which is missing, suggests and earlier badge, circa WW1 rather than circa WW2. but there's no guarantee on that.

The Cambridgeshire badge has a notable version with a spelling mistake "Cambridgshire" see mis-spelled version below. (I think yours has the correct spelling?)


The shoulder title badge 'York' (Yorkshire Regiment, The Green Howards) I have a feeling was only worn to 1920 but I'll have to double check that.



The German 'War Merit Cross with Swords'. Is an unusual find- As you say a discarded war trophy, or a possession of a German guest of his majesty during WW2?


http://www.coquetandcoast.co.uk/imag...ex_badges3.jpg

http://www.coquetandcoast.co.uk/images/cam_badge2.jpg

http://www.coquetandcoast.co.uk/imag...erit_cross.jpg

Druring WW2 the 15th Scottish Division spent some time in the area.

this extract from the divisional history:

"In Northumberland the Division found itself under the 9th Corps, which was able to give it at least this much good news that its rôle would be a mobile one. In the weeks that followed, the little town of Amble on the coast south-east of Alnwick was developed à la Tobruk as a defended pivot of manoeuvre, while the main body of the Division was disposed as follows : in the south round Newcastle, the 45th Brigade ; in the centre round Alnwick, the 46th Brigade, with the 131st Field Regiment and the 278th Field Company in support ; in the north round Wooler, the 44th Brigade, with the 129th Field Regiment and the 279th Field Company in support. Divisional Headquarters opened at Hexham, but soon moved to Morpeth, where it stayed."

[The 15th Division was here from Autumn 1941 - Sept 1943. Prior to that are army guests were the 59th Division]


The infantry brigades in that division were composed mainly of Scottish regiments, but I think many other regiments were stationed or had training up and down the coast around here in both wars. There's probably quite a range of lost badges still hidden in the dunes.

Of course not all badges might have been lost by soldiers themselves.

I wish we had more info on 'Amble Tobruk' :D

POW Camp
 

This thread is really getting interesting, isn't it.
It appears that, initially, POW camps were set up around the country, for prisoners taken during the war. A camp at Featherstone housed die hard Nazis. Once these were repatriated some became camps for displaced persons. There was a large one at Morpeth Common, principally for Poles, awaiting housing becoming available. Some seem to have been called squatters camps.
Post war there are some newspaper references to a squatters' camp at Amble. It seems that initially the squatters were in the Lord Mayor's Camp but since this was to go back to its original use, there was a decision to "do up" some of the buildings on the adjacent battery camp for accommodation.

Nice.
That would solve the problem of the conflicting info.

So the Army situation was that after Dunkirk the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division arrived in the area sometime in June 1940. They were here until October 1941 (moved to Northern Ireland)
Replaced by 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, which remained here until September 1943.

Now the invasion panic I assume started after the retreat from Dunkirk, so the majority of the WW2 construction around here would be done by these divisions. I assume in the hot seat to get the job done would be the Royal Engineer Field Companies of the two divisions, with working parties from the Infantry.

So probably the information on these WW2 'constructions' lies in the war diaries of these engineer units. There were three, (perhaps four in the case of the 15th?) in each division:

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division: (6.40 - 10.41)

509 Field Company (11.1.40 - 22.8.44) NA
510 Field Company ( 2.3.40 - 22.8.44) NA
257 Field Company (23.6.40 - 22.8.44) NA


15th (Scottish) Infantry Division (10.41 - 9.43)

278 Field Company ( 3.9.39 - 31.8.45) NA NA ('round Alnwick' - our most likely candidate for Amble constructions?)
279 Field Company ( 3.9.39 - 9.2.40 and 12.7.40 - 31.8.45) NA NA ('round Wooler')
280 Field Company ( 3.9.39 - 15.12.42) NA NA (location not given)
20 Field Company (26.3.43 - 31.8.45) NA ??

I've added some national archives links for my own reference, they are not complete (will have a better look later). Would be a big job going through that lot.

Cafe on the links.
 

The building Brownknees mentions was "Ned Fenwicks Cafe" and was what had been the old Amble golf course clubhouse, seen on the links opposite Panhaven road in the Amble picture gallery on "Fusilier".
It had been moved for some reason as the golf club lost the course on the outbreak of war and never had it given back. Most of the original members went and joined Warkworth.

Scottish connection with Amble.
 

As you say there was a large Scottish contingent in the area and there are still Amble people whose fathers came here, courted , married and settled after the war and who have only within the last few years died out.

Wakworth House Hotel was commandeered as the officers mess and troops were initially billetted in some of the large houses in Warkworth and the surrounding area.