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The Channel Islands and the Great War
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THE GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR
CAMP AT JERSEY, DURING THE
GREAT WAR, 1914-1918

A Hospital was designed and erected inside the compound with forty-four beds. The ground plan was an "H".

There were four general wards each of ten beds, at the outer end of each ward was a bath room and other sanitary arrangements, at the inner end an attendant's room with small window looking into the ward. There were also four special wards of beds. In the centre was the medical officer's room, the kitchen, store rooms, etc., and the whole was collected by covered corridors. The whole was of corrugated iron on wooden framing supported on brick pillars as foundations, and lined with varnished match boarding.

A small Isolation Hospital was also provided.

Soon after the camp was opened, the question of a YMCA hut for the recreation of the Guard was raised, and the hut that had been erected by local subscription for the 11th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment at Don Bridge was moved down and erected at the camp.

Nearing completion

Blanches Banques POW Camp Nearing Completion (Looking to the SW) - Early 1915
Later the American YMCA (before the entry of the USA into the war) took up the question of providing recreation for the Prisoners of War. It was finally arranged that the American YMCA should buy all the materials, and that the prisoners should provide all labour for erection. A very fine hut was the result, as there were many excellent mechanics in the camp; it was generally in the shape of a cross and the separate reading rooms and games rooms could be thrown into the main hall by folding back partitions when extra accommodation was required for theatrical purposes.

To prevent the escape of the prisoners a barbed wire fence was erected round the whole camp 10 feet high. This was carried on wooden uprights 9" by 4", with a bracket at the top so that the top wires overhung the base on the inner side. The lower wires were close together, the upper further apart, there were vertical wires at intervals for stiffening purposes. A sloping apron was added on the inside, also a horizontal network of barbed wire on the ground line to make crawling beneath the fence difficult.

Later on, loose tangled coils of barbed wire were added underneath the apron.

There were eight Sentry Platforms provided, one at each corner, and one in the centre of each side.

The floor level of each platform was above the top of the barbed wire fence. Each platform had two sentry boxes, opening inwards, - thus one of the sentry boxes always gave shelter whichever way the wind blew.

Later on each platform was connected with the Guard Block by a telephone, and electric push bells were installed at intervals along the boundary fence for sounding an alarm in the Guard Block.

The designs for the various buildings were taken in hand successively by the writer, and calls for tenders were sent out successively.


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