Caring on the Home Front - Volunteer memories from World War Two

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Life in a POW Camp

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• For most Prisoners of War (POW), life in a prison camp was frustrating, uncertain, boring and depressing.
• Most POWs lived in hutments sleeping 40 or 50 men in bunks arranged in tiers, with the same room being used for eating and sleeping.

• Most would either be kept in camp with a camp routine or sent out on working parties. For those kept in camp life became extremely monotonous, while for those on working parties the work was often heavy manual labour.
• The JWO Indoor Recreations Section sent books, games and playing cards, musical instruments, play scripts and even stage make-up to help POWs fend off boredom.

British POWs with musical instruments sent by the JWO

JWO playing cards sent to POWs

• The JWO Education Books Section provided educational materials to help people for careers after the war was over. Each person had an individual programme of study worked out for them to ensure they got the right books. For those camps with few or no teachers, study courses could be sent. Prisoners could even sit exams sent out by the JWO.

• The JWO Sports Committee also sent sports equipment to every camp, including footballs, rugby balls, cricket bats and balls, boxing gloves, table tennis equipments, and sports clothes.