The activities of the military on Ludshott Common, during both World Wars when the land was given over to the Army for training under wartime requisitioning powers, are undoubtedly the source of the greatest alterations to the landscape. This is particularly true of the Second World War, when the use of tanks in warfare became widespread and vast tracts of countryside were given over to the training of tank regiments, and entire landscapes were devastated by the constant manoeuvres of these powerful, armoured vehicles.

However, the Common’s involvement in the war effort in the 1940s was a particularly special one that went beyond the use as a training space. The history of the landscape in the last century is entwined with the history of an army camp that was constructed on the territory of the Common: Superior Camp. This camp not only served as accommodation, training space and social centre for the Canadian soldiers, but later became an independent, thriving civilian community during the mid-twentieth century. Before the effects of the military on the landscape during the Second World War can be considered, Superior Camp’s wartime occupation has its own contribution to make to our understanding of the Common’s full relationship with the military.

Section 1 – Hampshire’s Army Camps The rural landscapes of Hampshire, of which Ludshott Common is part, have a long history of military activity. Their varied pastoral terrains were ideal for the training of soldiers for the experiences they would face on the battlefields of the nineteenth, twentieth, and today, the twenty-first centuries. Vast tracts of land in Hampshire were first acquired by the Army in 1863, and have been used for training purposes to the present day. The phenomenon of the temporary military camp, constructed to established formulae and standards since the mid-nineteenth century, can trace its origins back to the first examples in Hampshire (Schofield, J. et al. 2006). The so-called ‘Home of the British Army’, the military town of Aldershot, is located in Hampshire, so are the significant modern barracks of Bordon, Pirbright and Longmoor. Many of the local towns owe their development to the presence of the Army, and Hampshire’s residents are used to the familiar sound of rifle fire from army ranges.

Temporary army camps since the nineteenth century were constructed to strict, standardised formula, and Superior Camp was no exception. Recent archaeological investigations into the material phenomenon of these Camps by J. Schofield, D. Evans, W. Foot and C. Going have shown that these camps were always situated in areas conforming to the following criteria:

1. Availability all year round of open ground for manoeuvres, rifle ranges etc.
2. Preferably gravel or chalk soil, good drainage, an ample water supply either pure or capable of being purified.
3. Good communications; not on a main railway line so as to impede movements, but not far away from one.
4. Materials easily procurable, labour available and preferably existing systems of water, electricity and sewerage that could be shared (Schofield, J. et al. 2006, 5).

As the authors go on to observe, the Aldershot district, and large areas of Hampshire generally, conform to these requirements perfectly. The abundant open countryside is well suited to manoeuvres, whilst the proximity to London means good communications and transport infrastructure are always nearby, and the provisions for the dense civilian population ensure that amenities such as water and electricity are always on hand.

Superior Camp conformed completely to these standards. It was constructed in 1941 by Canadian Royal Engineers on the territory of Ludshott Common, which was given over to military control under wartime requisitioning powers. Its location on Ludshott Common provided ample territory for training, whilst its proximity to the local villages of Headley Down and Grayshott meant that facilities could be easily provided, and the soldiers could frequent the local shops and pubs easily. The camp’s dispersed layout conformed to standard measures intended to thwart enemy recognition from the air. Schofield et al. (2006, 15) recognised this trend: ‘Some camps built during the Second World War appear to have been designed with the deliberate purpose of not introducing regular layouts of roads and buildings, probably for camouflage purposes… camps were [sometimes] built with curving roads and paths, and with groups of huts set at widely dispersed locations.’ Section 2 – Superior Camp Today Today, the site of the Camp is barely recognisable. All the buildings have been cleared as the site has been returned to nature, and no commemorations or notices exist at the site to enlighten a passing visitor. On close inspection, one can still make out the material remains of the camp (Fig. 2.1). The majority of these remains are concrete emplacements that proved too difficult and costly to remove, such as the concrete roads that were laid down when the camp was constructed, and the concrete foundations and postholes associated with the wooden buildings.

Fig 2-1: Some of the material remains still evident at the Superior Camp site. Left shows the concrete road, laid down in slabs. Right shows the row of concrete post holes that runs along the Camp's northern perimeter
Written records pertaining to this camp are unfortunately absent, a problem that applies to almost every historical army camp in the country, since wartime policy was not to preserve records of individual camps, and what records that existed were destroyed in the years following the Second World War (Evans, D. 2006, 1). The only records I have encountered pertaining to the Camp during the Second World War have come from local historian John Owen Smith. His work of local history ‘All Tanked Up: the Canadians in Headley during World War II’ (Owen Smith, J. 1994) provided the context for this investigation. More specifically for Superior Camp, John was able to provide me with an aerial photograph of Superior Camp during personal correspondence (Fig 2.2, below).

This photograph has been essential in reconstructing, as best as possible, life at Superior Camp during its military occupation. During its lifetime as a serving military camp under the Canadians in the Second World War, the Camp was a thriving army community. It featured over 100 buildings (some brick-built but the majority were Nissen huts of wooden construction), concrete roads, sewage tanks; power lines and many other facilities. The photograph was taken in 1946, the year that the Camp was abandoned by the Canadians. Many of the temporary army camps from the war were photographed from the air in the late 1940s before they were decommissioned (Schofield J. et al. 2006, 61) and it is likely that this photograph was taken as part of that campaign. As a documentary source, this photograph is useful for showing the layout of the Camp but does not reveal much about the function of the buildings, or everyday life on the camp.

Section 3 – Life on the Military Camp

Fortunately, personal correspondence with local Grayshott resident Peter Spice has enabled me to provide some of these details. Mr. Spice used to deliver milk to Superior Camp during the war, when he was about 12-13 years of age. His personal memories of the Camp have been essential in revealing the functions of the buildings, and give a young civilian’s view of the Camp and its occupants. The author and Mr. Spice visited the site of the Camp and toured the obscure remains of the roads and foundations.

Fig 2-2: An Aerial photograph of Superior Camp with the main features numbered. North is shown by the arrow.
The accompanying aerial photograph has been enlarged to give a better view of the camp’s buildings, and the main features have been marked in red. The map has been rotated clockwise through 90°, with East at the top, to give a better conception of the Camp’s layout. The main road leading past the Camp, Grayshott Road, is seen in the bottom right corner of the map, just to the right of the compass arrow.

Peter Spice observed that the vast majority of the buildings on the Camp were used for accommodation and training, and had no special significance. The first feature of note is the Guardhouse and Petrol Station at the entrance to the Camp, marked with a ‘1’. The guardroom buildings were exceptional in that they were constructed of brick. There was also a sentry box to control entrance to the Camp. The Camp’s vehicles were parked behind the guardhouse away from the road; it should be noted that these would have been wheeled vehicles, since the tanks themselves were stationed at nearby Headley Down village. Today, practically nothing remains of these buildings, although the main concrete road leading through the camp from the entrance is still evident and in constant use.

Fig 2.3: The concrete remains of the petrol station. Left the petrol station platform. Right One of the two recesses for the petrol pumps, immediately left of the platform in the photograph
A few yards further up the road is a conspicuous concrete platform (Fig. 2.3). Close inspection reveals that there are no apparent foundations or postholes, and that this was never the site of a building. A concrete border with square recesses is found on the south side of this platform, further along the road. As an open concrete platform, I first suspected that this space might have been a vehicle parking area. Peter Spice has revealed that this was the site of the Camp’s petrol station. The two square recesses in the border on the south side are the hollows where the petrol pumps once stood.

The next feature of significance is the Parade Square, marked with a ‘2’ on the map. The map shows that this was situated in the northeast corner of the Camp, immediately next to some of the buildings. Today, with many of the buildings to the East of Superior Road obscured by thick foliage, the Parade Square is a brief walk through light woodland. The Parade Square itself now consists of a conspicuous, open clearing in the trees (Fig. 2.4). The ground is covered with light scrub, where presumably the now-obscured hardcore has prevented the growth of larger foliage. Peter Spice remembers a row of large guns on the East edge of the Parade Square, facing out across the Common. These have been marked as a single red line on the map (Fig 2.2).

Fig 2.4: View of the Parade Ground, approaching from the Supeior Camp, to the east
The most significant remains of any building on the Camp are those of the NAAFI (Navy Army Air Force Institute) Building, occupying a central location on Superior Road and marked with a ‘3’ on the map. The concrete dwarf walls of this building are quite obvious from the road, and a significant amount of the building’s outline can still be observed (Fig. 2.5). Peter Spice remembers that the NAAFI building was a long hallway, and was the location where the soldiers held their Christmas parties and socials – events to which the neighbouring civilians were invited and Peter Spice remembers fondly. The soldiers developed a special relationship with the local people and socialised with them often (these relationships are explored in John Owen Smith’s ‘All Tanked Up’) in social events and everyday life. As an early teenager at the time, who was often at the Camp conducting his milk rounds, Mr. Spice was on very friendly terms with the soldiers, who shared rare treats such as chocolate with the local children, ‘things that weren’t available in the shops’, remembers Mr. Spice, ‘they were good to us.’

Fig 2.5: Concrete dwarf walls, the remains of the NAAFI building.
At this point, it is informative to consider certain documents that the author obtained from the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester, pertaining to the conversion of this NAAFI building at Superior Camp into a school for the local children, particularly those from the civilian families later living at the Camp. The story of the civilian occupation at the camp, and the proposed school, will be considered in greater detail later, but the documents are useful here in showing the general layout of the NAAFI building and accommodation huts during the military phase. Figure 2.6 shows the blueprint of the building after conversion into the school, and therefore the particular division of the rooms and corridors inside is not definitely the layout as it would have been during the war (although it could be). However, the plan does show the outline of the building, containing a great central hall and surrounding rooms.

Fig 2.6: Architectural plans showing conversion of the NAAFI building into a school. The interior layout and exterior aspect of the building would have been very similar during the military phase.

It is not unreasonable to imagine that the original layout would have been very similar, if not identical. The plan also shows the exterior aspect of the building, which would have remained unchanged: it featured a single storey, eight-panelled windows and staggered elevation. The Plan also relates that the building was originally the NAAFI building.

Another one of these plans shows a standard accommodation hut that is also intended to be converted into a building for the school (Figure 2.7). The Plan is entitled: ‘Plan of Hut 33 as existing’, and the date is given as October 1947.

Fig 2.7: Architectural Plans showing an accommodation hut as it would have existed during the military phase.

This is interesting because it shows the interior layout of a typical Nissen accommodation hut, as it would have existed during the war. The hut contains two open ‘halls’, six smaller partitioned rooms, a boiler room with coal, and two water closets. Annotations relate that the building enjoyed central heating, electric lighting and timber floors throughout. This setup would have been typical of all the buildings on the Camp, and amounted to a fairly comfortable home for the soldiers.

To continue with the examination of the Camp’s main features after that digression, the next feature is the rifle range, marked with a ‘4’. This feature was located a short walk away from the Camp, and today consists of a large mound of earth supported by a large redbrick wall (Fig. 2.8). Since the mound has grown over with scrub and faces east, it is quite inconspicuous when viewed from the bridleways of the Common. Indeed, one could pass by countless times (as the author has) and never suspect that one was passing within a few hundred yards of a firing range. There is a large pit situated before the wall that shores up the mound, and it is possible that the mound was dug from the surrounding earth (leaving a pit) and then supported by the brick wall. The firing targets were then placed upon the mound.

Fig 2.8: The view of the surviving rifle range base wall from the south

The final feature of note is the ammunition dumps, marked with a ‘5’ on the map. As Peter Spice observes, these were kept beyond the end of the concrete road, out in the woods.

This is the extent of the Camp’s features, and together with the standard accommodation buildings, comprised a functioning army base. Many of these buildings, including most of the accommodation huts, were to continue in use beyond the departure of the Canadian Army, and form an equally intrinsic part of the civilian story on the Camp.

It is hard to believe when passing through the site today that it was the location of a quite large and well provisioned military camp. The majority of these features have been obscured by nature to the extent that even locating them is difficult, let alone deducing their original purpose and date.

(c) Matthew Tilley