Research is under way to trace the inhabitants of a former Army camp in Widnes that was turned into makeshift housing dubbed a "secret village."
During the Second World War, bombing missions to Liverpool made Widnes a possible flight path for the Luftwaffe (German air force) and meant the town became part of the effort to repel attackers.
On what is now Lynton Crescent a loop of semi-detached homes and a picture of quiet suburbia, an Army camp with mizzen huts and storerooms was set up to support anti-aircraft defences.
Its history following the war has now become the focus of research by author Larry Neild, who said “The Camp” as it was known was converted for use by Italian prisoners of war (POW) and then into housing for Widnes families, including his own.
Larry has unearthed records that revealed families occupied 21 huts, creating a village of around 60 to 70 people, and he is eager to trace other “survivors” from the Heath Road camp to create a permanent reminder of the “secret village” and its place in the town’s history.
The electoral role from around 1950 registered 21 huts occupied with names he can still recall including the Barlows, Penningtons, Oakleys, Randles, Filkins and his own mother Elizabeth Nield (sic) as a resident at Hut 6.
A 1950s Ordnance Survey map discovered by Larry shows a small set of structures, alongside his own speculative notes about their potential uses including shell store houses and lookouts.
A few years ago, he discovered the early settlers at the camp were squatters, living rent free until the town council handed out rent books.
It seems for a while it was also used to accommodate some Italian POWs, who once featured in the Widnes Weekly News.
His own family only left when torrential storms flooded the former guardhouse they lived in.
The search is on for others who lived there to create a permanent record.
He said: "I wonder whether the families who live in and around Lynton Crescent and Bude Road realise that it was once home to a whole community of families who just took over the camp when the soldiers finally marched out for good.
"In the middle of a rural area, at the end of a narrow lane, it’s likely many people in the town were even aware of its existence.
"To me it was like a secret village.
"My childhood playground were huge strongly reinforced concrete shelters where munitions for the artillery guns were stored.
"It was quite scary, as well as exciting.
"I would have been aged around three and I recall being chased down the street, being pecked by a cockerel.
"I can recall the great flood which engulfed our home and I lived for a few days on a kitchen table with the living room under feet of water."
Despite not being the most glamorous of homes, Larry’s older sister Beryl Tarpey, 77, has fond memories of living there and of riding in a tractor trailer, of being given an apple or an orange to eat.
She said: "I loved it.
"I didn’t even know we were squatters."
Passing the time included making rugs out of old coats and crochet.
Beryl added: "I didn’t even know we were poor till I was older.
"We never felt poor.
"We never used to ask for anything."
Larry thanked the Halton Heritage Partnership and from Widnes RUFC for their help in researching the topic and the site.
Anyone with memories of living at the camp or the people who lived there is invited to email Larry at heathroadcamp@yahoo.com
