The National Camps Corporation was a British government-funded

Government of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...

 non-profit organisation established under the 1939 Camps Act. The role of the Corporation was to construct and administer camps in the countryside that could be used for educational experiences.

Origins

In the context of preparations for war, a Camps Act was passed in April 1939, which provided for the construction of government-financed camps for use as educational holiday centres for children during peacetime, and as camps for evacuees during war. The Act prompted the creation of the National Camps Corporation to oversee these camps. Lord Wyndham Portal was given the task of chairing the Corporation. The initial funding given to the Corporation was £1.2 million, half of which was as a loan.

Construction of the camps

The government's expectation was that the Corporation would construct 50 camps, but in reality only 31 were built in England and Wales, with a further 5 in Scotland. The cessation of the construction of new camps was mainly due to the increased costs as a result of war, and the realisation that such camps were not a completely adequate solution to the problem of evacuation. The sites were chosen by Lord Portal and members of the board, out of an original shortlist of 155, although some of these sites were taken by the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 before the Corporation could decide on them. The design of each camp was similar, consisting of huts made out of Canadian cedarwood

Cedarwood

Cedarwood may refer to:*Cedar wood products of several types of tree, as in Cedar *HMCS Cedarwood , a ship...

, designed by architect Thomas Smith Tait. Each camp was designed to accommodate approximately 350 children. The average cost of each camp was £25,000.

Wartime and post-war use

During the Second World War these camps were used as schools for evacuated children, run by local education authorities. The first camp to be used in this way was at Kennylands, near Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

. Some modifications were required for this purpose, as the camps had been intended for temporary holiday guests, rather than a semi-permanent population. This had the obvious consequence of reducing the number of evacuees who could be housed at such camps to under 9000 nationally. Nevertheless, in November 1940 the Minister of Health

Secretary of State for Health

Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...

 Malcolm MacDonald

Malcolm MacDonald

Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray...

 described the camps as "one of the most significant pieces of work that Parliament has lent its hand to in recent times".

In the decades following the war, most of these camps were sold to county councils and education authorities for use as schools.

List of National Camps Corporation sites

Name	Location	Origin of evacuees during war	Year of sale/lease	Immediate use after sale/lease	Current use
Brownrigg Camp School	Bellingham, Northumberland Bellingham, Northumberland Bellingham is a village in Northumberland, to the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated on the Hareshaw burn at its confluence with the River North Tyne. Hareshaw Linn is a waterfall on the Hareshaw Burn near Bellingham. It is pronounced Bell-ing-jumFamous as a stopping point on the...	Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...	1945, Northumberland Education Committee	Co-educational boarding school	Caravan site
Colomendy Camp School	Loggerheads, Denbighshire	Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...	1957, Liverpool Corporation	Residential secondary school	Outdoor activity centre
Sheephatch Camp School	Tilford Tilford Tilford is a small village about two miles south of Farnham in Surrey, England. It lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty- History :The name "Tilford" is probably derived from "Tila's ford" or "Tilla's ford".... , Surrey Surrey Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...	Leyton Leyton Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....	1946, Surrey County Council Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 80 elected councillors.The council is controlled by the Conservative party.The leader of the council is David Hodge....	Co-educational boarding school	Owned by Ahmadiyya Muslim Association
Stokenchurch Camp School	Horsleys Green Horsleys Green Horsleys Green is a hamlet located on the A40 between Piddington and Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire, England... , Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....	Disabled children	1947, Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...	Horsleys Green School, an all-boys boarding school	UK headquarters for Wycliffe Bible Translators Wycliffe Bible Translators Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...