Eden Camp Museum facts for kids
Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum is a cool place in North Yorkshire, England. It's a museum all about World War II, also known as the Second World War. What makes it special is that it's built inside a real former prisoner-of-war camp! This camp used to hold soldiers captured during the war.
After the war, the camp was used for storage and then left empty. The museum team had to do a lot of work to clear the overgrown land and fix up the old buildings to create the museum you see today. Inside, you can find interesting items like special underwater vehicles called human torpedoes and a "Sleeping Beauty" Motorised Submersible Canoe. The museum is also working to restore a Super Sherman tank to its original working condition. You can also see a copy of a V1 flying bomb.
A Look Back: Eden Camp's History
This timeline shows the important events that happened at Eden Camp:
- Early 1942: The War Office, which managed military affairs, chose and took over the land from the Fitzwilliam family. Tents were set up inside a fenced area with barbed wire.
- Mid-1943: A permanent camp was finished, and the first Italian prisoners of war (POWs) moved in.
- End of 1943: The Italian POWs were moved out of the camp.
- Early 1944: The camp was used to house Polish soldiers who were gathering in North Yorkshire to prepare for an invasion of Europe.
- Mid-1944: The first German prisoners of war arrived at Eden Camp.
- Early 1949: The last German prisoner of war left the camp.
- 1950 to 1955: Eden Camp became an agricultural holiday camp. Guests could stay there and work on local farms. School children also visited during holidays to learn about the countryside and farming.
- 1952: The site was used as a storage depot by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
- 1955: The land was given back to the Fitzwilliam family. They leased it to a company that used the huts for drying and storing grain, and for raising pheasants.
- 1985: Stan Johnson bought the site, planning to open a potato crisp factory. However, three former Italian POWs who had been held at Eden Camp asked to visit. This visit gave Stan the idea to save the camp and turn it into a museum. The site was very overgrown and needed a lot of clearing.
- 21 March 1987: Eden Camp Museum opened to the public. It was called the world's first Modern History Theme Museum. Ten huts were used for displays.
- 1990: Hut 24 opened. This was the first of five huts planned to show military and political events around the world from 1919 to 1945.
- 1992: Eden Camp won the 'Visitor Attraction of the Year' award from the Yorkshire Tourist Board. It also came second in a national tourism award.
- 1995: The last empty hut opened. It was dedicated to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of VE Day, which marked the end of the war in Europe. The museum also won its second 'Tourism for All' award.
- 1996: Eden Camp won the 'Tourism for All' award again.
- 1998: Eden Camp won the Yorkshire Tourist Board's 'Visitor Attraction of the Year' award again.
- 1999: Hut 13 opened. It covers military conflicts that British Commonwealth forces have been involved in since the end of the Second World War.
- 2000: Hut 11 opened, focusing on the events of the First World War.
- 2001: Readers of a travel magazine voted Eden Camp as the runner-up attraction, just behind the London Eye.
- 8 November 2002: Prince Philip visited the museum.
- 2002: Work began to update Hut 10, which now holds a large collection of POW items.
- 2006: A Medal Room was created.
- 2009: Hut 22, called "Forces Reunion," was completed. Here, you can see hundreds of photos of military personnel.
