One of the perhaps forgotten aspects of the housing shortage after the second world war was the use of former military camp buildings as temporary accommodation. This page provides a link to articles about sites taken over within Gloucestershire. In total, there 800 hutments identified but information still needs to be collated for the Forest of Dean as well as the urban areas of Gloucestershire (Gloucester City, Cheltenham Borough, Stroud UDC, Nailsworth UDC, Cirencester UDC, Charlton Kings UDC, )
Links to Areas of Gloucestershire based on pre 1974 District Council areas
Gloucester Rural District had 9 Camps in Brockworth, Churchdown Upton St Leonards with 315 families and about 1200 residents.
Cheltenham Rural District had 4 camps in Ashchurch, Stoke Orchard, Shurdington, Witcombe containing about 180-190 families.
Across the Cotswolds (Cirencester, North Cotswolds, Northleach, and Tetbury Rural Districts) had a total of 275 families accommodated on 15 former military camps.
There are a number of posts on the Web which reflect on the use of ex-service camps more widely
Patrick Rolinson Chobham Camp Squatters, 1945 – 1952 This is a personal reflection on his family occupying a hut on a camp.
Louise Williams – An OU Dissertation for a BA Degree The Chobham Common Camps and the Squatters’ Movement in Surrey, 1946-1958
Susan Gardiner – Homes for Heroes: ex-servicemen & the squatting movement in 1946
Sally Clark – Looking Back to 1946, former Military Camps used for housing
Chalfont St. Giles Village Website – Time Magazine Article 2 September 1946 – Squatters Camp at The Vache in 1946 “Orderly Lawlessness” Also includes additional info on Vache Camp.
Advert for an Event in Bristol 2019 – Eugene Bryne Stolen Paradise: the post-war squatting movement in Bristol . He also writes for the Bristol Cable (a cooperative community newspaper) and other examples of his published work can be found here:- Eugene Bryne
Alistair Cartwright The Spirit of ’46: how mass occupations won the battle for homes This is a left perspective and also gives other example in London.