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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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NATIONAL SERVICE HOSTELS The National Service Hostels Corporation Ltd was set up in May 1941 by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, as a non-profit making organisation to provide accommodation for workers arising out of their employment during the Second World War. For example, many workers were sent from their home towns to work in the armament and ammunition centres and quite often found themselves unable to get living accommodation in their new area. It appears that three of these National Service Hostels were erected on the outskirts of Plymouth. Two of them were for families and single women while the third was for single men. The first was opened in December 1941. Lord Rushcliffe, a former Minister of Labour, was put in charge of the Corporation and by 1945 it was managing 58 hostels accommodating some 30,000 workers. After the War these hostels provided a home for workers, men and women, engaged on essential reconstruction work. In November 1954 the Government began to close them down and in 1956 the Corporation itself was wound up. But the question is: Where were the three hostels in the Plymouth area? Can you help, please? A response to this question from Alan Simcock pointed to one location as being Leigham Ball. There was hutted accommodation there, he said, that was used to house American servicemen in the run-up to D-Day. His parents befriended one of them. I have since seen the large-scale Ordnance Survey map of the area ion the early 1950s and, sure enough, there is what is obviously a collection of hutments on the hillside overlooking the Forder Valley Road, although they are not named. Clearly this was one of the National Service Hostels and, indeed, may have been all the three that were built, one alongside the other. Alan also referred to a site near the army depot at Coypool, Marsh Mills. Can you help to clarify whether or not that was a hostel, please? And was the American Army Hospital at Manadon Vale originally one of these hostels? If you are able to provide any information on this question, please reply to brianmoseley@plymouthdata.info. Please do not enclose anything with your initial e-mail as messages with attachments are deleted automatically. Thank you for your assistance.
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