Binley Army Camp, post WWII

Hello, everyone, another Coventry kid here, as you can see by my name I'm also a keen motorcyclist. A friend of mine who lives by the Craven Arms in Binley (is it still called that?) tells me of an army camp that used to be on the site which is within the confines of Bredon Ave, Brandon Rd and Willenhall Lane, does anyone remember it and its uses?

I remember the camp, you got into it from Willenhall Lane, there were no buildings left, just concrete roads. One handy thing there was a large concrete vehicle ramp, a bit wide for a car but if you were careful you could drive up and work on your car. As you can imagine it was popular with us locals, and if you got there early enough the ramp was yours for the day. I remember being there when I was 21 so it would about 1960.

I remember this place very well. We moved to Ernsford Grange in 1961 and our road faced a field, beyond which was Chattaway's farm. If we crossed his field we were in the old army camp, and there were still lots of old concrete buildings and bunkers there at that time. We would play for hours there when we were kids, although Health & Safety would stop that happening now. I do recall the vehicle ramp, which was over towards Willenhall Lane. Beyond the army camp was a spinney which I believe is still there. I always felt that, as kids, we were very fortunate to have so many places nearby where we could play all day, especially during school holidays. A few years after we moved to the area, probably about mid-60s, the army camp was redeveloped for housing and was known as the Craven Estate.

Just found this piece about the barracks Edited by Rob Orland, 11th Feb 2014 7:41 pm (Link clarified)

I always thought that area was Ernsford Grange, but I suppose with names like Craven Arms, Craven Avenue, Craven Cottages it sounds right. In SkyBlueRocker's link it says the camp was for POW'S, I have never thought of its use, I just assumed it was an Army Barracks.

In our family a favourite picnic site (only just over a mile up Binley Road from where we lived) was Starley Fields (so called) which I believe is where my parents (both Stoke born) did their courting. It was almost into Binley on the right hand side just past the later Ernsford Grange estate. As James Starley famously developed the bicycle one wonders whether this area had any connections with him. Did they try out new machines and test them before deciding they were roadworthy? They must have still been countrified during the war as I distinctly remember my elder brother's birthday being celebrated with an al fresco teaparty and we undoubtedly arrived there by bike.

I went to Binley Infants school in the early 60's. There were some huts over to one side of the site, which we were absolutely forbidden from approaching. Is it possible that these had been part of the camp, or am I thinking of entirely the wrong part of Binley? Of course, there is nothing left of the site now - I think it is office buildings now (maybe a bank?).

Italian POWs cleared all the ditches on farms around the Ansty-Withybrook area, I was led to believe they came from Binley. One I got to know very well as he stayed in Ansty end of the war, and worked on one of the farms, married a Coventry girl and lived in Ansty until a few years ago, when he died (a brilliant carpenter). Always amazed me as he was born and lived until the war on the beautiful sunny Lake Garda, that he should swop it for Ansty was amazing.