Thalia in Virginia Beach, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Camp Ashby

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 15, 2019

1. Camp Ashby Marker

Inscription. Camp Ashby, a World War II prisoner of war camp for German soldiers, occupied more than 200 acres just north of here. Its headquarters was the main building of the former Tidewater Memorial Hospital, a tuberculosis sanitarium that had opened on this site in 1937. Among the more than 6,000 men housed in the camp between Mar. 1944 and Apr. 1946 were troops from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps and many soldiers captured on or shortly after D-Day. Because of acute labor shortages in the region, prisoners were deployed as agricultural and industrial workers. They earned wages, and the camp provided them with food, medical care, academic classes, church services, a library, and a theater.

Erected 2018 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number KV-28.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1944.

Location. 36° 50.614′ N, 76° 7.215′ W. Marker is in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is in Thalia. It is on Virginia Beach Boulevard 0.1 miles east of Thalia Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4224 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach VA 23452, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: History of Thalia / Aunt Penny's Park (approx. ¼ mile away); Seal of the City of Virginia Beach (approx. 0.9 miles away); Lake Trashmore Bank Stabilization (approx. 0.9 miles away); The Pembroke Manor House (approx. one mile away); Spring Water Cistern (approx. 1.3 miles away); Ferry Plantation House (approx. 1.3 miles away); Grace Sherwood (approx. 1.3 miles away); Old Donation Church (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Virginia Beach.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 15, 2019

2. Camp Ashby Marker

Tidewater Memorial Hospital circa late 1930s image. Click for full size.

Norfolk Public Library

3. Tidewater Memorial Hospital circa late 1930s

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2019, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,453 times since then and 60 times this year. Last updated on April 8, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 10, 2019, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.