Gibraltar Camp

The grounds of The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus was home to a refugee camp site during World War II. As “Gibraltar Camp”, it offered refuge to evacuees from the British island fortress of Gibraltar at the tip of Spain. Today, many relics and buildings can be found across the Campus that were once homes or used by the many families from Gibraltar. One of the few remaining original Gibraltar Camp buildings was previously the site of the “Sacred Heart Church” at which over a thousand Roman Catholic refugees from Gibraltar worshiped between 1940-1944. Other remaining buildings have been repurposed by The UWI, Mona but have been preserved in their original state. Three of these buildings are the Commandant’s House, the Deputy Commandant’s House, and the Recreation Centre on the Gibraltar Camp. For a more in-depth History of the Gibraltar Camp World War II Experience (1940 – 1944) in Jamaica, feel free to book a UWI Mona Campus Culture & Heritage Tour. For tour bookings, contact us at heritagetours@uwimona.edu.jm.