Wembley Way 'laid by Germans'

Wembley Stadium has hosted some of English football's most famous victories over its historic foes, most notably in 1966 when Bobby Moore's team defeated West Germany in the World Cup Final.

Now, one of football's most bitter rivalries has been given an added twist, after it emerged that the famous approach to the stadium, Wembley Way, was built by German prisoners of war.

BBC Radio 4's Document programme has found that when the stadium was selected to host the Olympic Games in 1948, German PoWs were enlisted to redevelop the area around it – including the laying of the road leading to the ground's hallowed turf.

Although the war had been over for three years, England still faced a worker shortage. At first, it was suggested that the prisoners should be made to sweep up cigarette butts and other rubbish during the Games, but the Olympics minister, Philip Noel Baker, feared that giving PoWs such demeaning tasks would reflect badly on Britain, so it was decided they should help with construction instead.

Wembley Stadium Ltd announced at the time that it was employing German prisoners on the preparatory work, after noting that the local council, who were widening the approach roads, were using them. "The stadium authorities applied for German labour and are now employing 44 Germans out of a total of 123."

Germany was not invited to compete in the 1948 Games. The last German PoWs were allowed home in August 1948, although 15,000 chose to remain.