WW1 Recovery of fares of interned Austrians

The following is based on TNA FO/383/7/131275 and subsequent files relating to this.

The basis of this is the following letter, in very imperfect English, sent by a number of interned Austrian-Poles to the American Embassy, dated 31st August 1915.

Dear Sir

Allow us to call your attention for a moment.We are Austrians (Poles) labour. We have started to go home from America, in July last year. We bought ticket till our homes from Canada. When we arrived at Glasgow on 3th August, last year the police made us arrest, and a few days later they put us in the Detention Camp in Edinbourgh. After a few days in the Camp we showed our ticket for the Camp Commandant and we asked him that how could we get back our money, which is payable for the journey from England to our country. He answered that if we give the ticket to him then he will aske back our money from the Steamship Co. We gave the ticket him and we wait already since one year for the money, but till up we have not received neither ticket nor money. On this way we might adress to you Sir, and we beg you to be so kind for assisting our demand. We should like to have our money back. You may believe us Sir that we are very poor and that we need every penny. We should have to address to you long ago, but we cannot writen and in the presnt time we choise Mr Uttzay Jean for to inform the howle matter with you.

We hope that we may count for your kind protection whatfore we shall much obliged to you.

We are Sir your most obedient servant
Utzay Jean, Prisoner of War No 1863, I Camp II C. B.IV A Peel (I.O.M.)

[note name reversed from usual English form - Mr Jean Utzay camp I compound 2 hut 4a]

The signatories, all in Camp I Compound 2 were

The Foreign Office then enquired of the Scottish Office and War Office what information they had regarding the claims - this appears to have brought to light several other such complaints from various internees concerning tickets either given over in good faith or in some cases taken from such internees and all asking re repayment.

The following letter from Commandant, Lt-Col H. J. Bowman, at Stobs gives some idea of the confusion at the start of the war

Stobs, 24 September 1917

Sir

With reference to War Office letter O103/3516, (D.P.W.) of the 21st September, 1915, I have the honour to report as follows regarding the claims of Austrian prisoners of war who were interned at the Prisoners of War Camp, Redford in August, 1914 :-

A careful search has been made in the records kept in this Office relating to the Camp at Redford, and I have the honour to attach herewith copies of letters received from the "Donaldson Line of Steamers, Glasgow", and the "Anchor Line", regarding claims of prisoners of war for the recovery of the unexpended portion of their passage money.

The matter was gone fully into at the time but, owing to the enormous pressure of work at the very beginning of the war at Redford Camp, it was impossible to preserve records of all the correspondence which passed through the Office. I regret, therefore, that no trace can be found at the present date of any communication from the "Allan Line" but, in all probability, the same thing applies to the prisoners of war taken off their steamers, viz:- that the unexpended portion of their passage money was expended by the Company in Hotel expenses for them in Glasgow before they were sent to Redford.

I have the honour to return herewith the documents enclosed with your letter.

The following letter from Chas Donaldson Managing director of the Donaldson Line to Major H.J. Bowman gives some names and dates.

58 Rothwell Street, Glasgow, 24th September 1914

Sir

We have your favour regarding the passengers who arrived by the "Saturnia" 3rd August and "Athenia" 10th August, who are now Prisoners of War, they claiming refund of the difference to their destinations. We have to advise you that in the case of the "Saturnalia" we had to pay for 18 days boarding here at the rate of 3/- per day:- £2:14:0 per adult, and by the "Athenia" 11 days at 3/- per day:- £1:13:0. There is therefore no difference to be paid to them, as it was all taken up with boarding expenses. We give you undernoted the names of those who arived by the "Saturnalia" and "Athenia" showing the amount available for forwarding them, and also another column showing the boarding expenses which we were put to.

"Saturnalia"

"Athenia"

We are aware that we refunded you already two of the passengers their homeward fares, but we understood at the time that this money was to be put at the disposal of the detention camp and not handed over these passengers.

A second letter from "Anchor Line (Henderson Brothers, Ltd)" made the same point that their passengers had paid only £1 for onward passage but they had expended £3 on each for accomodation pre-internment "but as we do not expect to be able to recover this sum we must just consider it a loss".

These comments must have been fed back to the American Embassy as they presented a further representation dated 16 Oct 1915 that the complainants
(1) were arrested on arrival at Glasgow on August 3rd 1914, that is nine clear days before the declaration of war against Austria-Hungary;
(2) that but for this arrest they could have been forwarded to their destinations by the steamship companies up to the morning of August 12th, as there was till then no interuption in the regular boat service to Holland.

The letter continues "as they were arrested before the declation of war and detained against their wishes although they had paid their fares home, and the steamship companies could have fulfilled theit contracts, they consider that the expense of their lodging and maintenance should fall on the authority by order of which they were detained." They further note "they are informed that in the cases of sixteen Austrian and Hungarian interned civilians the Cunard Line has promised to do what they request, and that the White Star Line has agreed to do the same in the case of four other interned civilians."

Some additional background to the confused situation at the start of the war can be found in TNA FO383/114/30081 which contains a copy of the Police report from Liverpool, concerning Paul Mucha who was given a 4 month jail sentence for not declaring a firearm - S.S. "Celtic" was a vessel of the White Star line.

PAUL MUCHA - AUSTRIAN.

With reference to the attached letter, No. 267066/3, from the Home office, respecting Paul Mucha, I beg to report as follows : -
Mucha arrived here from New York on the 31st of July 1914, as a 3rd class passenger on the S.S. "Celtic" with a through ticket from New York to Oderburg via Hamburg, but as relations between this country and Germany were then strained, the service between England and Hamburg was suspended, with the result that Mucha and other Austrians, similarly circumstanced, were accommodated at the Continental Hotel, Duke Street, the Shipping Co's boarding house, until such time as an opportunity offered to send them to their homes. War, however, having been declared a few days later, the Hamburg service was not renewed, so that the Austrians had to remain, and on the 8th September, 1914, they were arrested for the purpose of interning them.

After being taken to the Main Bridewell, Mucha, like all the other prisoners, was asked through the interpreter before being searched, if he had any fire arms or ammunition in his possession or in his luggage, and he replied, "No," but upon his box being searched, a revolver and five cartridges were found. When charged with the offence, he said, "It was in my bag and I did not think about it". On the following day he was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment. He did not, however, protest against the sentence, and nothing was said to him about keeping quiet or his sentence would be increased.

Two other Austrians, Wasil Levko and Jan Tormol or Joan Fornal, who were similarly dealt with for a like offence on the same occasion, and who are the first two mentioned on the attached list of witnesses, were the only persons on that list who were present in Court.

Mucha is one of the men alleged to be detained here prior to the War (See Home Office letter, No.278559 /221, of the 8/1/16, and Police report thereon of the 15/1/16). and as far as I can see that detention could not be as avoided at the time, and he was equally well treated by the Police as any other prisoner.
(Sgd) D. SWEENEY. Sgt.

These three, Levko an Hungarian, Tornel an Austrian Pole and Mucha were noted in O-8-2 as being in Lancaster Camp by 31st Jan 1915, Levko was later noted as being released, prossibly for agricultural work, from Knockaloe in December 1917, Jan Tornal (under name Johann Fornal), aged 28, was noted as re-interned at Knockaloe in January 1918, probably from an earlier release for work and released again at the end of February 1918, again probably for work; it is likely that Mucha was also transferred to Knockaloe on the closure of Lancaster Camp. [the rendition of Hungarian and Polish names is extremely variable in the records].

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2020