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HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2020
[From TNA FO 383/367]
This letter was sent to the Swedish Legation, who had replaced the USA in looking after German interests, including PoWs, in the UK. In the covering note from the Legation to the British Goverment it states that the internee had Knockaloe camp number 20807 on his transfer to Dartford, was given camp number 12766 on his transfer from Dartford Hospital to Alexandra Palace, and camp number 29674 on his return to Knockaloe.
It also appears to be the only document relating to the use of Dartford War Hospital as a transit camp for internees awaiting repatriation via Holland.
T . Borodowsky Jahlik No 18068
Interned Aliens Camp
Boston Docks
July 6th 1918Dear Excellency
I beg to put before you the facts in regard to the lost luggage, and I beg you to take steps on my behalf to recover same or adequate compensation for its loss.
On Feb 1st 1917 I left the I.O.M. for repatriation my destination being Dartford Military Hospital. At Liverpool station I was asked to help in loading our luggage into the van and asked the sentry to take care of my own luggage consisting of a wooden dressing or suitcase meantime as I intended to take same with me into the carriage.
On returning however my case had disappeared and all enquiries were of no avail.
Time too was getting short and I therefore had no choice but to join the train but reported the loss on arrival at Dartford immediately to the censor. I was promised my luggage would be sent onto me in due course
From Dartford I was transferred to Alex. Palace there again I reported my loss to the Commandant who promised that my luggage would be sent on to me.
In Sept I was transferred back to the I.O.M. where the quartermaster of Camp IV took again all particulars of my lost property and promised to make enquiries, since when I have heard nothing further.
On May 7th last I was transferred to Kings Lynn and from there to this Camp but I am still without news.
Hoping that you will be able to assist me in recovering my lost property ...
Theodor Borodovski [Slavic names often appear in several anglicised forms] is first noted in ICRC list O-28-1 dated 9.10.15 where his age is given as 19, birthplace Laibach in Austria and interned at Handforth, no British address is given..His Knockaloe camp number 20807 suggests that he was in the first party of 185 transferred from Handforth Camp to Knockaloe on the 5th October 1915 - he would have been placed in Camp 4.
On the 1st Februrary 1917 the Knockaloe register indicates 137 transfers to Dartford War Hospital consisting of 118 Germans, 18 Austro-Hungarians and 1 other (probably Bulgarian) - they were joined by a party of 8 (6 Germans + 2 Austro-Hungarian) from the Douglas Camp. Both groups were noted as transferred for repatriation - those fom Douglas were noted in Madoc's log as selected from the Medical Officer's list, presumeably the Knockaloe contingent were also selected on medical grounds. The Douglas register also confirms that they travelled on the usual 9am Douglas to Liverpool boat.
The description of his lost luggage whilst he was employed in loading luggage into the van - query the guard's van - suggests that the station was Liverpool Riverside which is adjacant to the landing stage where the Manx boat would arrive. The train was thus a special, direct to a station convenient for Dartford Hospital.The first civilian transfers to LDH would appear to be on 31st January 1917 and a transfer of a small number of civilian internees usually with stated medical conditions, continued throughout 1917.
ICRC lists D-126 and O-63 both dated 10.2.1917 contain 168 names with PoWIB numbers of civilian internees either admitted or transferred from a camp hospital to London Dartford Hospital(LDH) on 1st Feb 1917 - the LDH camp numbers are 3386-3355 (170 in total) two numbers, 3465 and 3485, are missing in these lists, one would be the 'other', probably Bulgarian internee as I cannot find the ICRC lists for nationalities other than German or Austro-Hungarian..The other missing number, probably 3465, would be that of Herman Grabowski who died on the train whilst en route to LDH. The 8 Douglas camp transfers, LDH 3548-3555, are allocated in the sequence of their Douglas Camp numbers. This would suggest that the 137 Knockaloe transfers should be LDH 3411-3547 which range includes the two missing numbers. As is usual with transcribing numbers there are errors, in this list No 3407 is duplicated one of which is probably the missing 3467 - misreading a 6 for a 0 is one of the more common errors.
A list of transferred individuals would be sent either in advance or often it seems with the accompanying escort. Knockaloe had 4 sub camps but shared a common pool of camp numbers - for Knockaloe these lists were always in camp number sequence though in some cases each sub-camp provided its own list. Checking on the sequence of numbers in the various lists, though tedious, can often indicate those mistranscribed in the lists.
Dartford War Hospital was established to handle wounded military PoWs - civilian internees would generally be handled by their camp hospitals or in more serious case the local civilian hospital (this was Noble's Hospital for the IoM Camps), for the London camps the German Hospital at Dalston East London was generally used, this hospital could also provide specialised services for the IoM camps if the patient was well enough to undertake the sea crossing. I suspect Dartford was chosen in place of the heavily criticised Stratford camp to take invalid civilians from late January 1917 prior to their proposed repatriation via Holland was due to its proximity to Tilbury. However the Dutch Steamship service to Holland was suspended from February 1917 and repatriation transfers not restarted until October 1917 under new arrangements from Boston, which needed the construction of two transit camps, the larger at Spalding and a smaller shorter lived camp at Sleaford.
With the cessation of the service to Holland most of the internees, including Theodor, were first transferred to Alexandra Palace on 9th March 1917 and then in small batches some were returned to their original camps. Some of the invalid cases would appear to have remained at Dartford until the new repatriation arrangement took effect in late 1917 - a few it would appear were released from the hospital.
Theodor would appear to have returned to Knockaloe in a party of 34 (31 Germans, 2 Austro-Hungarian and 1 other, probably Bulgarian) arriving 14th September 1917 all destined for camp 4. His final departure would appear to be in a party of 6 Austro-Hungarians transferred to Boston Work camp at 7am, presumably for the 9am boat, on the 18th September 1918 - at this period most German civilian internees, under a directive from Berlin, refused any work not related to the operation of the camp. Austro-Hungarians had no such directive and, as most were short of money, volunteered for various work camps.
The list of Knockaloe internees transferred to Dartford can be seen elsewhere.Theodor would appear to have been the youngest of the party, why he was selected for repatriation is unclear as no prior record of poor health can be found and he was obvious fit enough to volunteer for dock work in 1918.
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