Text + Transcription © F.Coakley , 2021
The first report is extracted from a longer report on visits to many places of Internment in the British Isles made by Mr Jackson of the American Embassy, during January and February 1915, the second by members of a Parliamentary committee who also visited many camps around this period..
On February 12 I also visited the camp in the Rubber Works at Handforth, a few miles from Manchester.
Here there were about 2000 prisoners, including three soldiers and about 400 sailors from the "Blucher" and "Gneisenau". The men from each of these ships occupied separate compounds, under their own "Deck" officers.
The civilians occupied several compounds one of which was reserved for those of the better classes. The building itself was fairly new, with a good roof, cement floors, steam heat and electric light. The quarters are roomy airy and dry. There is a room provided for religious services and one arranged as a gymnasium. There is also an outside exercise ground, and a field for football was being prepared.
There are adequate bathing (shower baths with hot and cold water) and washing facilities, but some complaint was made in regard to the small allowance of soap for washing clothes. The latrines are out-of-doors, the pail system being in use.
The kitchen was large and well arranged and the German cooks, who had worked in London restaurants, told me that the material furnished was good. Generally the food seemed to give satisfaction.
The hospital was fair, and apparently well supplied with medicines. In it were a number of wounded men and several who claimed that they needed special treatment. Hospital dietary was provided for.
The use of tobacco was allowed. Clothes were provided when necessary. Prisoners were permitted to see their wives and opportunities were given to transact business.
Among the prisoners were many Anglo-Germans, some of whom were "captains", with whom fault was found by others who were more genuinely German. Here, as elsewhere, many of the civilians who had been long resident in England, were full of complaints in regard to their detention, and the financial losses occasioned by it.
A number of men who had violated the camp police regulations against gambling, had been segregated and were compelled to work at making roads as punishment Apparently no other work was provided and no opportunity was given to the prisoners to earn money. All the sailors with whom I spoke said that they had been well treated by the English in the hospitals and elsewhere generally. In this camp there were a number of men over 55 years of age.
On Saturday, March 15th. 1915 went with Strauss, Tyson Wilson and Roberts to Handforth, having been hospitably entertained by A. J. Sykes the night before, The camp is situated in a great building built for a dye works in 1908 but apparently never used, as the local authorities would not allow the works to drain into the River Bollin which passes alongside the works. The building itself is in a hollow and, with the aforesaid difficulties of drainage, the prisoners and all in the camp have to use earth closets, the Excreta is removed by the Rural district authority of Wilmslow and although there are certain grumbles from local people about the way it is trenched into the ground, the removal appeared thorough and there was no smell, the closets were all in the open air. The Commandant, Major Hammersley, told me that incinerators were going to be installed.
With the above exception the Place was very suitable indeed for a Camp, it was light, and bright, and airy, and quite the best place I have yet seen, the Hospital accommodation was excellent, and the men were in capital health, the few in Hospital looked most comfortable. There were about 1,800 men in the camp and there is room for a further 700.
There were no complaints of substance, in fact as far as a prisoner can be satisfied he ought to be content here.
There was one matter which requires prompt attention, at the start a system of double beds was inaugurated, or rather boards were put together wide enough for two mattresses; this, when lights are out, tends to immorality and the beds should be sawn in two and set up separately. This I think might be done by the prisoners themselves, but it is a very small matter if it is done by the Government.
There were some small complaints about washing and about leaky valves causing a loss of hot water, but this is a small matter and should be remedied. Notwithstanding the good accommodation, there had been trouble in the camp and a threatened mutiny, but the ringleaders and men of a blackguard type were removed in ones and twos to other camps and the trouble passed over.
There had been a very curious league formed in the camp, amongst the malcontents, called The League of the Holy Ghost which meant that after lights were out the members of it beat other prisoners whom they thought had complained to the authorities! They stealthily attacked them when in bed, rolled a their heads in a blanket and beat them with anything they could find handy. The nocturnal visitations were dubbed "Calls from the Holy Ghost".
In all Camps so far there is much more trouble from the interned Civilian Prisoners than from either Soldiers or Sailors who are prisoners of War. The worst scoundrel in this league had been a one-legged man who had served several sentences in jail. It is a question whether it is right to put a notorious criminal in with decent men.
At this camp a very healthy system of route marches is inaugurated, they go out under guard, about 200 at a time, This seems a very good thing for both Guards and Prisoners.
I was impressed by the firm yet considerate administration of the Commandant, Major Hamersly and his No 2 Major Firminger, and of the Doctor.
There were chapels for various religious denominations and the Y.M.C.A. were going to provide certain technical classes.
Members of the committee revisted the camp in August
On Saturday, 21st August. Messrs. Tyson, Wilson and Stewart visited Handforth. There were 1500/1600 interned, a number considerably less than when we were here on March 15. It was a good camp then and as they have now got two fields for exercise it is a better camp now.
The Housing part is very clean and neat. The beds were all made up and the prisoners were paraded outside.
They seemed as contented and happy as is possible in confinement.
There has been a good deal of rheumatism here, and the stone flooring and low-lying position of the Camp may cause this.
The beds are now all separate beds, the old double beds having been sawn through as recommended.
There is one case of Leprosy and the sufferer is a fit subject for repatriation to Germany.
The classes of instruction in various arts and crafts are doing good work, and the art class in particular seemed to be doing excellent work in both picture painting and designing.
The sanitary arrangements continue on the dry earth system. The latrines are somewhat rough and ready being in a long row, and quite open, Our attention was drawn to this by some of the better class prisoners, and some more privacy was asked for. If possible this might be accorded, but from a health point of view as long as the local authorities carry out their work of removal promptly and regularly the present arrangements are healthy enough.
The food is ample and there are no complaints except that the Potatoes are not good. The Potatoes are old and the Authorities admitted that they boiled black and were not good.
We paraded the Captains and had a long, and evi- dently carefully prepared, speech from the Secretary of the Camp.
A point raised which might be considered is the desirability of giving Commandants more latitude about allow- ing prisoners leave to go to see their relatives in this county, in the case of severe illness or to attend funerals if their relatives should die!
There were complaints that some men, when apprehended, had been handcuffed and treated as criminals, but we considered this matter was outside our sphere of reference.
The Commandant seemed very popular with his charges.
Some married prisoners asked for permission to see their wives in a more intimate manner than the present prison laws permit!!!
The civilian internees were moved from Handforth to Knockaloe later in 1915 - one large batch in May and the remainder in October; after which the Camp was extended and housed military PoWs.
TNA FO 383/106 - contains reports on many camps based on visits in the early part of 1915
TNA CAB 45/207 - contains a series of reports found in the collected papers of G Stewart M.P
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Editor Text + Transcription © F.Coakley , 2021 |
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