POW'S.

[steve140968]

On average , for how long did prisoners remain pow's after 11/11/1917 , many thanks ?

Steve .

[carninyj]

Steve

I can't answer your question in general terms but you might want to have a look at this release of a 12th RIR POW.

Carninyj

[Desmond7]

J - what about the sick POWs ... flu/disabling wounds etc .. did the British opt to keep these men in situ in Germany until they could be given better nutrition/treatment?

I take it we had the RAMC etc moving into these camps asap in order to see to the men?

Was there a 'humanitarian effort' on a grand scale?

Did many .. I have seen some .. die in the immediate aftermath of 'liberation?'

[carninyj]

Des

I cannot answer your questions. The points raised are logical but, like you, I'll have to wait for those with an interest in the topic/area to respond.

Carninyj

[andigger]

after 11/11/1917

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I assume you mean 1918, or is there something about the date in 1917? Andy

[jemimajane]

My grandfather (taken POW on 21.10.1914 Poecappelle) did not get back to the UK till early January 1919 - according to family information.

[CROONAERT]

J - what about the sick POWs ... flu/disabling wounds etc .. did the British opt to keep these men in situ in Germany until they could be given better nutrition/treatment?

I take it we had the RAMC etc moving into these camps asap in order to see to the men?

Was there a 'humanitarian effort' on a grand scale?

Did many .. I have seen some .. die in the immediate aftermath of 'liberation?'

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Some of the sick and disabled were re-patriated during wartime in "like for like" prisoner exchanges conducted by the Red Cross via Switzerland and Holland (depending on the location of the prison camp). This was supposed to be done on the deal that the repatriated servicemen would never serve again. However some found themselves back in uniform before too long!

The Red Cross was supposed to keep an eye on conditions in these camps, not the RAMC, but this was done better in some camps than in others, especially seeing as they tended to have a "quick tidy up" before the Red Cross inspectors arrived!

There's been a few threads about this in the past, but I'm unsure if they've survived the "move".

Dave.

[J T Gray]

If it helps any, my grandfather was almost certainly captured on March 21st/22nd 1918. We have a postcard from him franked 31.12.18 (Dec 31st 1918), and posted at Leith in Scotland, announcing that he was back in the UK. So about seven weeks from the armistice to his repatriation

There is no particular mystery here other than that they presumably left via a German port rather than travelling through France or the Low Countries to the channel ports. He may have escaped, or just walked out when the revolution in Germany began, so might have taken a while to get to an "official" exit. - his eldest daughter claims that he escaped with his brother.

What is odd to me though is that he doesn't seem to have been discharged until August - there are a number of postcards from him at Warley Barracks fulminating about how long it is taking!

Adrian

[carninyj]

Adrian,

I remember reading somewhere that the government did not want to cause a glut of men on the labour market - notably those who were enlisted only for the duration of the war - and initally sought to discharge men 'in dribs and drabs'. I also recall that frustrated and angry troops forced a change in policy.

You need to remember too that 11/11/18 was only and armistice and the government may have wanted to keep some men in uniform for that reason.

Carninyj

[J T Gray]

I take your first point - I think that is probably a good one. However I'm less ceratin about the second one. I'd have thought that someone who'd spent eight months in a POW camp at a time when Germany could barely feed it's own people, never mind POWs, would have been the last person the army would want to hang on to. Unless, being a village lad and used to poor rations, he thrived on the low rations?

Adrian

[carninyj]

Good point about length of time in a POW camp, Adrian. I was thinking more in general terms, but I stand corrected.

Carninyj

[J T Gray]

Good point about length of time in a POW camp, Adrian. I was thinking more in general terms, but I stand corrected.

Carninyj

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Point and counterpoint! (I cunningly mistyped "pint and counterpint" - Freudian slip?)

Yes, I think you are probably about right in terms of the general soldiery - it's the fact he was kept on for so long having been a POW and wanting to go home that bemuses me. I'd have thought he wouldn't be in a fit state to be kept on, except perhaps (for the really badly off) to take advantage of a military hospital until they were fit enough to board and discharge?

Adrian

[steve140968]

Thanks guys . Andy , my mistake i'm afraid i had a case of 'fat fingers' . Assuming that the soldier was in good health , would he have been used in a labouring role after the war for the benefit of his captors ? Does anyone know what date the last British prisoner was released ? And last of all were German prisoners on average released any earlier than their British counterparts ? Many thanks , Steve .

[J T Gray]

Thanks guys . Andy , my mistake i'm afraid i had a case of 'fat fingers' . Assuming that the soldier was in good health , would he have been used in a labouring role after the war for the benefit of his captors ? Does anyone know what date the last British prisoner was released ? And last of all were German prisoners on average released any earlier than their British counterparts ? Many thanks , Steve .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Steve,

Given that Germany was in revolt by about November 1st 1918, I doubt that there was a great number of POWs being used for organised labour after that date - I believe many simply set off for home when their guards upped and left - at least, those in a fit state for, given that Germanyitself was half-starved by then, POWs were low on the scale of priorities for food and often in a very poor state.

There is a book by Richard Van Emden called "Prisoners of the Kaiser" that may help with some questions - I've no idea if it is still in print,if not try ABEbooks.com.

As to whether Germans were released first, I doubt it - I believe there were still WW2 POWs in Britain until at least 1947. And according to his eldest daughter Grandfather's last job in the army was guarding POWs. Given that he could be a tough nut, I doubt they had an easy time...

Adrian

[Tony N]

And last of all were German prisoners on average released any earlier than their British counterparts ? Many thanks , Steve .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Steve,

My wife's grandfather was captured by the French at a place called Petit Thiolet a few weeks before the armistice (18.10.18 I think). I don't know his exact release date but, he had his photo taken in uniform wearing his awards as soon as he got back to Germany. The date on the photo is 20.1.21.

Tony

[steve140968]

Thanks Adrian , i will give the book a look . Cheers Tony , that's a hell of a long time to get home . I'm wondering whether there was a cut off point at which time prisoners had to be released . Steve .