redbarchetta Posted 8 October , 2005 Share Posted 8 October , 2005 A friend has just purchased a LOVELY carved wooden table top off Ebay (for a snip, I have to say, as the vendor had just stuck it in the furniture section instead of a WW1 section!). It is identical to one in Jane Kimball's book, incidentally. It reads 'Belgian Refugees Sandal'. Unfortunately there are two Sandals, there is Sandal in Cumbria and Sandal Magna in Yorkshire. Does anyone know which had a refugee camp ? Google was no use, and nor was a search on here... Thanks, all Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 The Belgium refugees in my part of Yorkshire lived in houses that were lent rent free to the local committee for Belgium Refugees. Some lived in a group in a mansion house in Huddersfield for a while, but I have never heard of anything that could be called a camp. It seems the county council in Wakefield was told how many refugees were coming and they split them up and sent them wherever local committees had said housing was available. Furniture and money to maintain the refugees was collected locally. Probably looking at the local newspaper reports from 1914 is the only way to find out about refugees at Sandal, but it would not surprise me if a family or two was in both places. I know one case of a very tiny village giving accommodation to two families of refugees. Sorry this is not much help. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarchetta Posted 9 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Thanks Tony. It hadn't dawned on me that refugees wouldn't necessarily be in camps (they weren't internees or PoWs, after all!!). Maybe Sandal simply had the workshop facilites for them to earn some money... Anyway, thanks for this info, I'll pass it on to her and let her pursue the research !! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 I came across this reference to Belgium refugees and furniture, it looks like some places organised work for refugees. From the book “Leeds in the Great War.” “As regards immediate employment, workshops were fitted up in the Highways Department, Kirkstall Road, and men were employed for a few weeks in making furniture until they could get other work.” Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarchetta Posted 11 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 11 October , 2005 You're a gent, Tony, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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