widwick Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 I have two pictures of named officers and men from a battalion history which are captioned 'Prisoners of War interned at the Haag, Holland'. They are all in standard uniform, many with walking sticks. There is one unnamed sailor and one officer (gaunt and thin) with his wife! Can anyone tell me whether British army personnel were kept in camps in Holland for the duration or whether these photos are likely to be circa end of war posed just prior to leaving for England, and represents a batch of POWs collected from German camps. Grateful for any ideas and views Many thanks Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 Hello Tony, The main interment camp for the British was at Groningen, troublemakers were interned at a special camp in Vlissingen. Needless to say there were more Belgians there then British Internees who signed a declaration that they would not escape were granted considerable liberties. Wives were allowed to live with their husband in Holland and they could even go on leave in England as long as they promised to return! In December 1915 the British government recognized the signing of the declaration and even went to far as to return officers to Holland who despite their signing had escaped. From 1916 onwards leave was allowed twice a year. Those British who refused to sign were interned in the Dutch fort of Wierickerschans. After December 1915 those who had signed were allowed to live in cities and because of their considerable allowance and lots of spare time were described as ‘bon vivands’ I hope and think your lot are just that! Regards, Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 15 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 15 February , 2004 Marco I am most grateful for the very interesting information - I had no idea such arrangements were in place. Many thanks Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Coulson Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 Tony, Do a Google on "Timbertown", there's some interesting stuff on this camp. Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 No problem Tony. There is an excelent book on the subject, but it is in Dutch.... Sometimes strange occurances like wounded British and German soldiers having a fight in the docks when they were being exchanged. The next time this exchange took place they were kept seperate Regards, Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 Widwick on top of the arrangements for internees that Marco has described, there were also prisoner swap arrangements in 1918 for ex POWs - first Officers, then NCOs. They were sent from POW camps in Germany to Holland and lived under the arrangements Marco has described. A cousin of my Granny's was moved from POW camp in Germany to The Hague in 1918. They lived in private houses and seem to have had quite a lot of freedom. They even went on an organised weekend to Amsterdam and Haarlem to see the sights. Marco Could you post the details of het boek in het nederlands? Sounds interesting! Thanks a lot Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 Hello Pat, To tease the rest of the list: Roodt, E. de OORLOGSGASTEN – VLUCHTELINGEN EN KRIJGSGEVANGENEN IN NEDERLAND TIJDENS DE EERSTE WERELDOORLOG. 2000, 464 pages, 26x18 cm., Europese Bibliotheek. 90-288-1426-4 Regards, Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted 15 February , 2004 Share Posted 15 February , 2004 cheers, Marco. I'll try and borrow it from a library Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 16 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 16 February , 2004 Bob Thank you for the lead to Timberland Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Coulson Posted 16 February , 2004 Share Posted 16 February , 2004 Tony, No problem, there's some really interesting stuff on it. Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 26 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Hello Marco and Bob I've unearthed a bit more information (as always this prompts more questions!) I've got a copy of a War Office letter dated 1 September 1915 which acknowledges one from Oi/c Records York that the soldier is a POW in Munster, Germany. Noting that he is standing with a walking stick in the Hague picture and was disembodied, age 46 and given an invalid pension out on his return (knee damage), he is unlikely to have escaped and made it to Holland to be interned. Therefore is it safe to assume that he was part of an exchange of soldiers unlikely to fight again and was only transiting through the Hague. If so would this be prior to end of hostilities. Anyone released at the end of the war from German POW camps would not transit through Holland? And yet the picture is captioned 'POWs interned at the Hague, Holland' I would be grateful for your comments/thoughts Thanks Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted 26 February , 2004 Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Tony this sounds like the arrangement I described in my earlier post above. ie part of an officer exchange, interned for a few months in Holland in 1918. My grandmother's cousin was in POW camps in Germany from 1916-8 then, as part of an NCO exchange, in the Hague from July 1918 to the end of the war. Sounds like your chap was the same Pat Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 26 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Pat Thank you for the scenario. Mine was an NCO too. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted 27 February , 2004 Share Posted 27 February , 2004 What was yor chap's name? Granny's cousin was L/C Percy Roe, 16th Manchesters. He mentions some other chaps in his letters. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 28 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2004 Pat 480 Sgt John Robert Greaves, 8th Bn (T.F.) Durham Light Infantry Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted 28 February , 2004 Share Posted 28 February , 2004 Tony I'm afraid he isn't mentioned in Percy Roe's letters. But, who knows, they could have known each other Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widwick Posted 28 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2004 Pat Thank you for being interested and taking the time to look best wishes Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gykerthing Posted 18 June , 2009 Share Posted 18 June , 2009 Pat 480 Sgt John Robert Greaves, 8th Bn (T.F.) Durham Light Infantry Tony I have recently been studying old photos of my grandfather,DLI Serjeant John William Bilton, and have a copy of the officers and NCOs photograph taken at The Hague in 1918. I too knew that he was a prisoner of war, but only recently found out he was interned. I still don't know if he was in Germany first - like so many men he never talked about the war. The Durham Record Office DLI site has a few copies of this photo, but one of them names all the men. There are mistakes - probably it was copied from handwritten names on the back - and my grandfather's name is shown as Belton. Sergeant Greaves is there, and I have portrait photos taken in 1918 of two other serjeants, Fred Calder and Ernest Barber. There's another of them in PE wear, but it's not as clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matteyre Posted 18 June , 2009 Share Posted 18 June , 2009 My grandfather was moved to Urk in the middle of 1918, and was in trouble for being out of camp without permission, hitting a civilian policeman and an officer etc... He was Corporal William Needham 11995 8th Lincolns, captured at Loos......Marco,have you any info on Urk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris Posted 9 August , 2010 Share Posted 9 August , 2010 I'm not sure exactly what help I can offer here, but firstly I live in the Hague and secondly I'd be happy to translate any Dutch text that might arise. Alfred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnewright Posted 20 January , 2011 Share Posted 20 January , 2011 All, I appreciate that this is an old thread, but I can add that my wife's grandfather was also in the 1/8th DLI, was captured at Ypres (we believe at Boetleer Farm) and was a pow until early 1918 when he turned up in the Hague. From his postcards, internment appeared to be pretty free and easy, playing tennis and spending a lot of time on the beach. He was a teacher and spent some time as a tutor to a Dutch family. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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