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Abdal Abdullah
Abdul Abdallaha was from Port Said, and was a fireman on a ship, as noted at Marcus Bateman's
merchant navy POW site.
Vincent Abela
Vincent Abela is listed in the surviving register from Barrack
5 at Ruhleben (register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Vincent is
described as a seaman from the S.S. Alb. Killing, born on May 1st 1896 at Hamrun in Malta, with his home address at the
time of his internment listed as 78 Gaitans Street, Malta. The register tells us that he arrived into Barrack 5 on September
15th 1915, moving into Loft B, having previously been in Barrack 23.
Musleh Abnud
Musleh Abnud was a sailor from 79 West Holborn, South Shields, Durham, who was released from Ruhleben
on Jan 1st 1918, as noted at Marcus Bateman's merchant navy POW site.
S. Abuzed
S. Abuzed was a fireman on the 'May Scott', originally from Aden (Tawahi),
as noted at Marcus Bateman's merchant navy POW site. He was released in January 1917.
L. Ackerman
L. Ackerman was a Belgian AB on the 'Lestris', as noted at Marcus Bateman's merchant navy POW
site.
Henry Acklam
Henry Acklam was first engineer on the 'Winterton', and originally from 114 Durham Street, Hull, as
noted at Marcus Bateman's merchant navy POW site. He was released on March 7th 1918.
In April 2008 I was contacted by Linda Byrne, a great granddaughter of Acklam, who has kindly supplied
the following additional information:
I am aware that my grandmother (his daughter) often accompanied him on a voyage
and that she had accompanied him on that fateful trip. Unfortunately, I am unable to find any reference to her i.e.
Isobel Acklam (age approx. 20 at the time). There appears to be a time lapse between the 2nd August 1914 and the
time my gr grandfather was interned at Ruhleben on the 7 January 1915. It may be that somehow my grandmother was
released prior to internment at Ruhleben. My gr grandfather was released on the 7 March 1918.
I do recall that my aunt had in her possession a temporary American passport
which enabled my grandmother to be released, presumably after a reasonably short time, because my grandmother married my grandfather
in December 1915 in the UK. I remember seeing the passport (approximately the size of a small poster). Unfortunately,
at the time I did not pay much attention to it!! Sadly, all links have now been lost.
Many thanks indeed to Linda.
William David Adair
William David Adair was ships cook on the 'Rubens', originally from Norton Park, Dartmouth, Devonshire,
as noted at Marcus Bateman's merchant navy POW site. He was released in December 1915.
Adams
Amongst the inmates giving lectures at Ruhleben, Francis Gribble, in his
essay entitled "Leaves From a Ruhleben Notebook", mentions that
"Mr. Adams, a correspondent of the Daily Mail, had Spanish classes..."
George Adams
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/38 concerning
relief given to George Adams in Ruhleben. This may be the same Adams as above, though this
as yet unconfirmed.
J. G. Adams
J. G. Adams, of Edinburgh, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
John H. Adams
J. H. Adams was noted in the first issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March 1916) as having supplied
a list of lectures regarding the Nautical and M.E.A. Circles to the magzine's editor. (He may be the unknown Adams listed
earlier, who performed Spanish classes at the Ruhleben camp school.)
John Thomas Adams
John Thomas Adams was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Adams was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives
in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
Patrick George Addley
Patrick George Addley is listed in the surviving register from
Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Addley
was described as a groom from Galway in Ireland, born on January 21st 1884, with his address at the time of internment listed
as 30 Ivy Lane, Canterbury, England. Addley joined Barack 5 from T. H. on April 19th 1915, and stayed in box 11 until
March 22nd 1918, when he left for Holland.
F. C. Ch. Adler
Adler was noted as being in the camp in the second issue of In Ruhleben
Camp (June 1915), when he was teased in the following article on the eighth page:
"We have, however, an official denial of the statement that Mr. Adler will
produce "Hamlet" next month and himself play the title role (Our rude sub-editor says "I should say Adler has played Hamlet
often enough in the camp already)."
Adler was further noted on page 19 as being the chairman of the
Ruhleben Dramatic Society. And a humorous advert on page 24 again had a go at Adler:
A SOUL FOR MUSIC. All pianoforte players with a "fatal" finger dexterity
but without a musical soul should write to Mr. C. H. Ch. Adler, care of the Orchestra, Ruhleben, for his magnificent new free
book on "SOUL IN MUSIC".
In the third issue of In Ruhleben Camp (July 1915, p.19), Adler was sketched in his role of
Dr. Rylott in the camp's production of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Speckled Band".
In the fourth issue (August 1916, p.25), Adler's contribution to the forthcoming musical season
in the camp is noted:
The arrangements for the forthcoming season are already well in hand.
The regular Sunday Concerts, given under the auspices of the Ruhleben Musical Society, will be resumed on September 17th,
when Mr. Adler will present a programme of operatic selection for choir and orcestra. Such well-known numbers as the Bridal
Chorus from "Lohengrin" and the Soldiers' Chorus from "Faust" will be included, while the "Gefangenen Chor" from Beethoven's
"Fidelo" should be particularly moving in its appeal on this occasion.
An article in the Manchester Guardian of March 31st 1915 (p.
3) has the following comments on Adler written by Walter Butterworth:
Mr. F. C. Adler, a young conductor to whom is due in great measure the
success of these concerts, is a man of unusual energy, capacity and enthusiasm. He has had a wide experience as conductor,
especially in opera, successively in Mexico, Switzerland, Bavaria and Prussia. He was born in London and was interned
at Ruhleben when the general order was issued on November 6th.
Shaukar Aghastar
Shaukar Aghastar is noted in a document in FO 369/710 as a 29 year old English student sent
first to Berlin's Stadtvogtei on 26 AUG 1914 and then to Ruhleben on 9 SEP 1914. He had been residing at 51 Momzenstrasse
in the city. The information originally was compiled by the American Embassy in Berlin.
Waldie Aggasild
Waldie Aggasild is listed in the surviving register from Barrack
5 at Ruhleben (register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Aggasild
is described as a bucther from Aberdeen, born on October 2nd 1895, and at the time of his internment, his home address was
listed as 46 Easlemont Avenue, Aberdeen, Scotland. Aggasild moved to Barrack 5's Loft A on September 15th 1915, having previously
been in Barrack 23.
Aggasild also recorded as having spent some time in the Schonungsbaracke
between August 26th 1918 and August 31st.
Hamilton George Ainsworth
Hamilton George Ainsworth is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben
(register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Ainsworth is recorded as
being born on March 4th 1894 in London, and is described as having worked as an engineer prior to his internment. His home
address was 13 Cranhurst Road, Willesden Green, London. At the time the register was recorded, Ainsworth was noted as staying
in box 19.
F. Akehurst
F. Akehurst was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
Thomas Akeroyd
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/68 regarding
conditions at Ruhleben, and a report by Thomas Akeroyd, recently escaped from the camp,
regarding treatment of British civilian prisoners.
Henry Aklam
Henry Aklam was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th
1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
E. A. Alcide
E. A. Alcide was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 490 Stanley Road, Bootle.
S. Alderson
S. Alderson's signature was recorded by fellow internee Christopher Cornforth on
June 6th 1915 in an autograph book which is now held at the Imperial War Museum. Alderson was interned in the hayloft of Barrack
XI.
Many thanks to Christopher's granddaughter Christine Pierce for providing this information
in December 2007.
Henry Herbert Alexander
Henry Herbert Alexander is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), first recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Alexander is recorded
as having been born on December 6th 1892 in Liverpool, and is described as having worked as a clerkn prior to his internment.
His home address was 9a Admiral Street, Princes Park, Liverpool. At the time the register was recorded, Alexander was noted
as staying in box 6, having arrived from Barrack 9 on August 22nd 1918.
Alexander Allan
Alexander Allan was named in an undated Foreign Office document contained within file FO
369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian Camp), implying it was compiled at the outbreak of internment in
1914. Alexander was described as a 31 year old designer who had been working in "Forst / L".
Dr. Horst Pöethe, president of the Herrigsche Gesselschaft (Germany's oldest literary society), contacted
me in May 2008 to say that he had found many books in second hand stores in Berlin which had previously been part of
the Ruhleben Camp Library. Inside the covers of some of these books were names of former prisoners, which he has kindly forwarded
to me. The following is the signature of Alexander Allan, of Barrack XI, box 1:
Gordon Allday
Gordon Allday from Ceylon was a merchant seaman on board the Hitachi Maru, captured by the German
raider Wolf, and sent to Ruhleben, as later noted in "To Kiel on the German Raider Wolf" by Alfred Henry Franck Clarke,
a fellow internee. (With thanks to Doug Johnson who supplied a list of captives in May 2008).
Allen
Allen was noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.58) as having
played for the winning B side in a second division match between the A team and the B team, on October 3rd 1916. The
score was B: 4 to A: 1.
E. Allen
E. Allen was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
H. Allens
H. Allens was noted as having resided in Barrack 4's Loft on
an undated postcard from Paris, as held in a private collection by Dr. Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria. (Many
thanks to Dr. Heber).
Fred Charles Allison
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we
learn that Fred Charles Allison was previously resident at Yarra Villa, Leicester Road, New Barnet, north London,
and born in London 18 FEB 1887. He was a correspondent and was arrested in Wesel on 11 AUG 1914, transferred to Frankfurt,
then to Sennelager on 6 NOV 1914 and then on to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 2.
Oscar Frederick Alliston
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1916 at FO383/192 on
Oscar Frederick Alliston, a British civilian interned at Ruhleben.
Alston
Alston is noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915, p.22)
as being on the losing Scots-Colonial team against Wales in a rugby international held at the camp.
Alston also had a thespianic inclination - on page 36 of the same issue,
he is described as one of the stars of a production of "The Speckled Band", a play written by Arthur Conan Doyle and produced
in the camp by Reynolds. The magazine gave him the following glowing review for his performance:
"Alston, a rugger full back by the way, made the sweetest little maiden Ruhleben
has yet seen..."
And in the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (May 1916, p.32), Alston is listed as having
appeared in the play "The Younger Generation".
Cecil Amar
Cecil Amar was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Victor Anders
Victor Anders is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Anders is recorded as being born on
June 25th 1894 in London, and is described as having worked as a bank official prior to his internment. His home address was
13 Stag Lane, Edgware, Middlesex. At the time the register was recorded, Anders was noted as staying in loft A, having moved
from Barrack 13 on November 27th 1916.
Anders is also recorded as having spent some time in the Schonungsbaracke
between August 4th 1918 and August 8th.
Anderson
This Mr. Anderson is noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June
1915, p.19) as having recently resigned from the committee of the Ruhleben Dramatic Society, to be replaced by Mr. Woodthorpe.
A Mr. Anderson's role in the Lancashire vs. Yorkshire cricket match of July 23rd 1916 is reported
in the fourth issue of the Ruhleben Camp magazine (August 1916, p.38):
The White Rose won by 178 to 125. For the winning side Harrison 47 and Anderson
48 battled well. Bloomer took 5 wickets for 39. hartley was the highest scorer for Lancashire with 26, and Wolstenholme took
five wickets for 20.
Dr. Anderson
Dr. Anderson was noted in IRC issue 7 as having postponed for a week a lecture he was due
to give on "Bye Products of Coal Distillation".
Frederick Anderson
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/27 regarding
Frederick Anderson, a US citizen interned in Ruhleben as a British civilian prisoner of war.
J. Anderson
J. Anderson, of Bridlington, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
This may have been the James Anderson who signed a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand
Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col.
B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
J. Anderson
J. Anderson, of Liscard, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned
at Ruhleben, as published by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
This may have been the James Anderson who signed a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand
Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col.
B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Robert L. Anderson
The Times of February 5th 1919 also tells us that the Crown Princess of Sweden returned on February
4th to the Ruhleben Exhibition, and received from former inmate R. L. Anderson a set of photographic postcards depicting the
characters in "The Scarlet Pimpernel", one of the plays produced in the Ruhleben Grand Stand Theatre ("Court News", p.11,
col. B).
An Anderson (most likely R. L.) was also present at the
Exhibition on February 10th 1919, where he was one of the prisoners who entertained the King and Queen on a Royal visit to
see for themselves what the civilians had endured, and as recorded in The Times of February 11th 1919 ("Ruhleben Exhibition",
p.9, col. F). Anderson, along with Powell, presented the King with a Union Flag which contained the Ruhleben coat-of-arms
(two rats supporting a shield, with a German sausage and other appropraite emblems), the names of many of the prioners, and
the inscription "Although unable to fight for our King and country on the battlefield, we endeavoured to maintain the
British ideal of patriotism, patience, courage, and usefulness through four years".
Anderson was photographed as a member of the Ruhleben Parcel Post
team - see entry for Alfred Hazell King for the photo.
He was also sketched by Harry Pimm, a fellow internee, as follows:
Thomas Anderson
Thomas Anderson was one of six prisoners released from Ruhleben in October 1917, who made their way
to Rotterdam to proceed to England, as reported in The Times of October 5th 1917 ("Imperial and Foreign News", p.7, col.
F).
Andrews
A Mr. Andrews
was noted in issue 7 of the In Ruhleben Camp magazine of having given a paper on Lowes Dickinson, one of the papers on the
four "Modern English Thinkers" read in the Grand Stand Hall on August 30th (p.2. September 1915). A further article
entitled "What's Wrong With the World" expands on the paper as discussed by him (p.10).
Arthur
Andrews
Many thanks to Hamburg based golf historian Christopher
N. Meister for supplying me with the following information in November 2007:
Arthur Andrews was a golf professional
at Wentorf-Reinbek east of Hamburg
when WW I broke out. He started to work there in 1909. (Annual Report for 1909 of Thüringer Golf Club at Oberhof)
It is thought that Andrews went back
to England after his release from Ruhleben.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we
learn that Andrews was from 38 Heath Road, St. Alban, Herts, and born 19 AUG 1895 in Wheatherstone, Herts. He was a
professional golfer arrested in Hanover 6 NOV 1914, before being sent on to Berlin, Hanover and then Ruhleben, where
he was interned in Barrack 3.
George Wormall Andrews
George Wormall Andrews is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Andrews is noted as having been
born on August 28th 1892 in Clayton, Yorkshire, and is described as having worked as a teacher prior to his internment. His
home address was 20 Gaythorne Terrace, Clayton, Bradford. At the time the register was recorded, Andrews was noted as staying
in box 9.
Andrews is also recorded as having spent some time in the Schonungsbaracke
between October 11th 1918 and November 5th.
J. H. Andrews
Andrews was named in an article in the Manchester Guardian of Auguist 19th 1915 (p.6) as having
participated in a Lincolnshire versus Yorkshire cricket match at Ruhleben.
J. H. Andrews, of Newmarket, was one of fifteen men released from Ruhleben who arrived in neutral
Holland on June 7th 1916, as noted in the Times of June 8th 1916 ("War Weariness in Germany", p.7, col.C).
William A. Andrews (or Andrew)
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, William Andrew was noted
as being from 4 Park View, New Cleethorpes, Grimsby, and as having been born in Grimsby in 1887. He worked as a ship's
cook and was arrested in Hamburg on 16 OCT 1914. After a brief spell imprisoned on the hulks in Hamburg, he was
sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 8.
Marcus Bateman's website notes him as W. A. Andrews, chief cook on the City of Bradford, who was from
Barkfield Terrace in Cleethorpes.
C. Annan
In an article in the Scotsman newspaper of October 27th 1915, C. Annan was listed as captain of Barrack 12
("Ruhleben Camp - Success of Civil Administration", p.9).
William John Anstey
William John Anstey is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Anstey is recorded as having been
born on July 4th 1886 in London, and is described as having worked as an engineer prior to his internment. His home address
was 30 Wellington Road, Charlton, London. At the time the register was recorded, Anstey was noted as staying in box 14.
Anstey is also recorded as having spent some time in the Schoningsbaracke between February 8th 1918
and February 9th.
James Arbuthnott
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Ruhleben POW
James Arbuthnott was from 16 South Bridgend, Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, and was born in Crieff in 1893. He was a clerk,
arrested in Hamburg on November 6th 1914 and after imprisonment in Hamburg was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in
Barrack 2.
Archer
Archer was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand
Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col.
B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Sidney Armstrong
S. Armstrong, of Hull, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7). He was in fact the master on the 'Castro', from 33 Plane Street in Hull.
The fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.4) mentions that the editor has received
an "at home" card from Mr. Armstrong. This may be S. Armstrong, but has still to be confirmed.
Sidney was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files
at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
J. A. Arnett
J. A. Arnett was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
A. Arnold
A. Arnold was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
Alexander Arnulll
Alexander Arnull was one of two brothers working as a British horse trainer at the Weinberg
stable, who was interned in Ruhleben at the beginning of November 1914, as noted in the Scotsman newspaper on 9/11/1914 (p.9),
and in The Times of the same day ("British Interned in Germany", p. 7, col. E).
I receibed the follwoing information on the Arnull brothers from Jochem Heicke in Germany in April
2008, for which I am eternally grateful:
The Arnull brothers were born in Newmarket. Their great grandfather was
Bill Arnull, a jockey who rode three Derby
winners. Bill was the son of John Arnull, who also rode Derby winners, who in turn was the elder brother of Sam, (born
Jan 1800), who rode the first Derby winner.
George Arnull was only 8 days on relief and had to return to Ruhleben until requested by Enno von Bennigsen, a former
patron of his father in law, the German trainer Fritz Althof, in 1916. Alexander Arnull died some years after the internment
in Hoppegarten, but George became famous as trainer of 43 classic winners, mostly for Schlenderhan. The Arnull brothers were
cousins of the Waugh brothers (also interned) because their aunt Florence Ellen Arnull married Richard Waugh who trained at
Graditz for the "Kaiser".
George Arnull
George Arnull was the second of two brothers working as a British horse trainer at
the Weinberg stable, who was interned in Ruhleben at the beginning of November 1914, as noted in the Scotsman newspaper on
9/11/1914 (p.9), and in The Times of the same day ("British Interned in Germany", p. 7, col. E).
The Scotsman newspaper noted on 30/11/1914 (p.9) that he was released from the camp two days prior,
on the 28th. He was released because many thoroughbreds had been left on their own in their stables, and had soon gotten out
of control. The Germans therefore deemed it wiser to release their trainers than to have them remain interned.
S. Ascher
S. Ascher was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, camp captain, to vice
chair the Health Department at Ruhleben, as reported by the Scotsman on 29/3/1915 and the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better
Food at Ruhleben" p.4 col A). The Health Department's remit was to see to the general health of the camp, such as
the care of the sick, the prevention of illness, and the distribution of relief in kind.
In an article in the Scotsman newspaper of October 27th 1915, Ascher was listed as captain of Barracks
6, 20 and 22 ("Ruhleben Camp - Success of Civil Administration", p.9).
Cyril Asher
The National Archives hold records from 1916 at FO383/189 on Cyril Asher, a
destitute British subject released from Ruhleben and currently in Switzerland.
Harry Asher
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/65 regarding
compensation for British civil prisoners for losses sustained owing to internment, and an enquiry on the matter from
Harry Asher, interned at Ruhleben.
W. Ashley
W. Ashley is noted on a list of prisoners of war on a document entitled 'Men in Englander Lager, Ruhleben',
held by Hull Local Studies Library (provisional catalogue entry: Hohenrein Collection F 10b), supplied by senior local studies librarian
David Alexander Smith in July 2008, for which I am grateful. The document
notes that Ashley was a merchant seaman on board the S. S. Hull, and interned in Barrack 3, box 19.
Fred Ashton
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Fred Ashton was
resident at Berlin-Stralau, Alt-Stralau 37-39, was born in Berlin on 15 DEC 1895, was a joiner arrested in Berlin on
6 NOV 1914, and sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 1.
George Ashton
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that George Ashton was
resident at Markgraffendamm, Berlin-Stralau, was born in London on 25 MAY 1888, was an engineer arrested in Berlin
on 6 NOV 1914, and sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 1.
William Ashton
William Ashton was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th 1918 to England, as noted
in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
James Askew
James Askew is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Askew is recorded as having been born
on December 30th 1874 in Ipswich, and is described as having worked as a seaman on board the S.S. Edwin Hunter prior
to his internment. His home address was 26 Wesley Square, Goole. At the time the register was recorded, Askew was noted as
staying in loft B, having arrived from Barrack 14 on April 19th 1915. Askew eventually left for Holland on March 22nd 1918.
Philip Astin
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Philip Astin is noted as
being from 222 Bradford Road, North Huddersfield, and as having been born in Haopton in 1879. He was a textile printing
colourist in Leverkusen near Cologne, where he was arrested on 4 AUG 1914. After a brief period held in Opladen and Duisburg,
he was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 5. The entry suggests that Leak was a Secretary, presumably of the
football team for the barrack.
Astin is also listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In this, he is recorded as having been born on July
1st 1879 in Hapton, and is described as having worked as a technical colourist prior to his internment. His home address was
222 Bradford Road, North Fartown, Huddersfield. At the time the register was recorded, Astin was noted as staying in box 16.
Astin was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian of January
15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained
at Ruhleben".
A gent called Astin was noted in the second issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (April 1916, p. 29)
as having been a linesman at a football match between teams led by John Cameron and Steve Bloomer on March 3rd 1916,
Cameron's side winning.
Atkinson
Atkinson, of Bradford, was one of fifteen men released from Ruhleben who arrived in neutral Holland
on June 7th 1916, as noted in the Times of June 8th 1916 ("War Weariness in Germany", p.7, col.C).
H. Atkinson
H. Atkinson was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
M. Atkinson
M. Atkinson, of Hull, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
S. H. Atkinson
S. H. Atkinson, of Hull, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
John S. T. Audley
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/26 regarding
John S. T. Audley, an interned invalid civilian at Ruhleben, and the question of his possible exchange.
Captain Edward Augustus
The Times of April 3rd 1920 (p.15) notes that CaptainEdward Augustus was
awarded the O.B.E. for his work as the head of the civil police force at Ruhleben Camp, Germany.
Peter Auld
Peter Auld is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Auld is recorded as having been born
on July 24th 1887 in Joppa Coylton, Ayr, and is described as having worked as a jockey prior to his internment. His home
address was recorded as Main Hut, Prestwick. At the time the register was recorded, Auld was noted as staying in loft B, having
arrived from Barrack 1 on April 19th 1915.
Between October 22nd 1917 and November 17th, Auld spent some time being treated at the Lazarett.
Auld was given indefinite leave from the camp on June 5th 1918.
Sumner F. Austin
Sumner Austin was thanked by B. J. D. in the sixth issue of the Ruhleben
Camp Magazine (June 1917) for his recent musical perfomance at the camp:
The work of our principal pianists and vocalists has already been referred to
appreciateively in these notes - one must not forget to add the names of Mr. Gordon Short and Mr. Sumner Austin, whose playing
and singing have always been highly appreciated..."
S. F. Austin was also noted in
the first issue of The Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March 1916, p.8) as having appeared in the 1915 Christmas pantomime in the
camp.
The Liddle Collection at Leeds University holds typescript 6 photographs of Austin, including three of theatre productions
(from 1917); and a typed transcript of an interview recorded with Peter Liddle in October 1977, all at RUH 01.
Tape 469 contains the original audio recording of the interview. The online index tells us that Austin was born in 1888
in South London, and educated at Magdalene College School, Oxford. He studied Opera at Dresden from 1910 and was living in
West Berlin at the beginning of the First World War, at which point he was arrested and interned at Ruhleben between
November 1914 and November 1918. Whilst interned, he lived in Barrack No. 10 and was involved in several theatre
productions.
Hugh B. Avery
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Hugh B. Avery is noted as being from 143
Southbank Road, Southport. He was a chemist, arrested in Ludwigshafen on 27 AUG 1914, and sent to Ruhleben, where he
was interned in Barrack 6.
As 'W. B. Avery' he was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian of January
15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained
at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 143 Southbank Road, Southport.
Charles Albert Axmann
Charles Albert Axmann is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), first recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Axmann is recorded as
having been born on July 13th 1863 in London, and is described as having worked as a works foreman prior to his internment.
His home address was 7 Bruhlenstr, Coln-Mannsfeld. At the time the register was recorded, Axmann was noted as staying in loft
B, and is noted as having returned to England on January 2nd 1918.
Montague Aylin
Montague Aylin was a British horse trainer working in Hoppegarten, who was interned in Ruhleben
at the beginning of November 1914, as noted in the Scotsman newspaper on 9/11/1914 (p.9), and in The Times of the same day
("British Interned in Germany", p. 7, col. E).
In April 2008, I was given the following information from Jochem Heicke, based in Germany:
Montague Aylin happened to be engaged with the daughter of trainer Frank
Solloway.
In May 2008 I was contacted by Doug Johnson with some additional information on Aylin, for which I
am also grateful:
Correspondence
with the United States Ambassador respecting the Treatment of British Prisoners of War and Interned Civilians in Germany Miscellaneous
No 14 (1915) (Cd 7959) HMSO
Two
other jockeys from Hoppergarten, William Warne and jockey Aylin, are both land proprietors in Germany. Warne owns real estate to the value of 100,000 M., and Aylin to the value of 40,000
M. Warne is a resident of Germany
for twenty years, and formerly lived in Austria. Aylin has been in Germany for the last
ten years, and formerly domiciled in Austria. Both are married, Aylin to a German Woman
Aylin's great grandson Gary Curran contacted me in December 2007 with the
following recollections, for which I equally grateful:
I new that he was a well educated English Horse trainer based in Dahlwitz Hoppergarten, Germany before WW1. He was married
(or maybe just involved) to a german lady (my great Great Grandmother Alma Solloway). My grandmother Vera told stories
of escaping Germany in a postal basket, on a train with her brother Harry, when they were very small. (she was born in Dahlwitz
in 1915)
A. Azemar
A. Azemar was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
B
Artland Batcheler (Arthur Bachelor)
Artland Batcheler was named in an undated Foreign Office
document contained within file FO 369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian Camp), implying it was compiled
at the outbreak of internment in 1914. He was described as a 53 year old innkeeper/publican previously at work in
Berlin.
It is believed that he is
the Arthur Bachelor also named in a list in FO 369/710 dated 11 OCT 1914, as communciated to the Foreign Office by
a Nurse Coe (with thanks to Simon Fowler).
Fritz Hermann Beyer Bäcker
Fritz Hermann Beyer Bäcker and his brother Hermann were both interned in Ruhleben. Fritz
was born in 1891 in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, the son of Hermann Bäcker born 1850 in Germany and Anna Caroline Beyer
born 1867 Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, the daughter of German migrants. Both Fritz and his brother were resident in Wildenfels,
Sachsen, Germany in 1913.
From Fritz's grandson Barry Morgan the following infomation was supplied in July 2010:
Fritz married Adelheid Olga SCHUBERT, born 1892 Wildenfels, whose
family lived in Wildenfels for generations. They married 10 May 1913 and their first child Gertrud BACKER was born August
1913. Despite this the brothers were interned as they held Australian passports which made them “English” subjects.
Fritz was a tailor, a profession he maintained for life. When released from Ruhleben he moved the family to England and started
a business in Bexhill, Sussex eventually owning several shops. They stayed in Bexhill from 1922 to 1938 when they moved to
Hampstead ,London where he died in 1955.
Hermann became a merchant seaman and maintained a base in Berlin
where he died in 1975.
Despite Ruhleben being 300kms from Wildenfels by road they were
allowed visitors regularly and even were given weekend leave unescorted as a reward for good behaviour. By the time they had
left the camp I had an uncle Fritz Kurt BÄCKER born 2 May 1915 and an aunt Margarete BÄCKER born 3 March 1918. As grandma
said blushingly she was allowed conjugal visits and the weekends were also good!
A translation of the birth certificate of Fritz's son Fritz Kurt
Bäcker from 1915 is as follows:
Appeared before the undersigned Registry Official
today, the midwife Frau Clara Rössel, known in person, domiciled in Wildenfels , No. 100 on the land register religion, indicated
that a boy was born to Adelheid Olga Bäcker, wife of the tailor’s assistant Fritz Hermann Bäcker, both of Evangelical
Lutheran religion, domiciled both at Wildenfels, the husband Bäcker, being an Englishman, presently accommodated in Ruhleben
near Berlin for the duration of the war; on the second of May in the year one thousand nine hundred and fifteen at eleven
and three quarters after noon in Wildenfels in their dwelling, and that the child was given the first names Fritz Kurt. – The midwife Rössel declared that she was present at the confinement of Bäcker
A huge thanks to Barry for his contribution.
Hermann Alexander Beyer Bäcker
Hermann was interned with his brother Fritz at the start of the war. He was born in 1896 in Darlinghurst,
New South Wales, Australia.
For more on Hermann, see the entry for his brother Fritz above.
Charlie Stewart Backhouse
The son of George Backhouse, (below). In October 2008, Charlie's son Roy forwarded an image of a model
boat made by his father in the camp. The following was forwarded by his friend John bennett on his behalf concerning the image:
The centre board (the two holes on deck) are removable, as is the aft section.
There was an event when these pieces were taken out and the Camp Commandant's two yr old son was seated in the boat, the engine
started and it safely took him across the lake in safety, whilst several inmates waded alongside as a precaution. Such was
the power of the very early electric motor.
|
|
| Model of the 'Blanch', built by Charlie Backhouse |
George Backhouse
Many thanks to Dave de Kiesby for the following guestbook entry which was made in November 2006:
My great grandfather George? Backhouse, a trawlerman from Grimsby took his son
Charlie, 15, to sea for the first time. Unfortunately they happened to be on one of the first boats to be captured by the
Germans at the outbrake of the first world war. Both father and son were interned in Ruhleben. Due to their ages both were
to be repatriated but before they were out of German hands Charlie turned 16 so the Germans turned him around and sent him
back to Ruhleben. His father returned to England without his son, who remained in Germany for the rest of the war. I have
been told that he became the camp boxing champion at some stage. Maybe someone can clarify this for me? He made a model boat,
which is still in the family possesion.The 'Blanche' is a cabin cruiser style boat with an electric motor.Interestingly the
wiring for the windings came from the race track which was next door to the camp. Charlie, as he was only 16 was a`Trustie'who
was allowed out of the camp for various reasons.It was whilst on one,or more of these outings that grandad stole the wiring.The
nails were from boots and the propellor is made from beaten pennies.The keel is made from a hockey stick given to him by the
camp Commandant. The Germans took an interest in the boat and would supply bits and pieces for the construction of her.Getting
the 'Blanch' home proved difficult with Queen Wilamena of Holland getting involved. Only problem was that the Queen did'nt
want to part with it! Eventually it made it to England in one piece, where, as I said earlier it still is. After returning
home greatgrandad moved to Lincoln where he lived until he died.Charlie Backhouse became a Chief Engineer on trawlers, as
did one of his sons, also named Charles. During the second world war they were both on minesweepers and were shipwrecked a
couple of times each.Grandad lived, towards the end of his life with his wife Elsie and family in Harrington St.Cleethorpes
and died in 1949.
According to Marcus Bateman's merchant seamen POW site, there were only two Backhouse seamen listed,
a Charles Backhouse (skipper) and Stewart Backhouse (fourth hand), both from 43 Suggits Lane, Grimsby, and both serving on
the 'Ridio'. It is presumed this is the same couple referred to by Dave.
Backhows
Backhows was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
E. B. Bacon
The National Archives in London hold records from 1915 at FO383/77 regarding how
Mrs R. Bacon of Great Yarmouth tried to organise the reception of money from her husband, E. B. Bacon, a prisoner in Ruhleben.
Francis H. Badham
The National Archives in London hold documents from
1915 at FO383/25 and FO383/26 relating to Francis H. Badham, interned at Ruhleben. The documents concern
correspondence from Badham's sister, Miss Cecilia Badham of Cromer, regarding his birth certificate.
Edgar L. Bainton
Edgar L. Bainton was a professor of music who hailed from Newcastle, England.
In the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915, p.11 and p.41), Bainton is recorded as having been voted into the office
of vice-chairman in the newly formed Ruhleben Musical Society, after a meeting held on Thursday June 15th, attended by some
36 musicians.
In the first issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March 1916, p.26), Bainton
is listed as having recently given perfomances of Elgar's "Serenade", Grainger's "Mock Morris", and Ravell's "Oudine", whilst
on February 13th 1916 he contributed to a series of "Negro Melodies" at another concert.
Bainton composed the music for the camp's production on April
23rd, 24th and 25th, 1916, of Shakespeare's "As You Like It", as noted in the Scotsman newspaper of May 15th 1916 ("Shakespeare
Celebrations in Ruhleben", p.7).
In the Musical Notes section of the fourth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine
(August 1916, p.25), the following records a forthcoming contribution to camp life by Bainton:
Orchestra concerts will be given on every third Sunday, the intervening Sundays being devoted
to chamber and vocal and instrumental recitals. The first three Symphony Concerts will be conducted by Messrs. Bainton, Weber
and Macmillan, among the works promised being Schumann's Pianoforte Concerto (with Mr. Lindsay as soloist), and Mozart's Symphony
in E. flat.
Later in the same issue (p.33), Bainton's contribution to the production
of "Twelfth Night" in the camp is also noted:
The haunting incidental music and beautiful songs written for the occasion by
Mr. Bainton added much to the fine emotional quality which marked this prodcution.
The fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Chritsmas 1916, p.27) contains
a drawing by J. O. B. entitled "Mr. E. L. Bainton Conducts the Madrigal Caw-Rus".
And in the Musical Notes section of the sixth issue of the Ruhleben Camp
Magazine (June 1917), an example of Bainton's continuing contribution to life in the camp was noted:
Mr. E. L. Bainton has appeared with success both as a conductor and pianist,
his performance of the solo part in Chopin's E minor Concerto being one of the finest pieces of pianoforte playing yet heard
in Ruhleben.
Tribute has already been paid to the work of Mr. Roland Bocquet, and one must
record the debt of gratitude which the Camp owes to Mr. E. L. Bainton, who on several occasions has been called upon to write
incidental music for Ruhleben Theatrical productions, and who has never failed to provide some charming and appropriate strains.
It is safe to say that Mr. Bainton's recent success in connection with the Carnegie Trust will have been received nowhere
with more gratification than among his fellow prisoners in Ruhleben.
Amongst the inmates who gave lectures at Ruhleben, Francis
Gribble, in his essay entitled "Leaves From a Ruhleben Notebook", recorded the presence of Bainton as well:
"Mr. Bainton, Professor of Music at Newcastle, who demontsrated that
contemporary music derived less inspiration from Germany than from France, Belgium, Russia, and even England, and whose discourse
on glees was illustrated by a choir which he himself had trained."
Whilst at Ruhleben, Bainton also composed a String Quartet
in A Major.
Bainton was also recorded in The Times as being about to give a concert at the Ruhleben Exhibition
on Friday, February 7th, with fellow former Ruhleben musicians, all of whom had been professional musicians captured in Bayreuth.
The article appeared on January 30th 1919 in the Times ("Ruhleben Exhibition", p.11, col. F).
The Times later carried a review of Bainton's first performance
of "Before Sunrise" on April 7th 1921, and described his internment at Ruhleben as "a serious check to his career" ("Before
Sunrise", p.8, col. A).
Bainton was noted in The Times of November 9th 1931 as being present at a dinner meeting held
in November 1931 by the Ruhleben Association, which was held to discuss an appeal to the House of Lords for the group's claims
for compensation ("Reunion of Ex-Ruhleben Prisoners", p.17, col.D).
Bainton's obituary was carried in The Times of December 10th 1956 (Dr. E. L. Bainton", p.14,
col. E).
Details of Bainton's career after his internment can be found
at the following website: EDGAR L. BAINTON
Francis Gerard Baker
Francis Gerard Baker is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Baker is recorded as having
been born on December 30th 1878 in Welford, Warwickshire, and is described as having been a merchant prior to his
internment. His home address was 2 Losterstieg, Hamburg, Germany. At the time the register was recorded, Baker was noted
as staying in box 5, having arrived on April 19th 1915 from T.H. On October 1st 1917, Baker moved to Barrack 8.
Frederick Baldwin
Bristol man Frederick Baldwin was a Ruhleben inmate released from the camp
in December 1915, who made his way back to Tilbury on board the merchant ship Mecklenburg, as noted in The Times of December
23rd 1915 (p.6, col.B). In the article, Baldwin gave a description of the countryside he had seen on the train to the German
frontier, and paid tribute to the Red Cross ladies who treated them at Roosendaal, before sending them on their way to
the merchant vessel at Flushing, on which they sailed back to England.
Sir John Balfour
Sir John Balfour was the son of Charles Balfour MP and Lady Nina Balfour,
and was colloquially known as "Jock". After attending Eton and Oxford he was caught out in Germany and sent to Ruhleben, where
he spent the war studying languages. After the war, Balfour had a very succesful diplomatic career, including stints aas the
head of the American department in WW2 and a posting in Moscow (being a fluent Russian speaker). In 1933 he married Frances
van Millingen, who was appoointed CVO in 1969, after a spell as lady in waiting to Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent, from
1961-1968.
Balfour died on February 26th 1983, and his obituary was carried in The Times of February 28th 1983
("Obituary: Sir John Balfour", p. 12, col. G).
Regarding his time at Ruhleben, the National Archives in London hold
documents from 1916 at FO383/206 regarding authorisation for a Mr. Charles Balfour to send solidified paraffin to his son,
John Balfour, who was interned at the camp.
The Liddle Collection at Leeds University holds a transcript of an interview
done with Peter Liddle in March 1976 at RUH 02. Tapes 323 and 327 contain the original audio recording
of the interview. The online index tells us that Balfour was born in 1894 in London, and educated at Eton and New College,
Oxford. He went to Freiburg on July 27th 1914 to study German and was interned at Baden-Baden at the outbreak of the First
World War, and was later transferred to Ruhleben, where he remained a prisoner between November 1914 and November 1918.
Whilst interned, Balfour became co-founder of the French Circle and was on the committee of the Arts and Science Union.
The Imperial War Museum in London holds a copy of "Ruhleben Poems" by Balfour,
accessible at ID:65838.
Eric S. Ball
Eric S. Ball was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society
in the Manchester Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian
Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 4 Newport Road, C-cum-H, M/c.
L. J. Ball
L. J. Ball is noted in the first issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March
1916, p.22) as having contributed to a debate entitled "That the Abolition of Trade Unions would not be to England's Benefit",
with Ball arguing for the motion.
He is further noted in the second issue (April 1916, p.15) as being about
to give a lecture to the camp's school entitled "The Wage System and Trades Unionism".
W. G. Ball
W. G. Ball was photographed as a part of the Ruhleben Parcel Post - see Alfred Hazell King's entry
for the image.
John Harrison Bamber
John Harrison Bamber is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bamber is recorded as having
been born on February 23rd 1884 in Mossley, Lancashire, and is described as having worked as a merchant prior to
his internment. His home address was 25 Andreas Street, Apolda. At the time the register was recorded, Bamber was noted
as staying in box 17.
J. H. Bamber was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society
in the Manchester Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian
Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". In this article, his address was recorded as Bank Road, Glazebrook.
Bankes
Bankes was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
Barber
Barber is noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915, p.14) as having played for the Rest
of Ruhleben team against the Varsities, in the Ruhleben Cricket League.
Barber is also noted in the third issue (May 1916, p.43) as having been the secretary of the Cricket
Committee.
Alec Barclay
Little is known about Alec Barclay's time at Ruhleben, except that he was
released in late 1915 or early 1916, as stated in the following article from the Dewsbury Reporter, dated 24 FEB 1917:
NEWS FROM RUHLEBEN
COMMENTS ON THE "PARCEL BUSINESS"
Mr. C. F. Priestley (son of Alderman F. Priestly, of Soothill), writing to his wife
from the Ruhleben Internment Camp, expresses his thanks for her greetings for the New Year, "which I also hope will be a year
of homecoming and re-union." Referring to the "parcel business", Mr. Priestley records the receipt of two parcels, and adds:
"The contents were as made known beforehand. Mine today contained sugar, jam, tea, cheese, ration, vegetable, biscuits, sardines,
margarine, and corned beef; all in good order, and also 50 cigarettes, and you know I don't smoke them. Where the people get
their list from I can't say, but when I tell you I saw one parcel for A. Barclay, who went home a year ago, and about 130
for others who are not here, (these parcels are turned over to relief committee) whilst several people whom I know are still
waiting for their first parcel, you will be able to form an opinion for yourself. The bread is coming through in good condition
from Denmark. You need not worry for George, and I have good stock to go on with all kinds of things, but, as I have said
before, it is a mistake to standardise everybody's requirements as to food, as what agrees with one does not with another.
Some months ago we were asked to order anything we required in the shape of underwear and stockings, and the things
would be sent out and sold to us at a reasonable price. First of all, it was Christmas before the stuff came, and it is all
second-hand. Some of the socks are actually in holes." Mr. Priestley adds: "On December 30th I was at a performance of 'Mikado'.
The American Ambassador was there and about a dozen ladies. It felt like coming back to civilisation after being in the wilds.
The acting was good, and you would be surprised to see how well some fellows make up as girls".
From a similar article in the Batley News, on the same date, Barclay's first name is confirmed
as Alec. This article also tells us that after his return, Barclay was working for Messrs Taylor, Yielding and C___ Birstall
(illegible word on the copy).
Many thanks to Mike Whitehead for supplying both articles in July 2007.
J. Barclay
J. Barclay was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
Bard
Bard is noted as a member of the re-constituted Entertainments Committee in issue seven of the In
Ruhleben Camp magazine (Sep 1915, p.29). He is described as its "Secretary without a vote".
William Eric Bardsley
William Eric Bardsley is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bardsley is recorded as having
been born on June 16th 1896 in Carrington, Cheshire, and is described as having worked as a clerk prior to
his internment. His home address was Fern Bank, Carrington Road, Flixton, Manchester. At the time the register was recorded, Bardsley
was noted as staying in loft A, having arrived in the barrack on April 19th 1915 from T. H.
Bardsley was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian of
January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". In this, his address was recorded as E. Fernbank, Flixton.
He was also named in an article in the Manchester Guardian of August 19th 1915 (p.6) as having participated
in a Lincolnshire versus Yorkshire cricket match at Ruhleben.
Bardsley is also recorded as having spent some time in the Schoningsbaracke between February 4th 1918 and
February 9th. On April 5th 1918, Bardsley moved to Barrack 7.
Noah Barley
Noah Barley is noted on a list of prisoners of war on a document entitled 'Men in Englander Lager,
Ruhleben', held by Hull Local Studies Library (provisional catalogue entry: Hohenrein Collection F 10b), supplied by senior local studies librarian
David Alexander Smith in July 2008, for which I am grateful. The document
notes that Barley was a merchant seaman on board the Saxon Prince, and interned in Barrack 3.
Warwood Barley
Warwood Barley was one of sixteen men released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in
the Times of January 29th 1917 ("Changed Conditions in Germany", p.8, col. G).
Barnie (possibly Barrie)
A gentleman known as Mr Barnie or Barrie was recorded on a copy of a Ruhleben Daily News slip supplied
to me in October 2007 by Denis Camps. he had prepaid for the news uyp rto March 5th 1916 and was stated to be in Barrack 3,
though the stamp covers whether he was in a box or the loft.
Allan Caruth Barr
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Allan Caruth
Barr was resident at Bridge of Weir, Scotland, was born in Bridge of Weir on 24 AUG 1888, was a shipping clerk arrested
in Hamburg on 6 NOV 1914, and after a brief spell of confinement on the Hamburg hulks was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned
in Barrack 1.
Barr was further noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
James Barrett
James Barrett was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as Rudyard Street., Hr, Broughton, M/c.
R. G. L. Barrett
R. G. L. Barrett was thanked for articles written for the Ruhleben Camp Magazine by its editor, C.
G. Pemberton, in the fifth issue (Christmas 1916, p.62).
George Barron
George was a steward on the Rubislaw, who was arrested in hamburg. The following contribution is from his
grandadughter Jen Pringle in April 2009:
George was a merchant seaman on board the Rubislaw which plied its trade
between Aberdeen and Hamburg. They ship apparently sailed into Hamburg the day war was declared. Normally they were
met by a pilot boat but when it wasn’t there the captain made the decision to press on, which is how they found themselves
in Hamburg on the 28th July 1914. For the first 6 months the crew were held on hulks in Hamburg Harbour in what
I believe, were pretty terrible conditions. They were then moved to Ruhleben. He spent the rest of the war there and was repatriated
in 1919.
As an interesting footnote – the ship was used by the Germans during the
WW1, it then went on to become one of the first victims of landmines placed in the Thames in WW2. Another footnote is
that my father was 6 months old when his father made that fateful trip and was going to school by the time his father returned.
George is noted on Marcus Bateman's POW website as being from 25 Justice Street in Aberdeen prior
to the war.
Bartlett
In a list of prisoners from the Wolf transferred to Ruhleben in A. H. F.
Clarke's "To Kiel on the German Raider Wolf and Beyond", Bartlett is noted as a Ruhleben prisoner from Ceylon, captured on
the ship Hitachi Maru in early 1918. See entry for Alfred Henry Frank Clarke.
G. Barton
A Mr. G. Barton is noted on a copy of a Ruhleben Daily News order slip sent to me by Denis Camps in
October 2007. He is stated to have been in Barrack 10. A photocopy of a similar slip dated 10 NOV 1915 is held by Dr. Manfred
G. Heber in Grand Canaria, listing him in Barrack 10 Loft 2 (with thanks to both Denis Camps and Dr. Heber).
T. Arthur Barton
T. Arthur Barton was noted on the back cover of the second issue of In
Ruhleben Camp magazine (June 1915) as having made the publication for the Education Committee of the Englanderlager fur
Zivilgefangene, Ruhleben, Berlin.
A letter of apology was written by Bartonand published in the seventh issue
of In Ruhleben Camp (Sep 1915. p.38). In this he apologised to fellow inmate Thomas Sullivan for having allowed, s editor
of the magazine, an article to be published entitled "Stolen midnight interviews No. 2 Mr. O' Sullivan of Ballysport"
which the Education Committee believed contained expressions that might have been considered derogatory against him.
Barton was thanked for articles written for the Ruhleben Camp Magazine by its editor, C. G. Pemberton,
in the fifth issue (Christmas 1916, p.62).
The Liddle Collection at Leeds University holds various documents donated
by Barton's wife, Elizabeth, in September 1980, at RUH 03. These are a copy of issue 5 of the second
volume of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine, a photograph of a theatre production, and 12 poistcards from between December 8th
1914 and September 2nd 1918. the online index tells us that Barton was interned at Ruhleben in 1914, lived in Barrack
No. 3, and was involved in theatre productions.
Bates
Bates was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
Battle
Mr. Battle was the manager of Oppenheim's racing stable, and was interned at the beginning of the
war. The Scotsman newspaper noted on 30/11/1914 (p.9) that he was released from the camp two days prior, on the 28th. He was
released because many thoroughbreds had been left on their own in their stables, and had soon gotten out of control. The Germans therefore
deemed it wiser to release their trainers than to have them remain interned.
Ben Baxter
Ben Baxter is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Baxter is recorded as having been born
on September 24th 1894, and is described as having worked as a wireless operator on the "San Wilfrido" prior
to his internment. His home address was Roseland, Hislop Road, London. At the time the register was recorded, Baxter
was noted as staying in box 25, having transferred there from Barrack 9 on May 6th 1918. On May 14th 1918 Baxter was moved
to Schweidnitz Camp.
Baxter was listed as one of the former inmates at Ruhleben in an article in The Times on January 4th
1919 concerning the Ruhleben Exhibition at the Central Hall of Westminster ("Life in Ruhleben", p.11, col. F). He had submitted
a model of his vessel, the "San Wilfredo" to the exhibition, which he made whilst interned. In the article, the original boat
was described as having been struck by a mine in the Elbe, on the day before war was declared.
A descendant of Ben, Ian Baxter, contacted me with the following in August 2008:
You may wish to know that the SS San Wilfrido was the first ship to be mined
and this happened before the outbreak of war just off Cuxhaven. The model ship which Ben built whilst
interred at Ruhleben is held at the Imperial War Museum in London.
(Many thanks to Ian).
W. Baxter
W. Baxter was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 129 Hatfield Road, Bolton.
T. R. Beal
T. R. Beal, of Hull, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
Beal's situation as an internee at Ruhleben led to an interesting court case in Britain beween his
wife and the owner of the vessel, F. W. Horlock, of Mistley in Essex. Beal was second mate on his ship, and had signed on
for two years, and had sailed from Hull at the end of May 1914. With his ship he visited Alexandria and other ports,
and reached Hamburg on August 2nd 1914, where he and the rest of the crew were detained, and on September 2nd the entire
crew was removed to Ruhleben.
Prior to sailing, Beal had allotted his wife half of his earnings, some £9, and 10s a month. Horlock
had paid Mrs. Beal up as far as August 2nd, after which he suspended payments until a verdict could be decreed as to who was
liable after that date. On July 30th 1915, Mr. Justice Rowlatt of the Court of Appeal found in favour of Mrs Beale, saying
that an owner was liable for the wages of seamen serving on a vessel captured or interned by the enemy. Horlock had tried
to use the Merchant Shipping Act, which stated that wages termintaed after the wrecking or loss of a ship, but the judge cited
the fact that there had been no wreck, and the ship had not been lost. The case was significant in that it meant all seamen's
wages for those interned at Ruhleben were the responsibility of the owners, although the Government did
in fact give them substantial aid in the matter.
The story of the court case was covered in the Scotsman newspaper on both
July 31st 1915 ("Interned Seaman's Wages - Liability of Shipowner", p.12) and on August 19th 1915 ("The War and Seamen's Wages
- Effects of Detention and Capture", p.6). It also appeared in the Times on May 20th 1915 ("Wages of Seamen Detained in Germany",
p.3, col.B) and June 5th 1915 ("King's Bench Division" p.3, col F).
James Stewart Bean
James Stewart Bean is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bean is recorded as having been
born on October 16th 1886 in London, and is described as having worked as a stableman prior to his internment. His
home address was 7 Cranburg Road, Fulham, London. At the time the register was recorded, Bean was noted as staying in
loft B.
John E. Beard
John E. Beard was a seaman on board the Treglisson, prior to being arrested
and sent to Ruhleben. His homes address was noted as 19 Cottesmore Gardens, West Kensington, and he was aged 18. Many thanks
to Marcus Bateman's website for the information.
Norman Harry Beard
Norman Harry Beard was an internee at Ruhleben in 1916. Many thanks to
Norman's grabnddaughter Becky Simmonds for contacting me in July 2009 to inform me of his presence at the site.
Beare
Beare was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
G. Beattie
G. Beattie was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 15 Scott Street, Liscard.
William Beattie
William Beattie was noted in The Times of December 8th
1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to
Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1916 at FO383/206 concerning
a request for papers to prove William Beattie's period of internment in Ruhleben Camp,
and including an interview with Beattie printed in The People's Journal of February 19th, 1916.
Alfred W. Beaumont
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Alfred W. Beaumont is
noted as being from Suffolk. He was a seaman, and was arrested on 12 SEP 1914 at Wigmael, nr. Louvain.. In Ruhleben he was
interned in Barrack 6.
Lewis Grote Beaumont
Lewis Grote Beaumont was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, the camp captain,
to vice-chair the camp's Sanitation Department, and to chair the Health Department, as recorded in the Scotsman on 29/3/1915
(p.8) and the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at Ruhleben" p.4 col A). He was also asked to vice-chair the
Kitchen Department. The Sanitation Department's remit was to maintain hygenic conditions in the camp by attention to
the latrines, drainage, disinfection, baths, and the conditions of the barracks and the lofts, whilst the Health Department
was set up to see to the general health of the camp, such as the care of the sick, the prevention of illness, and the distribution
of relief in kind. The Kitchen Department's remit was to control the kitchens and all questions regarding the food of
the prisoners.
A document with the teams listed for a mock international between England, led by Bloomer, and
the Rest of the World, led by Cameron, on May 2nd 1915, was recently discovered amongst some Foreign Office files by
the National Archives, in November 2005. It further lists L. G. Beaumont as one of the honorary vice-presidents of the Ruhleben
Football Association, the other being J. Swift.
In an article in the Scotsman newspaper of October 27th 1915, Beaumont
was listed as vice-captain of the camp ("Ruhleben Camp - Success of Civil Administration", p.9), and as captain of Barrack
5.
Amongst the inmates at Ruhleben, Francis Gribble noted in his "Leaves
From a Ruhleben Notebook" that
"Mr. Beaumont was one of the most conspicuous of those whose competent direction
of the internal economy of barracks made the establishment of Home Rule possible."
The National Archives in London also hold documents from 1915 at FO383/27 regarding Lewis Grote Beaumont. The Ministry
of Munitions wished for his release from Ruhleben for munitions work, and there was an enquiry from his mother, Mrs. E. A.
Beaumont of Holyhead, with a subsequent suggestion that he be exchanged for a Franz Behrens, a German professor interned at
Wakefield. Further documents at FO383/74 contain a request by Beaumont, vice captain
of the Ruhleben camp, for copies of 'In Ruhleben Camp' to
be forwarded to Mrs Beaumont in Holyhead.
In the second issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (April 1916, p.6), we learn that Beaumont returned to England on March
19th 1916. His replacement as captain of Barrack 5 became W. F. MacKenzie.
Beckers
Beckers is listed in the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (May 1916, p.43) as having exhibted
in the camp's third art exhibition.
William Beckles
William Beckles was noted on a Ruhleben Express Delivery card (RXD) dated 16 MAR 1916 as being in
Barrack 13; a photocopy of the card is now owned by Dr. Manfred G. Heber of Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
Ernest Beckwith
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Ernest Beckwith
was from Old Cross Hertford, and was born in Witham Essex on 24 SEP 1898. He was a book keeper, and was arrested in Hamburg
on 6 NOV 1914, and after a brief period of imprisonment on the hulks, he was sent to Ruhleben, where he was
interned in Barrack 4.
Henry Beerenson
Henry Beerenson was noted in Barrack 6 Box 5 on a postcard
dated 19 NOV 1915 as held by Dr Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
J. O. Beeston
J. O. Beeston was noted in a Scotsman newspaper article of April 12th
1916 as having contributed humorous pen and ink sketches to the "Prisoners' Pie" annual, printed in Ruhleben ("Prisoners
Pie - A Souvenir of Ruhleben Camp", p.5).
J. O. Beeston also regularly contributed sketches to the Ruhleben Camp
Magazine. He was specifically thanked for his contributions in the fifth issue of the magazine (Christmas 1916, p.62).
Robert Victor Gordon Beeton
Many thanks to Mary White in East Sussex for the following contributions via this site's
guestbook in December 2009 and July 2010:
My grandfather Robert Victor Gordon Beeton was arrested and interned in Ruhleben.He
was a merchant seaman. His daughter, my aunt, was born shortly after and was named Berlinda!
Although noted as a merchant seaman, Beeton at first could not be found
on Marcus Bateman's website at http://wanborough.ukuhost.co.uk/POW/POW.htm. He is there, incorrectly indexed under the surname of Becton - the entry notes he was a sailor on the Saxon, with his home
address noted as 4 Jacksons Square, Greenhithe, Kent. (The address has been confirmed by Mary as being Beeton's.)
Begg
Begg was noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.58) as having played
for the winning B side in a second division match between the A team and the B team, on October 3rd 1916. The score
was B: 4 to A: 1.
Henry Belfast
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we
learn that Henry Belfast was from 5 Trithy Street, Soho, London, born in London in 1896. He was a waiter, arrested in
Frankfurt and imprisoned in Giessen before being sent on to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 2.
Bell
Bell was noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.58) as having played
for the winning B side in a second division match between the A team and the B team, on October 3rd 1916. The score
was B: 4 to A: 1.
A Bell was also noted in the Scotsman newspaper of May 12th 1915 as having sung some popular Burns
songs at the camp's first Burns Night celebration ("A Burns Celebration in a German Prison", p.14).
H. Alf. Bell
H. Alf. Bell was a prisoner in Loft 6 who had the honour to be lampooned
by way of an illustrated monogram in the sixth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (June 1917), drawn by artist CMAW. A couple
of years earlier he had been named as a member of the new camp
entertainments committee (after a strike in the camp) in IRC issue 7, p.8 (Sep 1915), representing the French and German Society.
A letter by Bell sent internally in the camp to fellow inmate Hodgkinson
was recently discovered for sale on E-bay in 2005, and its contents were noted as follows:
LA VIE FRANCAISE
Redacteur: H. Alf. Bell
Ruhleben (Loft 6) le 1er Mars 1916
Cher Monsieur,
Il me servit agreable de recevoir votre chronique theatrel des pieds depuis
Noel, aussitot que possible.
Vous remerciant a l' (???)
Sinceres salut
H. A. Bell.
The National Archives in London also hold documents from 1915 at
FO383/26 regarding Bell and fellow inmate Henry E. Walker, namely an enquiry from Walker's brother, James E. Walker in Paris,
regarding a possible invalid exchange.
Winthrop Pickard Bell
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/26 on
Winthrop P. Bell, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, namely an enquiry from his father, A. M. Bell.
The Imperial War Museum holds a copy of Bell's obituary, stored with a
copy of J. Davidson Ketchum's book "Ruhleben: A Prison Camp Society", and located at ID:79/704.
In 1914, Bell had been studying for a doctorate at Göttingen
University, but shortly after war was declared, he fell foul to a fellow student's complaint
that Bell had criticized the Kaiser. After being placed under house arrest, the university then decided to annul his
recently obtained doctorate. Shortly after, Bell was relocated to Ruhleben.
According to an e-mail conversation with Emma Pease in March
2006, Bell was a good friend during his internment with her grandfather, Michael Stewart Pease.
Jack Bellis
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Jack Bellis was noted
as being from 13 Evelyn Street, Liverpool, and as having been born in Liverpool in 1892. He worked as a sailor
and was arrested in Hamburg on 16 OCT 1914. After a brief spell imprisoned on the hulks in Hamburg, he was sent to Ruhleben,
where he was interned in Barrack 8.
James Connell Bellringer
James Connell Bellringer is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben
(register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bellringer is recorded
as having been born on July 2nd 1881 at Port Glasgow, and is described as having worked as the Chief Officer
of the S. S. Duns Law prior to his internment. His home address was 12 High Holm Street, Port Glasgow. At the time the
register was recorded, Bellringer was noted as staying in loft A, having arrived there from Barrack 14 on April 19th
1915.
A. S. Belmont
Belmont was noted in an article in the Scotsman newspaper entitled "Football
Among War Prisoners in Germany", dated April 21st 1915, as having played for the losing Oldham Atheltic side in a competition
final held in Ruhleben in November 1914. The story is also covered in The Times of April 20th 1915 (p.5, col. B).
Belmost was further noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp
(June 1915, p.14) as having played for the Varsities team against the Rest of Ruhleben, in the Ruhleben Cricket League.
Belmont was also one of the internees photographed with the Ruhleben Parcel Post - see Alfred Hazell
King's entry for the image.
Dr. Paul Romberg Bender
The National Archives in London contain documents from 1915 at FO383/75
regarding Dr. Paul Romberg Bender, a German subject and doctor of medicine, interned at Ruhleben,
about his possible return to civilian German life.
Captain Bennett
Captain Bennett, of the steamer Colchester, was interned in Ruhleben, with
28 other members of his crew, in mid 1916, after being captured by the Germans. The Scotsman newspaper of October
4th 1916 reported that the Foreign Office had informed the Imperial Merchant Service Guild that all were safe and well in
the camp ("Crew of the Colchester at Ruhleben", p.7).
George N. Jackson Bennett
George N. Jackson Bennett was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward
Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th
1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Bennett, of Liverpool, was also named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
Many thanks to Marcus Bateman for informing me that George was the chief officer of the 'Rutland',
and one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in
Kew under accession number MT9.
James Bennet
James Bennet is known to have been an internee at Ruhleben as he did a
sketch in the autograph book of internee A. F. Pinn in 1917, reprinted below (many thanks to Paul Bayliss).
From the MT9/1238 files at TNA he has been noted by Marcus Bateman as J.
Bennet, an assistant steward on board the S.S. Vienna, and whose home address was 6 Allan Street in Leith, Scotland.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, James Bennet was also
noted as being from 6 Allan Street, Leith, and as having been born in Leith in 1894. He worked as a ship's
steward and was arrested in Hamburg on 4 AUG 1914. He was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 8.
Ralph Bennet
Ralph Bennet was named in an undated Foreign Office document
contained within file FO 369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian Camp), implying it was compiled at the outbreak
of internment in 1914. He was described as a 32 year old 'angestellter' (staff) previously at work in Berlin.
Bennett was also
named in a list in FO 369/710, dated 11 OCT 1914, as communicated to the Foreign Office by a Nurse Coe (with thanks
to Simon Fowler).
George Berger
George Berger was named in an undated Foreign Office document
contained within file FO 369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian Camp), implying it was compiled at the outbreak
of internment in 1914. He was described as a 21 year old businessman previously at work in Berlin.
Berger is also
listed elsewhere in a list in FO 369/710 dated 11 OCT 1914, communicated to the Foreign Office by a Nurse Coe.
Berger is also noted in a document in FO 369/710
as a 21 year old English student sent first to Berlin's Stadtvogtei on 24 AUG 1914 and then to Ruhleben on 9 SEP 1914. He
had been residing at 16 Grolmanstrasse in the city. The information originally was compiled by the American Embassy in Berlin.
The National Archives in London also holds documents from 1916 at FO383/206 regarding an enquiry from Mr. D. Berger about
his son, George Berger, interned in Ruhleben.
G. Beringer
The Liddle Collection at Leeds University holds two notebooks of observations
made by Beringer from books that he had read in 1917, whilst interned in the camp, at RUH 04. The online
index tells us that Beringer was an electrical engineer in Germany at the beginning of the First World War. When he was subsequently interned
at Ruhleben, he lived initially Barrack 18, and later Barrack 22B.
Gershon Berliner (aka George Berliner, later George Birley)
The following information on internee Gershon Berliner was kindly supplied by his daughter Pamela
Birley in September 2008, for which I am extremely grateful:
Gershon Berliner was known as George. He was arrested in Berlin on the first day of war, and taken to Ruhleben where
he was put in one of the so-called barracks. The conditions at first were appalling but after a visit by the American
Ambassador things became a little more bearable. The two books I have on the camp, one by Israel Cohen and the other
by Joseph Powell and Frances Gribble give a very good account of conditions and the life that the prisoners lived.
As far as my father (born in east London in 1889) was concerned (he was the last child born
to my grandparents Jacob and Leah, Jewish refugees from the Polish pogroms) he had the added problem of having the
German branch of our family living in Berlin where conditions for the German civilians became desperate especially
with regards to food.
His female cousins used to visit him, and as all the prisoners received Red Cross parcels their
food supply was far in excess of that experienced by the civilians, he told them to sew large pockets in the inside of
their skirts, and when they next visited he gave them bread and tinned food to conceal in these pocketsand in this way they managed to survive the war.
I always thought this story was somewhat exaggerated, but when my father died in 1970, his cousin
Chito (who emigrated with his family to Palestine in 1933) wrote to us and told us the story and how he remembered as
a very young boy being told that his meal "had come from cousin George."
My father was very keen on football so became a member of the Camp team, and also learned from
one of the doctors in his barracks some very useful First Aid.
On returning to England, George was told that the family were changing their name to Birley (Berliner
was not a very acceptable name just after the war for obvious reasons!) so he did as well, and then joined the new film business,
which was just beginning, as a film salesman for Paramount Pictures, and stayed in the business, later on working for Columbia
and United Artists until he retired at the age of 72.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, George was noted
as being a merchant from 26 Mount Pleasant Lane, Clapton, London. He was arrested in Berlin on 6 NOV 1914 and sent
to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 6.
Max Berliner
Many thanks to Harry M. Geduld for supplying the following
information in July 2007 regarding his uncle Max Berliner, who was interned at Ruhleben:
"While in Ruhleben, before getting ill with the rheumatic fever that eventually
killed him, he ran the camp laundry. It was only when my mother met my Dad (see entry for Sol Geduld),
years after Max had died, that my Mother discovered that Dad had been in Ruhleben at the same time as her brother.
You may be unaware that H.G.Wells, in his novel "Mr Britling Sees It Through,"
describes the mistreatment of British prisoners as they were being taken to Ruhleben at the outbreak of the War. According
to Wells, a Berlin mob pelted them with garbage."
Thomas Leonard Berry
Thomas Leonard Berry is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Berry is recorded as having
been born on July 9th 1887 in Bolton, and is described as having worked as a mechanic prior to his internment. His
home address was 129 Hatfield Road, Bolton. At the time the register was recorded, Berry was noted as staying in loft
A.
As 'L. Berry', he was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as above.
Charles Bryan Berting
Charles Bryan Berting is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Berting is recorded as having
been born on December 11th 1895 in Wimbledon, and is described as having worked as a clerk prior to his internment.
His home address was 59 Rue Frederic de Merode, Berchem, Antwerp. At the time the register was recorded, Berting was
noted as staying in box 7.
From this site's guest book, the following was posted in November 2011 by Charles' grandson Patrick
Berting, in British Columbia, Canada:
Thank you for creating this site and
allowing me to learn a bit more about my grandfather, Charles Bryan Berting, who I learned was billeted in Barrack 5. He was
just 18 when interned so his time there was very formative on him. Apparently he was active in the camp school and benefitted
form the classes he took. He passed away in Canada aged 70, when I was quite young, so unfortunately I never had the pleasure
of hearing his stories first-hand.
W.P. Bessant
W. P. Bessant was chief engineer of the Oron, was born in 1878, and was
resident at Shannon, Paignton, Devonshire prior to the war.
A W. Bessant was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting
to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of
December 28th 1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Bessler
Bessler is noted as having been resident in Barrack 1 Box 12 on a letter from a Rudolf Weyer dated
1 JAN 1916, as held in the private collection of Dr. Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria. (Many thanks to Dr. Heber.)
A. M. L. Betts
The National Archives hold records from 1915 at FO383/72 concerning the
order of gold souvenir medals from England by Mr A. M. L. Betts, British subject interned at Ruhleben.
The arrangements for the trasnmission were via the US Embassy in Berlin. It was deeply unpopular request which split
the camp, with a resolution passed by nearly 3000 members that badges or medals should not be purchased by relief funds sent
to them.
As 'A. Betts', he was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as Regent Road, Morecambe.
Cornelius Betts
Many thanks to Shirley Middlecoate for her guestbook entry on this site
in May 2007 which named Cornelius Betts as a fellow member of the crew to her husband's grandfather Samuel Coles, serving
on the 'Chameleon' prior to their arrest.
James H. Beynon
James H. Beynon was one of a group of Ruhleben
inmates released on March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9.
Beynon was formerly the first engineer of the 'City of Hamburg' and at the time of his internment his home address had been
given as 30 Henrietta Street, Swansea, Wales. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
H. D. Bickerstaffe
H. D. Bickerstaffe was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester
Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full
List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 61 Park Road, Blackpool.
Biggs
Biggs was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
Frank Binn
Frank Binn was named in an undated Foreign Office document contained
within file FO 369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian Camp), implying it was compiled at the outbreak of
internment in 1914. He was described as a 33 year old jockey who had been working in Berlin.
As F. W. Binn he is noted in another document in FO 369/710 as an English jockey sent
to Ruhleben on 9 SEP 1914. This information was originally compiled by the American Embassy in Berlin.
Albert Binns
Albert Binns is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Binns is recorded as having been born
on May 7th 1890 in Nottingham, and is described as having been a traveller prior to his internment. His home address
was 2 Gronville Terrace, Holbeck, Leeds. At the time the register was recorded, Boyce was noted as staying in box 6,
having transferred there from Barrack 9 on May 18th 1918.
Binns is listed as being at Ruhleben in a Foreign Office file in FO
369/710 dated 11 OCT 1914. The list was communicated to the Foreign Office by a Nurse Coe (with thanks to Simon
Fowler).
W. E. Binza
W. E. Binza was an inmate in Barracke 5 at Ruhleben, who received a postcard
from Mahabalebrvar, India, on April 25th 1918. The card was reproduced in Frank Bachenheimer's "A Postal History Study of...
The Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp 1914-1918".
John Bird
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, John
Bird is noted as being from Hill Top, West Bromwich, and as having been born in West Bromwich on 18 MAR 1881. He was
a gas-fitting maker, and was arrested in Croix, France, on 26 JAN 1915. After a brief imprisonment in Boubaix, Valenciens
and Mons, he was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 4.
A. H. Bitton
A. H. Bitton is noted on a list of prisoners of war on a document entitled 'Men in Englander Lager,
Ruhleben', held by Hull Local Studies Library (provisional catalogue entry: Hohenrein Collection F 10b), supplied by senior local studies librarian
David Alexander Smith in July 2008, for which I am grateful. The document
notes that Bitton was a merchant seaman on board the S. S. Hull, and interned in Barrack 3.
Herbert Frederick Bird
Herbert Frederick Bird is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bird is recorded as having been
born on December 8th 1886 in Norwich, and is described as having worked as a teacher prior to his internment. His
home address was 75 Bakers Road, Norwich. At the time the register was recorded, Bird was noted as staying in box 19.
W. Bishop-Dowling
W. Bishop-Dowling was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 44-5 Charlottenburg, Berlin, N.W. 7.
J. Blackburn
J. Blackburn was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society
in the Manchester Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian
Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as Fenay Lodge, Huddersfield.
Blackburn is noted as being in Barrack 7 on a postcard dated 25 DEC 1915 to S'Gravenshage, as held
now by Dr. Manfred G. Heber of Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
Joseph Blacklock
According to Marcus Bateman's website at http://wanborough.ukuhost.co.uk/POW/POW.htm, Joseph Blacklock was a steward on the City of Munich. He was from 38 Bessboro Avenue in Dublin, and was not released to
Holland until February 21st 1918.
In January 2008, Blacklock's granddaughter Christine Wrafter kindly contacted me to share the fact
that her grandfather was the son of Richard Blacklock from Scotland, retired from the Highland Light Brigade at the time
of the war. Joseph was in the British Merchant Navy and was taken into custody at the port of Hamburg.
F. Blackwell
F. Blackwell was chief engineer on the 'Banana', and at the time of his
arrest was noted as being from 4 Severn Terrace, Watchet, Somerset. He was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on
March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus
Bateman.
F. J. Blackwell
F. J. Blackwell was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Owen Blackwell
Owen Blackwell was listed in The Times of January 8th 1916 ("Released Civilians" p.5, col. D) as one
of 69 men released from Ruhleben on Thursday, January 6th, 1916, who subsequently travelled to Flushing for their return
trip to England.
Harry Blades
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Harry Blades
was resident at Belmisthorp, Nr. Stamford, Lincolnshire, was born in Stamford on 5 JUL 1886, was a jockey arrested
in Hoppegarten on 6 NOV 1914, and sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 1.
Blades' arrest and internment was also noted in the Scotsman newspaper on 9/11/1914 (p.9), and in
The Times of the same day ("British Interned in Germany", p. 7, col. E).
J. W. Blagden
J. W. Blagden's obituary in The Times of December 10th 1940 noted that
he had been interned in Ruhleben for the whole of the war, following several years as a chemical research worker in Germany,
having taken his Ph.D. in Wurzberg ("Dr. J. W. Blagden", p.7, col. F).
The seventh issue of In Ruhleben Camp expands somewhat on his credentials,
noting him as Mr. J. W. Blagden M.A. (Cantab) Ph. D. (Heidelberg). He was responsible for the camp school's Science and Mathematics
departments (Sep 1915, p.18).
A series of RXD internal mail cards and a postcard addressed to a Mr. J.
H. Blagden in London, S. E. England, were put up for sale on E-Bay in July 2005. The resolution on the images is very
low, but it can be made out that J. W. Blagden was a prisoner in Barrack 8, box 12. A further card was addressed to a
Frau N. Blagden in Heidelberg on August 25th 1915.
W. Blanch
W. Blanch was an inmate at Ruhleben listed in the Nautical Notes section
of the sixth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (June 1917) as having recently given a "very practical and instructive lecture"
on the telemotor.
Stuart Blark (aka Clark)
Stuart Blark (possibly Clark) was a British Ruhleben prisoner released in October 1916, as noted in
the Scotsman newspaper of October 9th 1916 ("Released from Ruhleben - Arrival of British Party at Rotterdam", p.6). The confusion
over his surname is noted in the article as having come from his release being recorded by two different sources, who
have both spelt his name differently.
Blaxhill
Blaxhill was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
L. Bleninger
L. Bleninger was an inmate in Barrack 4, Box 21, as noted from an envelope
from a letter to Frankfurt dated July 21st 1917, reproduced in Frank Bachenheimer's "A Postal History Study of...The Ruhleben
P.O.W. Camp 1914-1918" (Fig 33). (With thanks also to Dr Manfred G. Heber for clarifying details).
Neville B. Bloch
Neville Bloch was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, camp captain, to the committee of the Health
Department at Ruhleben, as reported by the Scotsman on 29/3/1915 and the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at
Ruhleben" p.4 col A). The Health Department's remit was to see to the general health of the camp, such as the care of
the sick, the prevention of illness, and the distribution of relief in kind.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Neville is noted as being
a journalist from 88 Dukes Street, Chiswick, London W. He was arrested in Hamburg on 6 NOV 1914 and sent to Ruhleben,
where he was interned in Barrack 6.
Bloch is also noted as having been in Barrack 19 on a letter to Dortmund
dated 14 MAY 1916, a photocopy of which is held by Dr. Manfred G. Heber of Grand Canaria. Other items held include a postcard
from Bad Lippspringe dated 12 AUG 1916, a card from
Köln dated 24 SEP 1916, and another
card from Dortmund dated 29 JAN 1917 (with thanks to Dr.
Heber).
Morris Bloom
Morris Bloom was the addressee on an envelope put up for sale on E-Bay
in July 2005. He was listed as "Prisoner of War, Morris Bloom, Barrack 11, box 8", and the envelope was stamped by the Ruhleben
Post on February 21st 1916, at 6.45 pm.
Further correspondence as held by Dr Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria from 25 JUN 1915, 21 JAN 1916,
22 JAN 1916 and 25 JAN 1916 lists his presence prior to this in Barrack 6, box 8. The same address is noted on a
letter from 19 JAN 1919 (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
England international footballer Steve Bloomer was noted in the Times newspaper
of April 20th 1915 (p.5, col B) and the Scotsman newspaper of April 21st 1915 as having helped at the back for the "Tottenham
Hotspur" side when they won at a football competition in Ruhleben, held in November 1914.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we learn that Bloomer was resident
at 35 Portland Street, Derby, was born Cradley 20 JAN 1874, was a football coach, was arrested in Berlin on 6 NOV 1914, and
sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 1.
Bloomer is also noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June
1915, p.14) as having played for the Rest of Ruhleben team against the Varsities, in the Ruhleben Cricket League.
He is further noted in the second issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (April
1916, p.29) as having led the losing side against a team led by John Cameron in a football match on March 3rd 1916.
Bloomer's role in the Lancashire vs. Yorkshire cricket match of July 23rd 1916 was also reported
in the fourth issue (August 1916, p.38):
The White Rose won by 178 to 125. For the winning side Harrison 47 and Anderson
48 battled well. Bloomer took 5 wickets for 39. hartley was the highest scorer for Lancashire with 26, and Wolstenholme took
five wickets for 20.
Bloomer was also noted in the football section of the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916,
p.58) as being a member of Barrack 11, and of being injured at that time.
Bloomer was sketched for issue six of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (June 1917)
by C. M. Horsfall in March 1917, and the accompanying biographical entry was written about him:
Mr. Steve Bloomer has represented his country in professional association football
on no less than twenty three occasions, thus establishing very nearly a world's record. Though his activities are now confined
to the narrow limits of Ruhleben, Mr. Bloomer's skill on the field of play has been a cource of inspiration for our younger
players and of genuine pleasure to the onlookers.
Bloomer also had the honour to be lampooned by way of a monogram drawn in the same issue of
the magazine, by artist CMAW.
The Scotsman newspaper of March 18th 1918 noted that Bloomer was still
imprisoned at the camp ("Kicked and Treated Like Dogs", p.3).
A Press Release from The National Archives on November 11th 2005 gives more information on Bloomer:
Did Our First World War POWs hold the answer to Sven's tactical formation?
A footbal team sheet for an international match inside Ruhleben POW camp in
1915 - featuring an England side captained by the great Steve Bloomer - has been discovered in newly catalogued World war
One Prisoner of War files at the National Archives in Kew.
Billed as the "Great International Match" between England and the Rest of the
World, the team sheet may even hold the key to Sven Goran-Eriksson's tactical indecision, with the POWs taking on a 2-3-2-3
formation.
In July 1914, three weeks before war was declared, Steve Bloomer travelled to
Berlin to coach Berlin Britannia Football Club. He was captured and spent three and a half years in Ruhleben camp. The internees,
among them a number of footballers, created a remarkable camp society for themselves in which organised sport figured prominently.
Bloomer captained his barracks to the League championship, aged 43.
The David Beckham of his time, Steve Bloomer (1874-1933) played inside right
for Derby County, Middlesbrough and England from 1892-1914. By 1905, when he broke the England scoring and appearance records
he was a national institution... football's first 'superstar'.
Bloomer made his England debut in 1895 against Ireland, aged 21, scoring twice.
He bowed out against Scotland in 1907, scoring once... from the halfway line. He scored in each of the first ten internationals.
His 28 goals in 23 appearances for England were a record until 1956.
The team sheet was found hidden among the 547 volumes of Foreign Office documents
recently catalogued. The Prisoner of War files reval how British internees refused to let capture and confinement dampen their
spirits.
Besides football, if gambling was your bag then the casino at Ruhleben, an internment
camp 10km west of Berlin, should have made your stay slightly more bearable. A plan of the camp, formerly a race course near
the now notorious Spandau, shows soem of the perks enjoyed by the 4,000 British Prisoners of War housed there - a printing
department, playing fields, grandstand, atheltic stores and an array of shops selling over 20 different kinds of tobacco were
all on offer to relieve the monotony of camp life.
C. G. Bloore
C. G. Bloore, of Liverpool, was
one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons,
postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
He was also named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published by the Scotsman
newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
Bloore was further recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester
Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full
List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 10 Grey Road, Walton, Liverpool.
John Albert Bloxham
John Albert Bloxham is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bloxham is recorded as having
been born on December 24th 1896 in Walsham, and is described as having worked as a mercantile apprentice prior to his
internment. His home address was Canvey Island, Essex. At the time the register was recorded, Bloxham was noted as staying
in loft B, having transferred there from Barrack 9 on April 17th 1918.
Charles Blumenstein
Charles Blumenstein's signature was recorded by fellow internee Christopher Cornforth, in an
autograph book now held at the Imperial War Museum. Blumenstein was interned in the Barrack XI loft and came from Kolinsberg,
Prussia.
Many thanks to Christopher's granddaughter Christine Pierce who provided this information in
December 2007.
Blunzer
Blunzer was known to have been a prisoner in Barrack 6, Box 16, as noted
from a postcard dated November 29th 1915, depicted in Frank Bachenheimer's "A Postal History Study of... The Ruhleben P.O.W.Camp
1914-1918" (Fig. 18a).
C. R. Bock
C. R. Bock was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as Larkhill, Bowdon.
Charles Boden
Charles Boden was one of sixteen men released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the
Times of January 29th 1917 ("Changed Conditions in Germany", p.8, col. G).
NB: This may be the Bodin listed below.
Alfred E. Bodger
Alfred E. Bodger was noted in the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine
(May 1916, p.47) as having been the secretary for the camp's Lost Property Department.
Alexander Hastie Bodin (1887-1948)
Alec Bodin, M.A. (Glasgow) is noted as being responsible for the Arts department in the camp's school
in the seventh issue of In Ruhleben Camp (Sep 1915, p.18). He was noted as being an assistant professor of philosophy at Glasgow.
Bodin was noted in the football section of the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas
1916, p.58) as being a member of Barrack 11, and of being injured at that time.
In August 2008, Bodin's grandson Robert Bodin kindly contacted me to provide the following extensive
biographical entry, for which I am eternally grateful:
Alec was a regular playing member of Glasgow Rangers Football Club
during the seasons 1909 to 1913 and one of the few regular amateur players associated for a long period of time with the club.
During his time with Rangers he was awarded 3 players medals which very luckily still survive in our family today.
He studied at Glasgow University and received a 1st Class Honours
Degree of Master of Arts in Logic and Moral Philosophy. After receiving his degree he worked at the University as Assistance
Lecturer in Logic (1912-1919) to Professor R. Latta M.A. Professor of Logic.
Alec went out to Germany in 1914 and was interned in the very early
stages of the Great War and was in Ruhleben from 1914 to 1918. Sadly during this time his brother Hugh A. A. Bodin, a Signalman
for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves was killed in 1917 aged 20. Hugh was on the destroyer HMS Cheerful just off Lerwick
Harbour when struck by a mine or torpedo and sank.
Alec and many others endured for more than four years the severe
hardships which were imposed on him and his fellow prisoners. During this long period of exile he did able and unselfish work
in alleviating the monotony and unpleasantness of Camp Life. In this time of seclusions, shut off from the outside world,
he went through a great spiritual experience, and as the result of this, he resolved on his return home to prepare himself
for entrance to the Ministry of the Church of Scotland.
At Ruhleben Camp Alec was involved in many activates:
· Chairman of the Internment Camp Scots Social and Literary Society
· Member of the Internment Camp School Committee
· Secretary of the Internment Camp Y.M.C.A
I have a wooden picture frame made in the Ruhleben Camp which has
the Ruhleben Camp Coat of Arms on the bottom. I am not sure if my Grandfather made it or not but in the frame are two post
cards with pictures of his sisters and on the back of the cards is the Ruhleben Camp address to “Alex H Bodin, Barack
XI, Ruhleben, Berlin, Germany.” (See below).
K. M. Boggon
K. M. Boggon was noted in The Times of November 9th 1931 as being one of the former inmates of Ruhleben
present at a dinner meeting held in November 1931 by the Ruhleben Association, which was held to discuss an appeal to the
House of Lords for the group's claims for compensation ("Reunion of Ex-Ruhleben Prisoners", p.17, col.D).
A copy of a card sent to me by Denis Camps in October 2007 also shows that a Mr. Boggon was
due to read a paper to the Social Problems Circle on 'Municipal Trading' at 7.00pm in the Loft of Barrack 6, on February 24th
1916.
Fred Bolton
Fred Bolton is noted on a list of prisoners of war on a document
entitled 'Men in Englander Lager, Ruhleben', held by Hull Local Studies Library (provisional catalogue entry: Hohenrein Collection F 10b), supplied by senior
local studies librarian David Alexander Smith in July 2008, for which I am grateful. The
document notes that Bolton was a civilian and interned in Barrack 4.
Peter Bondarenko
Peter Bondarenko was a Russian child temporarily interned in Ruhleben along
with another Russian child, Stanislas Voinarovsky. The two were photographed with one of the Ruhleben policemen, Constable
Castle, the photo being published in the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (May 1916, p.16).
The two children did not stay long at the camp, and their departure was noted in the editorial of
the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (August 1916, p.3):
Our two youthful Russian friends, Peter and Stanislas, who have left Ruhleben,
ask us to thank the Camp at large for various small favours received, and we accordingly do so, for they made many friends
during their stay among us.
A. H. Bone
A. H. Bone was listed as one of the former inmates at Ruhleben in an article in The Times on January
4th 1919 concerning the Ruhleben Exhibition at the Central Hall of Westminster ("Life in Ruhleben", p.11, col. F). Bone submitted
a half-model of a yacht to the exhibition, which he had made whilst interned in the camp.
Edward Bonhote
In the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915), on pages 11 and 41,
Edward Bonhote is noted as having been voted into the office of secretary for the newly formed Ruhleben Music Society, at
a meeting held on Thursday June 15th, attended by some 36 musicians in the camp.
In the first issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March 1916, p.26), Bonhite
was noted as having sung songs by Hugo Wolf at a recent concert in the camp.
A further of Bonhote's musical contributions to life at Ruhleben was noted
in the sixth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine, in the Musical Notes section:
"ARTS AND SCIENCE UNION. The evening of modern music arranged by Mr. Norman
Hewitt was a great artistic success. The chief interest of the evening centred in the performance of several works by our
fellow "interned", Mr. Roland Bocquet. It was good to hear from the Pianoforte Ballade played once again in its original form,
after the astounding orchestral caricature which had been offered to the Camp on a former memorable occasion. In this work,
and in pieces by Debussy and Ravel, Mr. Hewitt was heard to greater advantage than on any previous occasion in Ruhleben, his
playing being marked by notable sincerity of purpose and musical feeling. It was, however, in a group of songs that Bocquet's
work was heard at its best. The writer of these notes knows of no other living composer who can set words with such perfect
regard for all the nuances of the lyrical rhythm and at the same time produce works of such sheer musical beauty. While there
is much one would like to say about the different songs presented on this occasion, exigencies of space prevent more than
a brief reference to one particularly choice example - a setting of Baudelaire's "Recuillement", which may truly be described
as a perfect musical counterpart of this fine poem. The songs were very beautifully sung by M. Edward Bonhote."
Bonhote was also recorded in The Times as being about to give a concert at the Ruhleben Exhibition
on Friday, February 7th, with fellow former Ruhleben musicians, all of whom had been professional musicians captured in Bayreuth.
The article appeared on January 30th 1919 in the Times ("Ruhleben Exhibition", p.11, col. F).
Llewellyn 'Leo' Boole
In January 2006, the following biographical entry for Leo Boole was submitted to this website by his
grandson, Mike McCrohan, to whom I am very much indebted (Mike can be contacted at mmccg614@hotmail.com):
Leo Boole was a great-nephew of George Boole (1815-1864), the mathematician who invented Boolean logic
as used in computers today. Leo resembled George in looks and intellect - he was an Oxford scholar who taught classics
and languages.
He was unfortunate enough to be visiting a German cousin, Enid Marschall, in Cologne when war broke
out in 1914. Leo was imprisoned in Ruhleben camp, where he played a prominent part in the running of the Camp School, which
had about a hundred teachers and more than a thousand pupils. Leo was in charge of the French department. The biggest
problem was lack of places to hold the classes. These were held outside in warm weather, but at other times had to squeeze
into any available loft or box (small rooms into which the barrack huts were divided). Classes were aimed at the British Board
of Education examinations, and the Board sent to Ruhleben the syllabuses and
several hundred books for a camp library.
Leo
and Enid kept in touch throughout the war and she visited him when she could get permission. Ironically, in the later
years of the war, the Germans were suffering such deprivation that Leo was giving food (which he had received from his relatives
in England) to Enid. In return, Enid knitted warm clothes for Leo. On release in 1918 they married and moved to
England. He taught in Sedbergh, Belper, Folkestone and London, but suffered increasingly poor health, and died in 1935 aged
50, when their only daughter Rose was 16. Enid lived until 1959.
The seventh issue of In Ruhleben Camp describes him as Mr. L. Boole M.A. (Oxon) and states that he was
previously a teacher at Merchant Taylors School in Preston (Sep 1915, p.18).
E. W. Boot
E. W. Boot was a member of a committe of 30 ex-Ruhleben prisoners who after the war contributed and
collected funds to provide a headstone for fellow internee Cecil Duncan-Jones, who died shortly after his release from the
camp and his return to England. (Many thanks to Cecil's great nephew Richard Duncan-Jones for providing this information in
June 2007.)
James Albert Boothroyd (1874 - 1955)
James Albert Boothroyd, born June 23rd 1874, and died January 26th 1955, was
living in Gruneberg, Germany, when the First World War broke out. His wife, Doris Maria Minna Mennerick, was German, and his son,
Walter Herbert Boothroyd, was just 13. Doris and Walter left Germany for Britain, whilst James was arrested and taken
to Ruhleben. He was eventually exchanged for a German POW, and lived the rest of his life afterwards with his family
in Alva, Scotland (despite being originally from West Yorkshire). The family had originally gone to Germany to work in the
woollen mills, along with other families from Bradford.
Many thanks to James' great grandson James Boothroyd for supplying me with
this information in October 2007. Stephen has in his possession a set of dominoes made by his great grandfather within the
camp, pictured below.
Roland Boquet
In the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp, Roland Bocquet was noted on pages
11 and 41 as having been voted in as chair of the newly formed Ruhleben Music Society, after a meeting held on Thursday
June 15th, with some 36 musicians present.
Part of his musical contribution to Ruhleben life was noted in
issue six of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (June 1917):
"ARTS AND SCIENCE UNION. The evening of modern music arranged by Mr. Norman
Hewitt was a great artistic success. The chief interest of the evening centred in the performance of several works by our
fellow "interned", Mr. Roland Bocquet. It was good to hear from the Pianoforte Ballade played once again in its original form,
after the astounding orchestral caricature which had been offered to the Camp on a former memorable occasion. In this work,
and in pieces by Debussy and Ravel, Mr. Hewitt was heard to greater advantage than on any previous occasion in Ruhleben, his
playing being marked by notable sincerity of purpose and musical feeling. It was, however, in a group of songs that Bocquet's
work was heard at its best. The writer of these notes knows of no other living composer who can set words with such perfect
regard for all the nuances of the lyrical rhythm and at the same time produce works of such sheer musical beauty. While there
is much one would like to say about the different songs presented on this occasion, exigencies of space prevent more than
a brief reference to one particularly choice example - a setting of Baudelaire's "Recuillement", which may truly be described
as a perfect musical counterpart of this fine poem. The songs were very beautifully sung by M. Edward Bonhote."
"Tribute has already been paid to the work of Mr. Roland Bocquet, and one must record the
debt of gratitude which the Camp owes to Mr. E. L. Bainton, who on several occasions has been called upon to write incidental
music for Ruhleben Theatrical productions, and who has never failed to provide some charming and appropriate strains."
Bocquet was also recorded in The Times as being about to give a
concert at the Ruhleben Exhibition on Friday, February 7th, with fellow former Ruhleben musicians, all of whom had been professional
musicians captured in Bayreuth. The article appeared on January 30th 1919 in the Times ("Ruhleben Exhibition", p.11, col.
F).
William Thomas Borton
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/25 concerning
William Thomas Borton, detained as a civil prisoner of war at Ruhleben. The documents concern an enquiry
from Borton's niece, Miss. V. M. Borton of St Petersburg.
Alexander Boss
Alexander Boss, of London, was one of fifteen men released from Ruhleben who arrived in neutral Holland
on June 7th 1916, as noted in the Times of June 8th 1916 ("War Weariness in Germany", p.7, col.C). In the article, Boss described the seriousness of the food crisis in the camp.
In the seventh issue of In Ruhleben Camp (Sep 1915, p.6), Boss was thanked
for his efforts in editing and publishing the Souvenir Election magazine.
Henry James Bosson (Bossum)
Henry James Bosson is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bosson is recorded as having
been born on February 22nd 1883 in Barnstaple, and is described as having worked as a teacher prior to his internment.
His home address was Brook House, Basingstoke. At the time the register was recorded, Bosson was noted as staying in box 3.
Bosson is also recorded as having spent some time in the Schonungsbaracke between July 16th 1918 and
July 31st.
Bosson was also noted as an inmate at Ruhleben by Francis Gribble, in his essay entitled "Leaves From
a Ruhleben Notebook", although his name was listed as "Bossum".
"...the men of light and leading in religious matters were Professor Delmer,
of Berlin, Mr. Cecil Duncan Jones, the novelist, and my own fellow townsman, Mr. Bossum, of Barnstaple, who had been living
in Germany as a teacher of languages."
Frank Cowley Boulton
Frank Cowley Boulton is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Boulton is recorded as having
been born on September 2nd 1876 in Cheltenham, and is described as having worked as a teacher prior to his internment.
His home address was Thornton, Montpellier Drive, Cheltenham. At the time the register was recorded, Boulton was noted
as staying in box 26.
Between December 19th and December 28th, Boulton spent some time in the camp's Schonungsbaracke,
and a further spell between January 4th 1918 and January 11th.
Many thanks to John O' Toole in Worcestershire for the following contribution via this site's guest
book in February 2009:
Very pleased to have found your site, and quite surprised.
The family story I have found so far has been that Frank was a Artist who was interned in France by the Vichie Goverment?
so when I find him in Germany instead, I think I shall have to put my information down as a near miss!
Bourgault-Ducoudraye
Mr. Bourgault-Ducoudraye's contribution to life in the camp is recorded in the Musical Notes
section of the sixth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (June 1917):
"Mr. Frederick Keel and Mr. F. W. Hughesdon have given genuine pleasure by their
singing, of particular interest being Mr. Keel's performance of some beautiful Folk-Tunes from Normandy and Brittany, arranged
with admirable ingenuity and perfect taste by MM. Edouard Moulle and Bourgault-Ducoudraye."
William Lester Bower
William Lester Bower was second officer of the 'City of Leeds' and at the time of his internment
was noted as being of 38 Wollaston Road, Cleethorpes, Linclonshire. He was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on
March 6th 1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus
Bateman.
Charles Nicol Bowlby
Charles Nicol Bowlby is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bowlby is recorded as having
been born on June 22nd 1891 in London, and is described as having been a student prior to his internment.
His home address was 17 Fairfax Road, Hampstead. At the time the register was recorded, Bowlby was noted as staying in loft
A.
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Bowlby
is noted as being from 17 Fairfax Road, north west Hampstead, and as having been born in Hampstead in 1891. He was a
student in Wesel, where he was arrested on 17 AUG 1914. After a brief period held in Wesel, Sennelager, Bonn and
Cologne, he was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 5.
Dr. Horst Pöethe, president of the Herrigsche Gesselschaft (Germany's oldest
literary society), contacted me in May 2008 to say that he had found many books in second hand stores in Berlin which
had previously been part of the Ruhleben Camp Library. Inside the covers of some of these books were names of former prisoners,
which he has kindly forwarded to me. The following is the signature of Charles Nicol Bowlby:
E. A. Bowman
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/26 regarding
E. A. Bowman and his son Noel, namely an enquiry from his wife, Mrs Bowman of Birkenhead.
Noel Bowman
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/26 regarding
Noel Bowman and his father, E. A. Bowman, namely an enquiry from Noel's mother, Mrs Bowman of Birkenhead.
Edgar Boyce
Many thanks to Shirley Middlecoate for her guestbook entry on this site
in May 2007 which named Edgar Boyce as a fellow member of the crew to her husband's grandfather Samuel Coles, serving on the
'Chameleon' prior to their arrest.
Edgar Harry Boyce
Edgar Harry Boyce is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Boyce is recorded as having
been born on March 19th 1896 in Grimsby, and is described as having worked as a fisherman on the "Chamelion" prior to
his internment. His home address was 41 Newmarket Street, Grimsby. At the time the register was recorded, Boyce was noted
as staying in loft A, having been transferred there on October 29th 1915 from Senne.
Edward Boyce is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Boyce is recorded as having been born
on February 13th 1866 in Grimsby, and is described as having worked as a seaman on the "Manx Queen" prior to his internment.
His home address was 41 Newmarket Street, Grimsby. At the time the register was recorded, Boyce was noted as staying
in loft A, and ultimately left for England on January 2nd 1918. Boyce was the father of Edgar Harry Boyce noted above.
Nisbet Boyce
Nisbet Boyce was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Boyd
Boyd is noted in the fourth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magzine (August 1916, p.37) as playing
cricket for the Barrack 2 side.
James Boyd
James Boyd is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Boyd is recorded as having been born
on April 21st 1878 in Glasgow, and is described as having worked as an engineer prior to his internment. His home address
was 20 Albert Drive, Crosshill, Glasgow. At the time the register was recorded, Boyd was noted as staying in box 19.
Boyer
Boyer was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
Boylee
Boylee was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
Charles Bradbery
Charles Bradbery is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bradbery is recorded as having
been born on June 17th 1880 in Rickmansworth, and is described as having worked as a coachman prior to his internment.
His home address was 15 Weymouth Avenue, South Ealing, London. At the time the register was recorded, Bradbery was noted
as staying in loft A, having transferred there from Barrack 18 on May 16th 1917.
C. E. Bradney
C. E. Bradney was a member of a committe of 30 ex-Ruhleben prisoners who after the war contributed
and collected funds to provide a headstone for fellow internee Cecil Duncan-Jones, who died shortly after his release from
the camp and his return to England. (Many thanks to Cecil's great nephew Richard Duncan-Jones for providing this information
in June 2007.)
Dr. L. Bradshaw
Dr. L. Bradshaw was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian
of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those
Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 21 Beach Grove, Southport.
William Ernest Braga
William Ernest Braga was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward
Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th
1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Braga is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number 2), recorded
by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Braga is recorded as having been born on August
7th 1875 in Axton, Birkinhead, and is described as having worked as a clerk prior to his internment. His home address
was 4 Buckingham Avenue, Claughton, Birkinhead. At the time the register was recorded, Braga was noted as staying in
box 2.
An envelope from a letter sent on March 2nd 1916 lists Braga as being in Box 13 (with thanks to Dr. Manfred G.
Heber).
Braga is also noted in the barrack register as having had a lot of leave during his latter
stay. The following dates are periods of absence enjoyed by Braga:
1917: 8/9 to 10/9; 15/9 to 17/9; 22/9 to 24/9; 25/9 to 1/10; 20/10 to 22/10; 27/10
to 29/10; 3/11 to 5/11; 10/11 to 12/11; 17/11 to 19/11; 24/11 to 26/11; 1/12 to 3/12; 8/12 to 10/12; 15/12 to 17/12; 22/12
to 27/12.
1918: 2/1 to 3/1; 5/1 to 7/1; 12/1 to 14/1; 19/1 to 21/1; 26/1 to 28/1; 9/2 to 12/2;
16/2 to 18/2; 23/2 to 25/2; 2/3 to 4/3; 9/3 to 11/3; 16/3 to 18/3; 23/3 to 15/3; 30/3 to 2/4; 6/4 to 8/4; 13/4 to 15/4; 20/4
to 22/4; 26/4 to 29/4; 4/5 to 6/5; 11/5 to 13/5; 18/5 to 21/5; 25/5 to 27/58/6 to 9/6; 15/6 to 17/6; 22/6 to 24/6; 6/7 to
8/7; 13/7 to 15/7; 20/7 to 22/7; 27/7 to 29/7; 3/8 to 5/8; and 24/8 to 26/8.
A postcard from Mahabalebrvar (Maharabata?) addreessed to Braga, franked
April 25th 1918 by the RXD was reprinted in Frank Bachenheimer's "A Postal History Study of
The Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp 1914 - 1918" (printed beneath the Bibliography to the rear).
W. P. B. Branson
W. P. B. Branson's signature and portrait was recorded by fellow internee Christopher Cornforth
in an autograph book which is now held at the Imperial War Museum.
Many thanks to Christopher's granddaughter Christine Pierce for providing this information
in December 2007.
Reverend Ernest R. Breakwell
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/27 regarding
the Reverend Ernest R. Breakwell, who was detained as a suspect in Germany, but who was demanding release on the basis that
he was a cleric. The documents include the despatch of a second certificate of his ordination, details of his subsequent
removal to a sanatorium, and the German decision that his occupation was in fact a painter.
George T. Brearley
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, George
T. Brearley is noted as being from Batley, Yorkshire, where he was born on 6 JUL 1893. He was a cloth manufacturere
and was arrested on 6 NOV 1914 at Wittenberge near Pottsdam. he was briefly held at the Wittenberger cloth factory before
being sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 4.
John Brearley
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, John Brearley is noted as
being from Tottenham in London, and as having been born in Liverpool on 8 NOV 1875. He was a football caoch and was arrested
in hospital in berlin on 19 NOV 1914, and sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 4.
Brearley was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
The Manchester Guardian of August 19th 1915 (p. 6) names Brearley as having been bowled
out by O' Neill in a Lancashire versus Yorkshire Cricket match. He was also the Lincolnshire captain, and the article tells
us he was also a football player.
Brearley was also noted as playing on the England side, led by Steve Bloomer, in
a mock international between England and the Rest of the World on May 2nd 1915. Kick off took place at 4.30pm, and a document
with the teams listed was recently discovered amongst some Foreign Office files by the National Archives, in November 2005.
Brearley is further noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915, p.14) as having played for the Rest
of Ruhleben team against the Varsities, in the Ruhleben Cricket League.
Brearley was also noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.58) as
having led the losing side against Cameron's XI on October 7th 1916. The score was 4-2 to the Cameron team.
Ernst J. Bremner
Ernst J. Bremner's name can just be made out on a picture of a postcard that was for sale on eBay, which was posted from
Ruhleben. The date is unfortunately illegible due to the low digitised resolution, but the card was written in German and
appears to have been addressed to a Frau Bremner in Bremen.
Jack Brierley
Jack Brierley was noted in the Scotsman newspaper of January 10th 1916
(p.10) as being a professional footballer interned in the camp at Ruhleben.
William John Crossland Briggs
William John Crosslans Briggs was a divinity student at Edinburgh
University who was interned in Ruhleben after the outbreak of war.
The Scotsman newspaper on 1/1/1915 (p.8) recorded the text of the following
postcard sent to Edinburgh University:
"Best greetings to the old 'Varsity from the following students and ex-students
at present resident at Ruhleben - James L. Mounsey; H. J. W. Tillyard, lecturer in Greek; W. J. Crosland Briggs, M.A., 1914;
Harold Luck, M.A., 1913; M. F. Liddle, M.A., 1909; J. Halliday, M.A., 1914; James Peebles Conn, Bucher scholar in music, 1902;
J. M. Dickson, M.A., BSc., Agric.; R. Herdman Pender, M.A., teacher in George Heriot's School; E. G. Burgoyne, J. Fleming,
1895-97; Robert McNeil, 1905-6; Eric G. Riddell, 1908-9, former students."
Briggs was also appointed to be on the committee of the camp's Recreation
Department, as noted in the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at Ruhleben" p.4 col A). The department's remit
was to organise sports, concerts, debates and theatricals, etc. In this regard, he could often be quite scathing
with his opinion on what constituted suitable entertainment for the camp, as can be seen from the following note recorded
in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915):
"Dear Hatfield: - I am instructed by the Committee of the Ruhleben Dramatic Society to give
you the follwing reply to your application for permission to produce the "Master Builder". The committee of the Ruhleben Dramatic
Society have considered Mr. Hatfield's English translation of the "Master Builder" and regret they are unable to pass it as
they do not consider it fit for Ruhleben. The play as translated possesses no dramatic merit, is absolutely deficient in action
and the dialogue, in the opinion of the Committee does not obtain the necessary level to compensate for these deficiencies.
Yours - W. J. Crossland Briggs.
The National Archives in London holds documents from 1915 at FO 383/25
concerning Briggs and another divinity student, Harold Luck. The documents contain enquiries about the two students from
Briggs's father, C. H. Briggs, of Shipley, Yorkshire, and from the Yorkshire United Independent College in Bradford.
At FO383/27, there are further documents, namely in regard to an enquiry from Briggs' father, C. H. Briggs of Shipley,
Yorkshire.
Brindley
Brindley was noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.58) as having
played for the winning B side in a second division match between the A team and the B team, on October 3rd 1916. The
score was B: 4 to A: 1.
E. Britt
E. Britt, of Brussels, was one of fifteen men released from Ruhleben who arrived in neutral Holland
on June 7th 1916, as noted in the Times of June 8th 1916 ("War Weariness in Germany", p.7, col.C).
Frank Britton
Dr. Horst Pöethe, president of the Herrigsche Gesselschaft (Germany's oldest
literary society), contacted me in May 2008 to say that he had found many books in second hand stores in Berlin which
had previously been part of the Ruhleben Camp Library. Inside the covers of some of these books were names of former prisoners,
which he has kindly forwarded to me. The following is the signature of Frank Britton, as found in one of these books:
W. L. Britton
The Imperial War Museum in London holds a cartoon and Christmas card relating
to Ruhleben POW Camp, with drawings from the letters of internee W. L. Britton, two in colour, which can be accessed
at ID: 9011-20 HU59361 - HU59371.
Brocklebank
In a list of prisoners from the Wolf transferred to Ruhleben in A. H. F.
Clarke's "To Kiel on the German Raider Wolf and Beyond", Brocklebank is noted as a Ruhleben prisoner.
Brodrick
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1915 at FO383/25 relating
to a Mr. Brodrick, an inmate at Ruhleben.
Percy Bronks/Brook
Percy Bronks was interned in Ruhleben's Barrack 13, Box 3, as inscribed
in a copy of the Book of Camp News for 1915 that he sent home to Mr & Mrs Harris Bronks, 10 Moore St, Sheffield. Percy
was born in Sheffield on February 2nd 1893 and died in London on July 3rd 1938.
Many thanks to Jon Diamond, Percy's nephew, for supplying this information
in April 2007.
It seems probable that he was the Percy Brook named in
an undated Foreign Office document contained within file FO 369/710, entitled Russenlager Ruhleben (Ruhleben Russian
Camp), implying it was compiled at the outbreak of internment in 1914. He was described as a 20 year old waiter who
had been working in Berlin. (With thanks to Simon Fowler).
Harold Austin Brook
Harold Austin Brook is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Brook is recorded as having
been born on July 29th 1892 in Brighouse, Yorkshire, and is described as having worked as a quarry manager prior to his
internment. His home address was Slead House, Brighouse, Yorkshire. At the time the register was recorded, Boyce was
noted as staying in box 6, having transferred from Barrack 9 on May 18th 1918.
He may be the Brook listed as being at Ruhleben in a Foreign Office file
in FO 369/710 dated 11 OCT 1914. The list was communicated to the Foreign Office by a Nurse Coe (with thanks
to Simon Fowler).
Cyrus Harry Brooks
According to Elizabeth Beasley, the daughter of Ruhleben inmate Jack
Griggs, Cyrus Harry Brooks was a fellow prisoner who had the original idea of staging a revue at the Camp, suggesting
it to John Roker early on in their internment. The result was "Don't Laugh" which premiered on 8 May 1915. Brooks
wrote the lyrics, which included the "Ruhleben Song". He subsequently wrote the pantomime "Cinderella" which was even
more successful. Additional lyrics for "Don't Laugh" were provided by Hugh Miller and C(G?) E. Austin.
After the war, Brooks became a literary agent and translated the
books of Erich Kaestner.
Edwin Brooks
Edwin Brooks is noted in a document in FO 369/710 as an English born waiter sent to
Ruhleben on 9 SEP 1914. The information originally was compiled by the American Embassy in Berlin.
J. Brooks
Either Jas. Brooks or Jos. Brooks was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in
the Manchester Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners:
Full List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as 53 St. George's Street, Sutton, Macclesfield.
Broomhead
The National Archives in London hold records from 1915 at FO383/76 regarding
Mrs. S. J. Broomhead of Normanton Common, Yorkshire, the wife of a British subject interned at Ruhleben,
with a request for an increase in the relief allowance for her and their four children.
Henry L. Bröse (Professor)
Henry L. Bröse was a Ruhleben inmate who after the war worked as Einstein's translator, and later
became an Oxford don. According to an e-mail from Dr. Heinner Gillmesiter in August 2005, Bröse's papers are held at an archive
in Australia.
On page two of the second issue of "In Ruhleben Camp" (June 1915),
Bröse is recorded as follows with regard to the programme of lectures in the camp school:
"Mr. Smith will continue Mr. Brose's lectures on mechanics into the field of
Hydrostatics, and Mr. Brose will commence a series of lectures on elementary co-ordinate geometry and conic sections, at time
to be announced."
Bröse was noted as having resided in Barrack 3 Box 16 on a postcard from "R.M.S."
dated 6 JUN 1916, as held in a private collection by Dr. Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria. (Many thanks to Dr. Heber).
Brown
Brown was a British jockey working in Hoppegarten, who was interned in Ruhleben at the beginning
of November 1914, as noted in the Scotsman newspaper on 9/11/1914 (p.9), and in The Times of the same day ("British Interned
in Germany", p. 7, col. E).
A. Brown
A. Brown was a prisoner who supplied a pencil sketch entitled "The Burns
Night Concert, YMCA Hall" to the first issue of the The Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March 1916, p.11), as well as a sketch entitled
"Post" to the sixth issue of the magazine (June 1917).
Brown was specifically thanked for his contributions to the magazine by
the editor, C. G. Pemberton, in the fifth issue (Christmas 1916, p.62).
Charles Brown
Charles Brown was interned at the start of the war in Barrack 3. Many thanks to Andrew Brooks, a keen
POW stamp collector, for letting me have an image in January 2008 of the following Christmas Card sent to Brown from
the Barrack Captains:
Duncan Brown
Duncan Brown is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Brown is recorded as having been born
on August 18th 1880 in St. Andrews, Scotland, and is described as having worked as a valet prior to his internment.
His home address was 6 Whitehart Lane, barnes, London. At the time the register was recorded, Brown was noted as staying
in loft B, having transferred there from Senne on November 14th 1915.
Fred Brown
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Fred
Brown was noted as being from State Office, Lyon House, Stanmore, Brentford. He worked as a valet and was arrested
in Neurenburg on 23 AUG 1914, and after being imprisoned in Neurenburg was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned
in Barrack 7.
John (Jock) R.
Brown
Many thanks to Hamburg based golf historian Christopher
N. Meister for the following information on Jock Brown, supplied to me in November 2007:
John R. Brown from St. Andrews is a product of the famous Tom Morris shop at St. Andrews. 1914 Brown started to work as an assistant with Butchart in Berlin. They were both taken prisoners at Berlin and kept under surveillance for over four years. (Canadian
Golfer 1921 and Canada’s Professional Golfers 1881-1933, by James A.
Barclay, Ditner Printing Co., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, 1997)
Brown went to Canada after WWI and became a professional at Royal
Montreal Golf Club in 1921 and 1922. In 1923 he moved to the newly opened Summerlea Golf Club at Lachine near Montreal.
The founders of the Summerlea Golf Club realized early that if Summerlea were to succeed
in promoting the game to future generations, they would require the services of a good instructor. This they found in professional
Jock R. Brown, who had emigrated from Scotland.
Brown proved to be both a good teacher
and a fine player. Victorious in the 1925 Quebec Open Championship, Brown also had fine showings in the Canadian Open and
the Canadian Professional Golf Association Championships. This prompted the CPGA to select him as one of the top ten representatives
on the 1927 Canadian team that opposed the British Ryder Cup team in exhibition matches in Montreal and Toronto. When the British Ryder Cup returned to compete in North America four years later, Brown was asked to be part of the team again.
Brown's tremendous devotion to the membership through good times and bad contributed greatly
to the club's reputation as one of the finest in the country. He died in 1943, after serving the members for some twenty years.
(see: http://www.summerlea.com/history2.aspx )
Brown was a huge, rough-cut Scot with a burr, soft and soothing to the golfer’s ear. You had
to get to know Jack, and that took quite a bit of space and time if you really wished to appreciate the big fellow.. He loved to talk about the game at all times of the day and night… Jock was
quite human, but there wasn’t note of bitterniss in his make-up he watched younger stars rise up and supplant him and
his contemporaries. He was only 48 when he passed away (Hilles Pickens, in Canadian
Golfer, 1943).
L. E. Brown was noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (June 1915, p.28) as having played the
role of Silvins in the play "As You Like It", produced by fellow inmates C. Duncan Jones and Leigh Henry. He was sketched
in the role for the same issue (p.11).
Percy Arnold Brown
The National Archives in London hold documnets from 1915 at FO383/27 regarding
Percy Arnold Brown, an invalided civilian at Ruhleben, namely regarding an enquiry from Muriel Edgcumbe Martin of Derby
on behalf of his mother.
Percy Brown's autobiography after the war, entitled "An Adventurous Life", was reviewed in The Times
on November 20th 1934 ("An Adventurous Life", p. 19, col. D). His reason for internment was given in the review:
"Yet, although in pain, he was in Belgium before the fall of Antwerp, doing
a good business for newspapers in the adventurous capacity of unofficial photographer. Then, for once, he suffered from his
inexperience: he allowed himself to be enticed into Germany by German agents who took him for a spy: and he passed the rest
of the War in Ruhleben..."
Major General R. Llewellyn Brown, CB, CBE, FRICS
R. Llewellyn Brown was noted as a former inmate at Ruhleben in his obituary in The Times on July 21st
1983 ("Maj-Gen R. Llewellyn Brown", p. 12, col. G), the article stating that he spent he duration of the war at the camp.
R. Llewellyn Brown was thanked in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas
1916, p.37) for his contribution to the theatre during 1916.
After the war, Brown took up a highly successful career in land surveying, particularly during a stint
as the brigadier of the Royal Engineer Survey in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy during World War Two, and later in
1949 as Director General of the Ordnance Survey, a post he held until his retirement. At his death, he was survived by his
wife, son and three grandchildren.
Brown was interned in Barrack 8, North loft, as noted in an order for the
Ruhleben Daily News, dated 24/1/1916, which was placed on sale on E-Bay in November 2005. Brown was also noted in the
same barrack on a receipt dated 1 JAN 1916, as held now by Dr. Manfred G. Heber of Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
The Liddle Collection of Leed University holds a wealth of appers donated
by Brown in July 1977, at RUH 05. These are: a Christmas card from 1915; a postcard; 2 books bound at Ruhleben
in 1917; 10 issues of 'In Ruhleben Camp' Vol. I, Nos. 1-10, bound at Ruhleben (June 1915-Dec 1915); 5 issues of the 'Ruhleben
Camp Magazine' Vol. II, Nos. 1-5, bound at Ruhleben (Mar-Dec 1916); 2 issues of the 'Ruhleben Camp Magazine' Vol. II, No.
5 (Dec 1916); 2 issues of the 'Ruhleben Camp Magazine' Vol. III, No. 6, from June 1917; one issue of 'Prisoners' Pie' magazine,
from 1916; a progammes 'Guide to Der Freischütz'; a programme of 'The Ruhleben Irish Players' from 1916; a Ruhleben Exhibition
souvenir album from 1919; and a typed transcript of an interview recorded with Peter Liddle in July 1977, the original audio
recording for which is held on tape 459. The online index tells us that Brown was born in 1895 at Tiverton, Devon, and trained
at Sandhurst. He went to Germany in July 1914 to study the language in order to help qualify for a commission with The Royal
Engineers, but was arrested at the outbreak of the war. Thoghout the war he was interned at Ruhleben, living in Barrack No.
11. He later became a Major General.
Ralph Brown
Ralph Brown was first engineer on the Cogent. He was born in 1869, and prior to the war was resident
at 1 Cadwell Terrace, South Shields, Durham (with thanks to Marcus Bateman).
Brown was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand
Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col.
B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
S. H. Brown
S. H. Brown, of West Hartlepool, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published
by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).
Thomas George H. Brown
Thomas George H. Brown was first engineer of the 'City of Munich' and at the time of his internment
was noted as being of Carmel Eton Grove, Swansea, Glamorgan. He was one of a group of Ruhleben inmates released on March 6th
1918 to England, as noted in files at the National Archives in Kew under accession number MT9. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
W. Brown
W. Brown was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
William Brown
The National Archives in London hold documents from 1916 at FO383/206 regarding
permission for a Mrs. Brown to send flannel belts to her husband, William Brown, at Ruhleben
camp.
Captain Charles Browne
Charles Browne was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting
to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of
December 28th 1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
The fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas 1916, p.29) contains
a sketch entitled "Captain Charles Browne, Bar.8., one of our "Forty Fivers"."
F. Browne
F. Browne was noted in The Times of December 8th 1915 as having been one of the 160 prisoners released
from Ruhleben on the previous day who had travelled by train to Flushing ("Returning Civilians" p.9, col.F).
W. J. Browne
W. J. Browne was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
W. T. Browne
W. T. Browne was recorded as a member of the Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester
Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full
List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as6 Sefton Road, New Brighton.
Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce was noted as having returned to Barrack 14 from Havelberg Camp March 5th 1918,
in a file at the National Archives in Kew held under accession number MT9/1238. Many thanks to Marcus Bateman.
William Bruce
William Bruce was noted as having resided in Barrack 3 Loft on a letter to Aberdeen
dated 10 APR 1915, as held in a private collection by Dr. Manfred G. Heber in Grand Canaria. (Many thanks to Dr. Heber).
H. Brunton
H. Brunton's portrait was recorded by fellow internee Christopher Cornforth on May 28th
1915, in an autograph book now held at the Imperial War Museum. He was from 44 Clapper Hill Grove, Old Trafford, Manchester,
and was interned in Barrack XI.
Many thanks to Christopher's granddaughter Christine Pierce who provided this information in
December 2007.
Fred Ballad Bryce
Fred Ballad Bryce is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Bryce is recorded as having
been born on May 28th 1897 in Aberdeen, and is described as having worked as a seaman on the "Rubislan" prior to his
internment. His home address was 19 Roseland Street, Aberdeen. At the time the register was recorded, Bryce was noted
as staying in loft A, having transferred there from Barrack 22a on July 15th 1917.
Bryce is also recorded as having spent some time in the Bird Cage between February 28th and March
3rd.
J. Buchan
J. Buchan Moller is noted as having been in Barrack 21 Box 8 on a letter to London dated
APR 1916, a photocopy of which is held by Dr. Manfred G. Heber of Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
Buchanan
Buchanan was released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported in the Scotsman newspaper on January
31st 1917 ("British Civilians From Ruhleben", p.6).
Buckley
Buckley was noted in the second issue of In Ruhleben Camp (1915, p.22) as being a member of the Irish
rugby team in a series of friendly internationals in the camp.
John Buhring
John Buhring is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register number
2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Buhring is recorded as having been
born on November 21st 1864 in London, and is described as having worked as a manufacturer prior to his internment.
His home address was 15 Sechslingspforte, Hamburg. At the time the register was recorded, Buhring was noted as staying
in box 21, having transferred there on April 19th 1915 from T. H.
Between October 25th 1917 and November 23rd, Buhring spent some time in the camp's "Bird Cage". On January 2nd 1918, Buhring was released to make his way back to England.
H. Bulloch
H. Bulloch was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth,
Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page
3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Wilfred Burgess
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Wilfred Burgess was noted
as being from 16 Bath Road, Roker, and as having been born in Sunderland in 1891. He worked as a marine engineer and
was arrested in Hamburg on 16 OCT 1914. After a brief spell imprisoned on the hulks in Hamburg, he was sent to Ruhleben,
where he was interned in Barrack 8.
Marcus Bateman notes him as W. Burgess, 3rd engineer, from 3 Franks Street in Sunderland, and as having
served on the Winterton.
Wilfrid sketched the following illustration in the autograph book of fellow
internee A. F. Pinn, of Barrack 11, box 7, in 1918 (many thanks to Paul Bayliss):
Many thanks to Ian Coates of Aberdeen for the following contribution via this site's guestbook in
February 2008:
My Grandfather Wilfred Burgess was a prisoner in the camp from 1914 to 1918,
He was taken prisoner from Hamburg in August 1914 on his first trip abroad.
John Edgar Galbraith Burgoyne ("Sandy")
John Edgar Galbraith Burgoyne (aka "Sandy") is listed in the surviving register from Barrack
5 at Ruhleben (register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Burgoyne
is recorded as having been born on February 28th 1893 in Ayr, Scotland, and is described as having been a student prior
to his internment. His home address was 9 Sandgate, Ayr, Scotland. At the time the register was recorded, Burgoyne was
noted as staying in box 25, having transferred there from Barrack 2 on February 19th 1916.
Burgoyne had in fact been an Edinburgh University man, and The Scotsman newspaper on 1/1/1915
(p.8) recorded the text of the following postcard sent to Edinburgh University by Burgoyne and others:
"Best greetings to the old 'Varsity from the following students and ex-students
at present resident at Ruhleben - James L. Mounsey; H. J. W. Tillyard, lecturer in Greek; W. J. Crosland Briggs, M.A., 1914;
Harold Luck, M.A., 1913; M. F. Liddle, M.A., 1909; J. Halliday, M.A., 1914; James Peebles Conn, Bucher scholar in music, 1902;
J. M. Dickson, M.A., BSc., Agric.; R. Herdman Pender, M.A., teacher in George Heriot's School; E. G. Burgoyne, J. Fleming,
1895-97; Robert McNeil, 1905-6; Eric G. Riddell, 1908-9, former students."
On April 23rd, 24th and 25th, 1916, Burgoyne also appeared
in the camp's production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It", playing the role of Viola, as noted in the Scotsman newspaper
of May 15th 1916 ("Shakespeare Celebrations in Ruhleben", p.7).
The Liddle Collection of Leeds University conatins some items donated by Burgoyne's wife Jane, at RUH 06.
The items include a Christmas card from December 1914, and 23 photographs, some autographed, from between 1914 and 1917.
The online index to the collection tells us that Burgoyne was interned in Barrack 2 initially, and later in Barrack 5, and
was involved in many theatrical productions.
The Imperial War Museum of London also holds a transcript of a three page letter dated March 3rd 1917,
and 2 manuscript postcards, dated February 16th 1916 and March 31st 1917, from J. E. G. Burgoyne, "a student on holiday
in Germany in 1914 but interned in Ruhleben, written from the camp and describing theatrical productions there". The items
can be found at ID:10085 Misc 99 (1510).
Arthur Philip Burmester
From www.pelteret.co.za/pdf/research_notes/e_burmester.pdf
Arthur Phillipp Burmester (APB) was born August 1879. After his father
left Cape Town, he became the partner of his brother, AWB, in the Adderley Street jewelry business. APB. and one Alex(ander)
Dichmont left Cape Town in April 1914 on a tour of England and Europe. At the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Germany,
Dichmont left Germany, leaving an insistent APB to travel on to the Black Forest. APB. was interned by the Germans in the
Ruhleben prisoner-of-war camp near Berlin in February 1915. Whilst there,
he contracted cavitating pulmonary tuberculosis. In December 1916, he was released to the care of his sister, AEB., then
resident in Brunswick. A telegramme from the Emil Burmester's agent in Bienne (Biel), Switzerland circa April 1917 tells of
his condition. Every attempt was made to have him moved from Germany to an institute in Davos, Switzerland. In May 1917, an
appeal was made by AWB. and William Benedict Eigenmann, the Swiss Consul for the Cape Province, through the South African
Treasury (Trading with the Enemy Act Branch), to the Prime Minister to allow funds to be released from South Africa to accomplish
this. AWB. and Eigenmann somewhat miffed the Private Secretary to Genl. Louis Botha, HW Hamilton Fowle, by failing to conceal
that, with or without his permission, they intended sending the necessary funds to Europe. However, APB died in a sanitorium
in Sűlzhayn (Harz), Germany on 8 September 1917. His sister Alice Spiro, then living at Braunschweig, was present.
His parents were retired and living at Spiez, Thunsee, Switzerland.
He was described as a merchant of Evangelical religion. He left a detailed will in German, three siblings (Alice Spiro, Alfred
William Burmester and Daisy Maude Burmester) and his God-daughter, Miss Neugebauer benefiting
together with the staff of "E Burmester", Cape Town. His (translated) Will dated 3 October 1914 stated: "In grateful remembrance
of the very pleasant (alt. beautiful) times I had at Sea Point, I determine that my heirs shall erect there on the beach a
fine clock tower to the value of Two Hundred to Three Hundred Pounds sterling. My brother Alfred must execute it". On 28 February
1922, the clock was handed over to the City Municipality, erected in accordance with the will of APB. on the Sea Point Pavilion
site "with a small brass plate bearing an excerpt from my brother's will placed inside the clock casing"
Many thanks to Dr Robin Pelteret for directing me towards this in June 2009.
Burnhill
Burnhill was noted as playing on the England side, led by Steve Bloomer, in a mock international
between England and the Rest of the World on May 2nd 1915. Kick off took place at 4.30pm, and a document with the teams listed
was recently discovered amongst some Foreign Office files by the National Archives, in November 2005.
Burrin was also noted in the fifth issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (Christmas
1916, p.58) as having played for the losing Brearley's XI side against Cameron's XI on October 7th 1916. The score
was 4-2 to the Cameron team.
Albert Edward George Burrin
Albert Edward George Burrin is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben
(register number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Burrin is recorded
as having been born on June 13th 1884 in London, and is described as having worked as a correspondent prior to his
internment. His home address was 360 City Road, London, E.C. At the time the register was recorded, Burrin was noted
as staying in loft B.
Burrin is also noted in loft B in a postcard dated 8 APR 1916, as held by Dr. Manfred G. Heber in
Grand Canaria (with thanks to Dr. Heber).
Richard Burtenshaw
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, we
learn that Richard Burtenshaw was from 27 Boundary Road from Gosport. He was a teacher of languages in Osnabruck
and following his arrest on 6 NOV 1914 was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in Barrack 3.
Tom Burton
Tom Burton was mentioned as an inmate at Ruhleben in an article in the Scotsman newspaper of January
28th 1916, entitled "Racecourse Chat" p.9). In response to the parcels sent to some of the Ruhleben inmates by the jockey
club in Britain, the following was recorded of a postcard received from Burton:
There is another from Tom Burton:- "I am pleased to tell you I have received
the parcel quite safe, for which I most sincerely thank you, and appreciate the kindness. Will you be so kind as to find my
sister Polly's address out for me, and tell her to write to me."
Bishop Herbert Bury, D. D.
Bishop Herbert Bury was not technically an interned prioner of war,
but an Anglican bishop who spent a week with the prisoners at the camp in 1916, sharing their meals and their accomodation
in order to draw up a true account of what the civilians were experiencing.
Bishop Bury's obituary was carried in The Times of January 17th 1933
("Obituary: Bishop Bury", p. 14, col. B).
Arthur Lewis Busby
Arthur Lewis Busby is listed in the surviving register from Barrack 5 at Ruhleben (register
number 2), recorded by Neville Stanley Wilkinson in approximately 1916. In the register, Busby is recorded as having
been born on November 15th 1873 in Bathurst, New South Wales, and is described as having worked as a banker prior
to his internment. His home address was "Lansdowne", Shirley Road, Wollstonecroft, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. At
the time the register was recorded, Busby was noted as staying in loft B, having transferred there from Barrack 15 on
April 19th 1915. On March 22nd 1918, Busby was released back to Holland.
Cuthbert Strachan Butchart
Cuthbert Strachan Butchart was one of the Ruhleben prisoners, a professional
golfer, who signed a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked
December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:
"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,
We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians
at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren
in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."
Butchart was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, the camp captain, to be a committee member on the
camp's Sanitation Department, as recorded in the Scotsman newspaper on March 29th 1915. The department's remit was to maintain
hygenic conditions in the camp by attention to the latrines, drainage, disinfection, baths, and the conditions of the
barracks and the lofts.
Butchart was soon after again referred to in the Scotsman, on April 20th 1915, the article dealing
with the appropriation by the Germans of £12,500 which had been earmarked for the building of a new clubhouse for the Berlin
Gold Club, construction of which had begun in the previous year. Butchart, a professional golfer, was one of the investors
in the scheme, and now forced to "put up with the forced hospitality of the Ruhleben concentration camp".
On June 22nd 1915, the Scotsman again discusses Butchart as one of the interned professional golfers
at Ruhleben ("Golfing Topics", p.9):
Butchart, it may be recalled, was appointed to one of the committees elected
for the improvement of the lot of the prisoners at Ruhleben, and that his efforts and those of others have not been unavailing
was indicated by the announcement made by our Government that considerable improvement has been effected. Butchart, who is
a Scotsman, won the German professional championship of 1913 with the record score of 138 for thirty-six holes.
Additional information about Butchart was obtained from Hamburg based golf historian Christopher N. Meister
in November 2007, for which I am extremely grateful:
Cuthbert Strachan Butchart was born at Carnoustie on May 19th, 1876. His father Jack, was a (golf)clubmaker
at Carnoustie. Cuthbert spent many years assisting other clubmakers such as Robert Simpson at Carnoustie and Ben Sayers at
North Berwick. In 1897 he became club professional at Pollock Golf Club (Glasgow), on March 26, 1899 he
entered the service of County Down Club at Newcastle, (Northern) Ireland (Golfing,
27 June 1901, page 14).
During his time in Ireland Butchart designed several golf courses such as Belfast
and Bangor among many others. In 1904 Butchart moved to London where he became professional at Highgate Golf Club. He also managed his own wholesale golf business, the London Golf
Supply, which became Butchart’s Golf Company Ltd. After closing his business in 1907 he worked as a professional at
West Hill Golf Club in Brookwood , Surrey and Stanwell Place in Staines,
Middlesex. During this time he also designed golf courses at Bleakdown, Hunstanton and Worplesdon.
In 1911 Butchart became the Golf professional at Berlin Golf Club in Germany. During this time he also designed several golf courses, one of them at Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. In 1913 Butchart won the German Professional Golfers Championship with a record of only 138 strokes for two rounds.
Butchart was interned when World War I broke out – the Berlin Golf Club at Westend was within walking distance
of Ruhleben prison camp. Butchart was released from Ruhleben on November 22nd, 1918. During his time as a prisoner he exhibited another talent, hand crafting detailed jewellery from scrap metal. He
was also appointed director of the Prisoners police at Ruhleben, the service having been formed by the internees themselves.
Apparently Butchart stayed in Berlin until at least 1920, the author of these lines is the proud owner of an envelope
sent by C.S.Butchart from Berlin Golf Club to the German fellow Golf professional Beisert on March 31, 1920.
In 1921 Butchart moved to America, where he worked at the Westchester-Biltmore Country Club (N.Y.). Cuthbert
re-entered the clubmaking business and eventually produced a large number of golf clubs and golf club shafts not only on his
own but also through the Butchart-Nicholls Company Inc. Many famous players used the famous bamboo-shafted Butchart bilt or
Butchart-Nicholls Golf Clubs. Walter Hagen used them in the 1922 British Open and Johnny Farrell won the 1928 U.S. Open using
these clubs. Butchart died 1955 in the States.
A. B. Butcher
A. B. Butcher was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, the camp captain, to vice-chair the Recreation
Department, as recorded in the Scotsman on 29/3/1915 (p.8) and the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at Ruhleben"
p.4 col A). The department's remit was to organise sports, concerts, debates, theatricals, etc.
Alfred Charles Butcher
Many thanks to Christine Bradley for supplying the following on Alfred in May 2009:
More about my grandfather, His name was Alfred Charles Butcher born January
4,1896 (not sure the date of his death as I'm still trying to find that out)He died around the age of 75.He was a cook,butcher,slaughterer.He
was on board a ship in port when he was taken off the ship and Interned August 4,1914 and Repatriated June 25,1918.He was
in the Merchant Navy. Alfred Charles Butcher married Ethel Snowden November 21,1922 and as far as I know had two children:
Doris May and Charles Henry. Alfred Charles was the Son of Ernest William Butcher July 4,1867 and Helena Acott April 27th,1871.
In the pictures I've sent to you the one where the two butchers are stand my
grandfather is the one on the right with the steel. I have that steel.
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| Alfred Charles Butcher, right of frame |
Ernest Butcher
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, Ernest Butcher is noted as being
from 30 Masterman Road, East Ham, London and as having been born in Brightlingsea in 1879. He was a steward arrested on 31
JUL 1914 in Hamburg, and after a brief imprisonment on the hulks was sent to Ruhleben, where he was interned in
Barrack 3.
Nevile Montagu Butler
The National Archives in London hold records from 1915 at FO383/74 regarding
Nevile Montagu Butler, a British subject released from Ruhleben but detained in Berlin. The
documents contain a proposed exchange for Friedrich Sommerkamp, a German subject detained in England at Lofthouse Park
camp, or Fritz Schulz, a German invalid residing in South Belgravia, London.
Robert James Butler
Robert James Butler was one of sixteen men released from Ruhleben in January 1917, as reported
in the Times of January 29th 1917 ("Changed Conditions in Germany", p.8, col. G).
Walter Butterworth, J.P.
As 'W. Butterworth', Walter Butterworth was recorded as a member of the
Ruhleben Lancastrian Society in the Manchester Guardian of January 15th 1915 (p.12). The article is entitled "Interned in
Germany: Lancashire's Civilian Prisoners: Full List of Those Detained at Ruhleben". His address was recorded as Hurstlea,
Bowden. A further article in the Guardian from June 15th 1915 (p.9), entitled "Civilian Prisoners in Germany" is signed by Butterworth
on behalf of the Society.
Walter Butterworth was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, the camp captain,
to be on the committee of the camp's Recreation Department, as recorded in the Scotsman on 29/3/1915 (p.8) and the Times on
29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at Ruhleben" p.4 col A). The department's remit was to organise sports, concerts,
debates, theatricals, etc.
Butterworth's involvement was also noted by Francis Gribble, in his essay
entitled "Leaves From a Ruhleben Notebook".
"At the lectures and debates the chair was generally taken by Mr. Butterworth,
J.P., of Manchester..."
The National Archives in London also hold documents from 1915 at FO383/27 regarding Councillor W. Butterworth,
and his possible exchange.
In the third issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (May 1916, p.8), Butterworth
had a full page devoted to him by way of a biography and illsutration of himself both in Manchester and at the camp.
MR. WALTER BUTTERWORTH (FROM MANCHESTER)
Although Mr. Butterworth's address is Ruhleben, Manchester has the privilege
of claiming him as one of her worthiest citizens. For that favoured though sunless city, which is the headquarters of Free
Trade, Democracy and a Ship Canal in good going order, enjoys the further distinction of numbering Mr. Butterworth among its
ex-Councillors. In this civic capacity Mr. Butterworth has acted with conspicuous success; while in private life he is a patron
of art, and a boon companion in Lancastrian literary circles.
Mr. Butterworth was one of the first to arrive in Ruhleben, and from an early
date has interested himself on behalf of his interned fellow countrymen in general, and Lancastrians in particular. The Literary
Society owes its inception to Mr. Butterworth's enterprise, while the only democratic institution in the Camp - the Debating
Society - owes a good deal of its success to his work and influence. But it is as Chairman, of course, that Mr. Butterworth
stands, or sits, pre-eminent among his fellows.; - the Pere la Chaise of Ruhleben. For where two or three are gathered together
for discussionthere will Mr. Butterworth be found, occupying the Chair. A natural aptitude for this distinguished function,
together with constant practice in its exercise have combined to make him a Chairman who reaches as near perfection as erring
mortal can.
In spite of what has been said above, Mr. Butterworth has his moments of leisure.
These he occupies in Dutch and Danish literature - for the taste for foreign languages is now universal. In still lighter
moments, Mr. Butterworth resorts to a certain club at the back of Barrack 7. Of this institution we can only say that its
members are intellectual without it being offensively so; it is a haunt of certain artistic and musical people who do not
court publicly, and who shirk from the fierce lime light that beats upon a Ruhleben public character. Would that there were
more.
For a short period Mr. Butterworth acted as Captain of a Barrack; but that
is another story.
Butterworth's obituary in The Times of September 3rd 1935 gives
some further background to his reasons for being interned in Ruhleben, where it is stated that he had been arrested after
being unable to escape after attending the Wagner Festival at Bayreuth ("Mr. Walter Butterworth", p.14, col. B). It is
also stated that he returned to England as the result of an exchange of prisoners in January 1918, and received much public
appreciation and sympathy upon his return.
The Liddle Collection of Leeds University contains various items related to Butterworth at
RUH 07. These include a press cutting and obituary from September 1935; a typescript and final publication
of 'Walter Butterworth: Man of Letters' by L. M. Angus-Butterworth, including letters sent from Ruhleben in 1916 (published
in 1977); a photocopied poem, from January 12th 1917; and a photocopied catalogue of Butterworth records.
William Frank Butterworth
William Frank Butterworth was a merchant seaman and was on board the SS
Sappho when it was impounded, with its cargo of sugar, at Hamburg in early August 1914. He was born in Bristol on January
3rd 1876 and died in Bristol on December 23rd 1941.
According to his great granddaughter Louise Argent, Butterworth's time at Ruhleben affected him greatly, and after his release
he never returned to sea.
Buyers
Buyers is noted in the first issue of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine (March
1916, p.36) as having given a literary lecture on Wordsworth.
William Bygate
From the handbook of the Ruhleben Football Association Season 1915, William Bygate is
noted as being a waiter from 256 Dalry Road, Edinburgh. He was arrested in Erfurt on 6 NOV 1914 and sent to Ruhleben,
where he was interned in Barrack 6.
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