World War 1 internments in UK - bibliography

[braam63]

Hi Loo

I went through the ICRC records and no reference to George or Elizabeth (Elisabeth) Behm. Any suggestions on how to go forward?

Thanks

Braam

[loo]

That's too bad, that you couldn't find them.  I assume you followed all the hints above.
Maybe worth another shot a different day - I didn't find my person the first time I tried.
Spelling mistakes are always a possibility.  Check through everything that starts with "B", being aware that you are not necessarily looking for "Behm"..

I can only suggest you go over the entries on this thread carefully, and choose the ones that may apply to your situation, and pursue them.  The Anglo-German Family History Society, for instance, has culled records from The National Archives, etc., which would otherwise be difficult to access. If you join them, they may be able to help.  As far as I know, they will still run a search for you for a small fee after you join.

Archivist at Isle of Man was willing to check their records for me as well, at the time, so you might check there, as I think I mentioned above. A substantial number of internees were sent there.

Do you know if they were repatriated?  If so, can you track down anything on the German side, such as distant family members who may have info?  I know that's usually difficult, but I accomplished it myself against all reasonable odds with one of my German families, without ever leaving my computer.
If you know where they came from in Germany, see if you can get hold of parish records.  Try to learn everything you can about this family, as you never know where your breakthrough will show up.  Mine was when I was able to find someone who turned out to be the uncle of the person I was pursuing, through 19th C German online emigration records. 

Have you canvassed any other descendants of this couple for info?  Were there any other persons in England born Germany with this surname (or the wife's)?  I tracked down all of mine, and it turned out they were all closely related, although all descendants had been told otherwise.

If nothing shows up, be patient and don't give up.  Sometimes it takes a few years for something to surface. Check the internet every so often.  I am guessing you are fairly new at genealogy, as you don't have very many posts, so I hope I am not repeating what you already know.. 

[braam63]

You are totally correct - I'm very new at this.  I'm writing an informal book about my parents (I'm extremely proud of them) and pass on any snippets of information to them.  They love it!  They actually have very little info about that part of the family and I've able to get some.  I'll be seeing them pretty soon (next month) so want to take all this to them.  Thank you very much for your help and encouragement - greatly appreciated.

[loo]

Additions to Bibliography:

Dewey, Peter.  Farm labour in wartime: the relationship between agricultural labour supply and food production in Great Britain during 1914-1918, with international comparisons, University of Reading, 1978.  (internees were sometimes employed as farm labourers.)

United States Foreign Office (ed.). Correspondence between His Majesty's government and the United States ambassador respecting the treatment of German prisoners of war and interned civilians in the United Kingdom, London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1915.

United States Legation (Great Britain) (ed.).  Reports of visits of inspection made by officials of the United States Embassy to various internment camps in the United Kingdom.  London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1916.

Paterson, Sarah.  Tracing Your Prisoner of War Ancestors:  The First World War, a Guide for Family Historians.  Barnsley, South Yorkshire:  Pen & Sword, in association with the Imperial War Museum, 2012.  The author has worked at the Imperial War Museum for some time.  This book covers both military and civilian internees.  See especially chapter 10 and Appendices.  Appendix 8 contains a 23-page list of known internment camps in the UK, although details are very sparse.  These named camps may have held military and/or civilian internees.
Includes a few references and/or quotes in relation to specific internees:
Mustafa Mehmed (letter),
George Kenner (ID card with photo, plus a lot of other info),
Julius Bloom,
Harry Hermes,
Benj Cseh,
Carl Hans Stielow.



Some highlights from Paterson's book:

The Times, 17 Jan 1919, page not stated:  a list of 259 persons who had been exempted from repatriation or internment.  I presume, but am not sure, that, at this late date in the war, they had probably been previously interned and were only now being exempted after due process and investigation.

Barry Chinchen.  "Aliens, Internees and Prisoners of War in the UK, 1914-1920".  This is a folder containing copies of relevant material.  I believe it is held at IWM, but not sure.

Society of Friends library - presumably in London - appears to have numerous archival items.

British Red Cross Archives - presumably in London;  different holdings than ICRC.

[loo]

Additional item, apparently only in German:

Migranten und Internierte: Deutsche in Glasgow, 1864-1918.  by Stefan Manz. (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, c2003.)  317p., ill., tables, charts.

This is based on the author's PhD thesis of the same name, University of Durham, 2002.

[braam63]

Thanks for the further info, Loo. I've not got any further info yet, however am pursuing via another route (German). I'm holding thumbs. ..

[loo]

Nice new blog about Alexandra Palace internment camp posted by Mareike Barnusch.
Includes several specific names, images of documents, references to other archival sources, and gives you an idea of what exactly is in FO 383.

http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/life-alexandra-palace-internment-camp/

[loo]

The following deal with some interned in Canada. They were likely Canadian residents, but maybe not all of them.  At the very least, it will provide a point of comparison.

No free man: Canada, the Great War, and the enemy alien experience.
by Kordan, Bohdan S.   Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2016.   416p.

Enemy aliens, prisoners of war: internment in Canada during the Great War. 
by Kordan, Bohdan S.   Montreal:  McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002.    202p.

[loo]

New book forthcoming looks very interesting:

Enemies in the Empire: Civilian Internment in the British Empire during the First World War, by Stefan Manz and Panikos Panayi.  Oxford University Press, February 2020.  384p.

Abstract:
During the First World War, Britain was the epicentre of global mass internment and deportation operations. Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Turks, and Bulgarians who had settled in Britain and its overseas territories were deemed to be a potential danger to the realm through their ties with the Central Powers and were classified as 'enemy aliens'. A complex set of wartime legislation imposed limitations on their freedom of movement, expression, and property possession. Approximately 50,000 men and some women experienced the most drastic step of enemy alien control, namely internment behind barbed wire, in many cases for the whole duration of the war and thousands of miles away from the place of arrest.

Enemies in the Empire is the first study to analyse British internment operations against civilian 'enemies' during the First World War from an imperial perspective. The narrative takes a three-pronged approach. In addition to a global examination, the volume demonstrates how internment operated on a (proto-) national scale within the three selected case studies of the metropole (Britain), a white dominion (South Africa), and a colony under direct rule (India). Stefan Manz and Panikos Panayi then bring their study to the local level by concentrating on the three camps Knockaloe (Britain), Fort Napier (South Africa), and Ahmednagar (India), allowing for detailed analyses of personal experiences. Although conditions were generally humane, in some cases, suffering occurred. The study argues that the British Empire played a key role in developing civilian internment as a central element of warfare and national security on a global scale.

Link to book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/enemies-in-the-empire-9780198850151?q=useful%20enemies&lang=en&cc=gb#