Groningen Internment Camp Part 2

Last week we left Royal Navy sailor Charles Darnell of Tiverton Street, Cleethorpes, experiencing Christmas 1914. For company he had 1500 comrades of three battalions of the Royal Naval Division. But it was not a Christmas to their liking as they made the best of their detention in the wooden barracks of the Groningen internment camp in neutral Holland. 

Even so, three more Christmases would pass before they were released in 1918 from what the Dutch populace called ‘Engelse Kamp’ (English Camp) but which the sailors called ‘Timbertown’ or HMS Timbertown’. So what sort of life would they have aboard ‘HMS Timbertown’ during the ensuing four years?

Each battalion was allocated a barrack hut measuring 240 feet by 60 feet, to hold 500 men. They slept in double-tiered bunks. The barracks were cold in winter and too hot in summer. Washing facilities for the entire 1500 men consisted of a separate hut with basins and 18 cold-water taps. The ‘barrels’ of the latrines were emptied once or twice a week; for disposal elsewhere – fortunately.

Initially, meals were provided by the Dutch authorities but were not to the men’s liking so they were allowed to cook their own food. Breakfast consisted of porridge, bread and butter and coffee. Hot lunch comprised meat or fish, with potatoes and vegetables. Supper was bread with cheese or jam, and tea.

Later in the war there was a general shortage of food in Holland so food rations were reduced. The men complained in letters about the poor food and an English press editorial spoke of the ‘slow death by starvation’ of those at Groningen. However, this aroused little sympathy as the internees were getting the same inadequate food as the Dutch themselves.

The camp day was run on well-ordered lines. Reveille was at 6.30 a.m. and at 8.45 a.m. groups of men were either allocated various camp duties or sent on a compulsory march. Lunch was at 12.30 p.m., after which other groups of men were allocated camp duties. Those with free time were allowed to follow their own work, studies or sport until supper at 4.30 p.m. On the Sundays there were no compulsory marches. Men could attend church instead.

There was plenty of opportunity on the camp to take part in a wide range of activities during free time. Courses which were run by internees included foreign languages and navigation (for those thinking of escaping?). There were also several performing societies: the Timbertown Dramatic Society, the Timbertown Operatic Society and the Timbertown Follies. Sports were popular, including football, athletics, tennis and cricket.

Others took part in producing the camp magazine. It is believed that Charles Darnell of Cleethorpes contributed to this. He also learned how to do what is called ‘chip carving’.

Others took up gardening and when Darnell sent home a postcard view of the camp he wrote:

‘When you see this postcard you will find it hard to believe that it is a view of our little town. The laying out of the gardens and tending of lawns are to the credit of the men themselves and I think that it is a good sign our chaps would like something to do, even if that something is cultivating the wet Dutch soil’.

Paid work was also carried on in the camp. Fifty men comprised a knitting club, knitting jerseys and socks for the Royal Navy. Others worked as carpenters, nurses, writers, cooks, etc. Some made jewellery boxes and picture frames to be sold at Selfridges in London.

As time passed, the camp was provided with a recreation-cum-church hall, administrative office, post office-cum-library, sports hall, sick bay and so on. There were guardrooms for Dutch and British guards and the camp was surrounded by a double barbed-wire fence, which was lit up at night.

The men got on well with the local populace and were allowed out of the camp in the evening on what the sailors called ‘shore leave’. The Dutch girls found our Jack Tars attractive and several liaisons took place – some of which led to an increase in the population!

Despite such lures, men tried to escape. During 1915, thirty-seven made it to England. However, escapes caused problems for the Dutch authorities and the country’s neutrality. Accordingly, the British government adopted a policy of returning escaped men to the camp.

But eventually a system was put in place of allowing men to go home on a month’s leave. This was on the strict understanding that if anyone did not return to Groningen at the end of the month, the privilege would be stopped immediately for the remainder of the internees. Charles Darnell’s place on the rota came up and he was allowed to come home to Cleethorpes for the month expiring on Boxing Day in 1917 – so he got one Christmas at home during the war.

When the war came to an end, the men were repatriated to Britain and Darnell continued with his seafaring career. He went on to serve in the Second World War as a member of the Royal Naval Patrol Service and was ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’ for bravery.

And what became of the camp? After serving a number of purposes, it was demolished in 1958 and replaced by high-rise office blocks. However, the Dutch nickname for the camp, ‘Engelse Kamp’, is commemorated in the name of a nearby road.  So the 1500 men of the Royal Naval Division are not entirely forgotten in Groningen.

Some of the above details are taken from Dutch press articles written by Menno Wielinga, to whom my thanks are due.

© Dr. Alan Dowling

First published in the Cleethorpes Chronicle on 18 November 2010

The use of extracts from this article should be acknowledged merely by citing the name of the author, Dr. Alan Dowling. But please contact the author (who also holds the copyright) if you wish to re-print or otherwise re-use the entire article. He may be contacted on (01472) 690655.