Ruhleben Part 1

You will recall that it was a year ago when I wrote about the internment of local members of the British Naval Brigade at Groningen in Holland during the First World War. At the same time local civilians were being interned at Ruhleben in Germany – which is our story today. 

Those who were interned at Ruhleben included merchant seamen from Grimsby and Cleethorpes whose boats had been detained at German ports on the outbreak of the war on 4th August 1914. They included the crews of three of the Great Central Railway’s Grimsby steamers that were detained at Hamburg by the German authorities. The boats were the Bury, the City of Bradford and the City of Leeds. The Bury made two efforts to escape with200 refugees on board but was forced to return on each occasion.

Crew members who were interned from the three boats included:

W.A. Andrews, of Barkfield Terrace, Cleethorpes, who was Chief Cook on the City of Bradford

C. Arnold, of 11 Kent Street, Grimsby, 1st Donkeyman on the City of Leeds

William Beedham, of 144 Wood Street, Grimsby, Fireman on the Bury – and so the lengthy list goes on.

Fortunately, three Stewardesses were released. They were Mrs Blow, Miss Leonard and Miss Woodall, who were Stewardesses respectively of the Bury, the City of Bradford and the City of Leeds. They were released after representations from the railway company and the American Consul. Travelling by train to Rotterdam, then by steamer to Hull, they arrived home in Grimsby on 23rd September.

But, along with other internees, the crews suffered the squalor and filth of being held initially in the infamous Hamburg ‘hulks’. The ‘hulks’ were old ships moored in the River Elbe and used for the captivity of internees during the early months of the war – before they were sent on to the internment camps.

During the course of the war, other internees included many local fishermen whose boats had been sunk by German ships. They included:

Charles Backhouse, of 43 Suggitt’s Lane, Cleethorpes, who was Skipper of the Rideo;

Mr A. Wilson, of 40 Fuller Street, Cleethorpes, Deckhand on the Vera;

William Barron, of 12 Barcroft Street, Cleethorpes, 3rd Hand on the Rhine – and many more fishermen.

Internees also included a wide range of civilians who were working in Germany at the time. Under a German government decree of 6 November 1914, all male British subjects (except clergymen, doctors, lunatics and bed-ridden invalids) between the ages of 17 and 55 were to be arrested and taken to internment camps. These included camps at Celle and Sennelager, as well as the Ruhleben camp.

Ruhleben was a trotting track on the outskirts of Berlin, close to the heavy industrial quarter of Spandau. An English translation of Ruhleben is ‘Peaceful Life’ and the racecourse attracted many Berliners in the summer months.

However, in November 1914, Ruhleben saw an influx of 4000 internees – of whom 1400 were seafarers. They were met by military personnel who were inadequate and ill-prepared to meet their needs. During the first winter, the internees suffered appallingly from the cold, poor food, poor medical services; and squalor and deprivation generally.

Their barracks included eleven stable-blocks, where they lived either in horse-boxes or in the lofts normally used for storing fodder. In the stables, the men had to sleep initially on straw-covered concrete floors with little in the way of blankets. Six men were crowded into each eleven-feet-square horse-box. Others were crowded shoulder to shoulder in the stable lofts.

The outside vista that met their eyes was ten acres of damp dreary surroundings that turned into pools and mud after every heavy shower. When these quagmires dried up, strong winds raised clouds of choking dust. This terrain had to be crossed three times a day to bring food from the camp kitchens, which were under the distant grandstands. The camp’s military personnel had already dug latrines, the visits to which entailed similar long excursions.

However, the internees included every variety of skill, trade, profession and occupation. So they started making the best of a very bad job. These included the many seamen, so let’s relish what was said about them by a psychologist who was interned in the camp:

‘Without its seafarers Ruhleben would have been a very different camp; softer, less virile, top-heavy with intellectuals. It was their [seafarers] courage that set the first high standards. Their patriotism was unwavering. Grumblers by profession, they damned the conditions of the camp in the foulest terms, but at the same time bore them more philosophically than the landsmen.’

Even so, after their harsh introduction to the camp, things started to improve. This helped when, on 16th September 1915, the 150 German guards were removed from the camp and the internal control of the camp was taken over by the internees’ own representatives – known as ‘The Captains’. The German guardroom was  still in the camp but the internees set up their own police force – and it was easier to obey British orders and instructions than German.

Another sign of improvement was in 1916 when the Camp Commandant remarked that:

“You mustn’t suppose that the camp was always like this. When the men were first brought here, the place wasn’t fit to keep pigs in. All that you have admired in the camp they have themselves created.’

So how did life on the camp turn out for our local seafarers and other internees as the years of the war slowly dragged on? Well shall discover this as we continue our look at Ruhleben in next week’s Chronicle. Until then, take heart from the camp catchphrase that frequently rang over its dreary surroundings:

‘Are We Downhearted – No!’

See you next week.

© Dr. Alan Dowling

First published in the Cleethorpes Chronicle on 3 November 2011

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.