Arthur George Amos 1898 - 1948

Arthur George Amos was the father of Doris Amos. He was born in 1898 in Mile End in the east end of London, the first child of Arthur and Mary. Over the next few years he was joined by two sisters Annie and Florence.

 Their father worked as a clerk for the Port of London Authority in Millwall docks, and was a volunteer sergeant in the Territorial Army.

In 1913 Arthur was apprenticed to G B Kent and Sons, brushmakers. He was to stay with them for many years apart from a break serving in World War One. 

In 1914 he joined the Territorial Army with his father, but discharged soon afterwards because he was underage. He re-enlisted in the army in 1916, this time with the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. He was sent to France and in November 1917 his regiment took part in the battle of Cambrai. This was the first battle that involved a major use of tanks. On 30th November 1917 the Germans counter attacked and Arthur was captured and taken prisoner along with many others of his regiment. His only recorded injury was a wound to his left arm.

He spent the rest of the war in a POW camp at Altdamm. It was near the town that today is called Szczecin, Poland.

Conditions in the camp were poor. Rations were low and poor quality - German civilians at this period were experiencing severe food shortages and POWs didn't fare any better. There was simply not enough food to go round. The Red Cross were very active in trying to make sure the prisoners were fairly treated, with regular inspections and provision of food parcels. For the rest of his life Arthur suffered from digestive problems thought to have originated from his time in the camp.

When the war ended the British Government and the War Office were faced with the massive problem of how to repatriate hundreds of thousands of POWs quickly and safely. At the same time they also had to bring back the armies from France. There was no coordinated plan, but POWs in eastern camps were repatriated through what became known as the Danish Plan. The channel ports in Britain were at this time very congested with returning soldiers from France and Belgium, so it was decided to repatriate the  POWs in eastern camps through Copenhagen,  to Leith, Edinburgh.

Arthur was repatriated via this scheme. On 27th November 1918, almost a year after he was captured, he was taken from Altdamm camp to the port of Szczecin, to embark on the SS Russ. The SS Russ was one of several ships carrying out troopship duties in the Danish scheme. SS Russ made three trips carrying about 1600 passengers on each trip. The authorities made a particular point of making sure that Royal Navy destroyers were always in port at Copenhagen to boost the morale of the men arriving from the camps. Danish civilians were regular visitors to the port and transit camps that were set up there, bringing food and clothing. Several Danes were given recognition in the British honours system in the early 1920’s for their activities.

Arthur finished his apprenticeship in 1922, and in 1925 he married Minnie Hollis who also worked at G B Kent. They had four children, Doris 1925, Annie 1934, Arthur 1938, Margaret 1944.

We have a number of pictures of Arthur and his family taken in the 1920s and 1930s in Margate. It must have been one of their favourite places to visit on  holidays. They probably travelled there on a paddle steamer excursion. Here's Arthur and Minnie at the Marine Bathing Pavilion, Margate in about 1928, with baby Doris and an unknown girl, possibly one of Minnie's nieces. They probably got on  the steamer at North Woolwich, a short bus ride from Poplar where they lived. It was a long day out. The timetable below shows the 'London Belle' leaving Woolwich at 8:35 am, arriving at Margate about four hours later.  They had about four hours in Margate itself, and then another four hours back to Woolwich, arriving 8:10pm. Twelve hours and then a bus ride home. They would have been exhausted.

This postcard of paddle steamers at Margate prompted a question. How did the passengers disembark from the steamer to the pier? There must be a ramp that we can't see.

Throughout this period Arthur continued to work at G B Kent until in 1938 the Company transferred all their business to their Hemel Hempstead factory. Arthur then became a postman. At the outbreak of the second world war he possibly worked as an air-raid warden but as yet we have no firm evidence for that.

The family was living at 69 Teviot Street, Poplar when war broke out. In September 1939 Minnie and the children were evacuated to Ilminster, Somerset, leaving Arthur behind with Minnie's father Fred Hollis. But they didn't stay in Ilminster for very long. Like many other families,  Minnie returned with the children to London within a few months.

In late 1940 their house was destroyed in the blitz. Fortunately no one was hurt. The family were rehoused in 18 York Street, Mitcham Junction, Surrey, a modest three bedroomed semi detached house. The family at that time were Minnie's father Fred Hollis, Arthur and Minnie Amos, and their three children, Doris, Annie and Arthur.

Arthur died in Wilson hospital, Mitcham on 8th February 1948, following complications after an operation to remove part of his stomach on 21st January. His wife Minnie continued to live at 18 York Street until she died in 1990.