Text + Transcription © F.Coakley , 2021
An earlier report and general description are available. This report is extracted from reports held in the TNA FO 383 series of files and is, I think, the last report whilst the Camp contained both Civilian and Combatant prisoners - some 2000 Civilian prisoners were transferred to Knockaloe on the 6th and 7th July 1916.
(German Division) 9, Carlton House Terrace, London, S.W.
February 17. 1916.Sir, I have the honour to submit to you herewith a report, covering a visit of inspection to the Prisoners of War Internment Camp at Stobs, nr. Hawick, Scotland, on February 4. 1916.
Direction
The Commandant of this Camp is Lieut-Col. N. J. Bowman.
Prisoners
The total number of prisonere at the time of my visit was 4,616, of whom 1,839 were soldiers, 504 were sailors and 2,283 were civilians. Amongst the civilians were 2,098 Germans, 181 Austrians, 3 Turks and 1 Bulgarian. All the soldiers and sailors were German with the exception of 3 Alsation soldiers. Attached is a statement drawn up on February 2. 1916, showing the distribution of the prisoners interned at this Camp. (EXHIBIT "A")-
Committees
This Camp seems to be thouroughly well organised with respect to committees governing the various activities of the prisoners. There is a so-called "Markel" Committee, which assists Dr Markel in attending to the individual wants of prisoners and a so-called "Lowry" Committee, which assists me in distributing the fund of the German Government for the benefit of interned prisoners. This "Lowry" Committee is divided into two groups, one representing the civilian prisoners and the other representing the military and naval prisoners. There is a Sport's Committee, a Committee on Industrial Work and a Committee which has charge of the educational work in the Camp. The last named Committee has furnished me with a report showing the increase in the number of classes given and the number of prisoners and teachers attending, since June 15. 1915, when it was opened, viz:-
| 15 June 1915 | 15 Jan 1916 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of lessons weekly |
22
|
61
|
| Number of pupils |
273
|
611
|
| Number of teachers |
10
|
22
|
together with the following particulars with regard to the nature of the classes given:-
1. Elementary School about 150 pupils.
German orthography and grammer. two lessons one for beginners and one for advanced pupils.
Arithmetic. beginners and advanced pupils.
Geography.
Elementary history.2. Special lessons.
(a) Mathematics and Physics - about 90 pupils.
Mathematics for beginners, intermediate class, advanced
Electricity.
(b) Lessons for busimess men - 120 pupils
Book-keeping
Shorthand writing for beginners, intermediate class, advanced
(c) Lessons for Farmers, Gardeners, Foresters - 160 pupils
Agriculture (Landwirtschaft)
Lessons for gardeners (Gartenbau)
Forestry (Forstwirtschaft)
(d) Foreign Janguages. = 110 pupils.
English - Beginners and advanced
French - Beginners and advanced
Spanish - Beginners and advanced
(e) Various other lessons.
Navigation.
Civil Law (Burgeliches Recht).
History for advanced pupils.
Political Economy. (Volkwirtschaft).
Drawing. (Zeichnen).The Elementary lessons (No.1.) are especially given to N.C.O[s]., who intend to stop their military services after the war (Militar-Anwarter).
The classes are held in one of the huts in the Camp and in one small room in the Y.M.C.A. Hall.
A special room for studying purposes has been arranged in the Educational Hut from 11-1.30 a.m. and 3-5.50 p.m. There is a library in the room consisting of 750 educational and scientific books. These books have partly been given through the agency of Dr. Markel and the German Red Cross Societies and partly by the prisoners themselves from their own personal property.
All the materials for the Educational Work, such as blackboard, tables, rulers, etc., etc., have been supplied by Dr. Markel.
Lectures have also been given in connection with the Educational Work. The Theatre Committee is connected with the Education Committee.
The prisoners told me that the Commandant always gave any assistance in his power to further the Educational Work in the Camp, for which they were very grateful.
Sleeping Accomodation.
The huts and the sleeping accommodations in this camp have been described in previous reports. No change has taken place since the Camp was last inspected.
Sanitary Arrangements
The sanitary arrangements in this camp have been completely described in previous reports and except for minor improvements, remain as it was when the last report was made.
Hospital
The hospital arrangements in this Camp are excellently planned. There is a hospital compound, separated from the other compounds, devoted exclusively to buildings necessary for the care of sick and wounded prisoners. The Hospital compound contains the following buildings :-
1. Luggage Storeroom.
2. Administration Block containg out-patients waiting room and out-patient medical and surgical rooms; Dispensary, Quarters and mess-room for 3 medical officers
3. Operating Theatre
4. General Store-room
5. Block containing Washing and Disinfecting Roomaand Mortuary
6. Kitchen. Staff - 1 chef (8d a day) assistant cook and kitchen orderly (both 4d a day)
7. Dining Room.
8. Orderlies Quarters. with wash-houses and latrines for orderlies.
9. Six Wards. each containing kitchen, bathroom, 3 lavatories with fixed basins, 3 water closets, 1 orderly room and 1 side room.In the ward itself there are 24 beds (25 beds with side room). All six wards are the same in design and number of beds. In the whole hospital there is accommodation for 150 patients. In each ward there ie a Ward Master, who is paid at the rate of 8d. a day, and two orderlies, who are paid at the rate of 4d. a day.
Through the kindness of Dr. Markel, a fund has been started to reward any extra night-work or cases of special zeal and efficiency. There is a dentist (a German prisoner) who, by an arrangement with Dr, Markel treats poor patients and supplies them with false teeth at no cost to themselves. The whole personnel of the hospital (except the the medical officers) is German. There are one or two extra orderlies attached for washing clothes, etc., a Hospital Steward and a Dispenser. The total number of Hospital personnel is 87.
The number of patients in the Hospital at the time of my visit was 67. The average number of out-patients seen daily is about 35.
Kitchens
There is one kitchen for each compound with 9 cooks in each kitchen. All the cooks are German and prepare the War Office ration, which has been fully described in previous reports, according to the wishes of the men interned.
Work
The men in the Camp, both of the Civil and Military Compounds, have been provided with materials and tools for making all sorts of articles. They have had exhibitions of their work and have produced a great quantity of boxes, toys, etc., which are disposed of through the assistance of the Emergency Committee for the Assistance of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians in Distress, Some of the best articles produced in any of the camps have come from Stobs.
Exercise
There is a room in each of the compounds for exercise, in addition to the playing field, which has been described in previous reports. The winter weather however, and the heavy rainfall through the winter months, have restricted the usual amount of exercise taken by the prisoners. Their desire for increased opportunity for exercise ia referred to under the heading "WANTS BY CAMP".
Wants by Camp
I went all over the camp with the Commandant visiting the sleeping-huts, the latrines, wash-houses, bath-houses, etc., etc., and later saw, alone and one by one, all of the prisoners, civil and military, who had any complaints or requests to make. I took down their requests and complaints in writing and asked the Commandant to comment upon each individual request or complaint.
The Camp Captains complained that used boots were re-issued after being repaired at the boot-makers' shops. They asked if new boots could be issued, when an old pair was sent to the repairers, or, if re-issued after being repaired, that they be given to the man, who had had them before. They said that the men objected to wearing used boots that had been worn by somebody else. They asked, in view of the general muddy condition in the camp and the circumstance that their boots were nearly always wet, if they went out of doors, if a second pair of boots could be issued, so that each prisoner owned two pair of boots to enable him to change. The Commandant's comment on this was that boots, which had been repaired were only issued to men, a to whom they did not belong, when there were no new boots left in the store, and a fresh consignment was awaited, but then only with the men's consent. No one was ever compelled to accept boots, which had been repaired and did not belong to him. It was readily comprehensible that during the wet winter months the boot question threw a very heavy strain on the Camp staff, but that everything was done to see that the men were properly shod, and that, when it was considered necessary, men were supplied with two pairs of boots.
The captains and heads of the Committees in the Camp asked if additional electric light could be placed about the Camp within the Compound. They asked particularly if lights could be placed near the kitchens and latrines. They urged as a basis for this request, that after the sun had gone down, the Compounds were very dark and men were likely to injure themselves in moving about from the huts to the latrines and kitchens on necessary business. To this the Commandant replied that lights had been placed near some of the latrines and would be placed near the others and the kitchens as soon as possible. He regretted that more lights could not be put up in the Camp as the electric plant was not powerful enough to supply the electricity.
Complaint was made by a number of prisoners that the fragile "Asbestos" lining in many of the huts was broken and permitted draughts and rain to come through the outside wall of the hut. They said that repairs had been promised but that there had been great delay in effecting then. The Commandant said that the huts and asbestos were quite new when the prisoners arrived and that they had done the damage but that the whole of the huts were to be lined with metal sheeting as soon as possible, and that enough for 19 huts had just arrived. He stated that this would have been done before but that the Contractors had been unable to supply the sheeting.
The prisoners complained that some of the huts had leaky roofs and that the rain came through on the beds. They asked that these leaks might be repaired and that the leaks about the doors, where the rain came through the cracks might also be repaired. The Commandant remarked that the Royal Engineers had promised to see to this as soon as possible.
A request made by the prisoners that the daily beef ration be alternated once a week, or even once a fortnight , with mutton; that cheese, as well as margarine, be issued daily, instead of cheese or margarine; and that green vegetables be issued more frequently. The response to this by the Commandant mas that the scale of rations was fixed by the War Office and could not be altered in any way, but that everything was done in regard to the frequent issue of fresh vegetables and that he was satisfied that during the winter months nothing more could have been done, but that it was expected that greater variation would be possible later in the season. The following is a schedule of the vegatables issued to the prisoners at at Stobs Camp during the period January 18. to January 31 1916.
| 1916 | Ton | Cwt | Qtr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 18 | Potatoes |
5
|
7
|
3
|
| 200 Leeks | ||||
| January 19 | Potatoes |
2
|
15
|
0
|
| January 22 | Potatoes |
2
|
9
|
1
|
| Turnips |
13
|
|||
| 2,000 Leeks | ||||
| January 25 | Potatoes |
3
|
4
|
3
|
| January 28 | Potatoes |
7
|
5
|
1
|
| 8 bags onions | ||||
| 6 bags carrots | ||||
| January 31 | Potatoes |
1
|
1
|
0
|
Representatives of both the civil and military prisoners asked if they could be allowed to have, from time to time, walks in the country outside the Camp, under guard. They urged, in support of this, that the playing field and the usual recreation space in the compounds was now so wet and muddy that it was impossible for them to get the usual amount of exercise available in the summer months, when the ground was dry. The Commandant agreed that these walks would very beneficial to the prisoners but that owing to the large number of Guard troops detailed daily for Guard duties, working escorts, orderlies and so forth, he had not sufficient troops left over to undertake these route marches. It might be said in this connection that working parties of from 300 to 400 prisoners are out of the compounds every day engaged in road making and other necessary work about the Camp For this they are paid by the British Government. The men on this work get ample outdoor exercise.
The representatives from the Military Compound asked if they could be allowed more coals in the kitchen to enable them to use the flour that is now issued with the bread ration. They stated that they had only enough coals to cook their necessary food and they desired additional fuel in order to allow them to work up the flour into pastries, etc. The Commandant informed me that the full supply of the authorized issue for all purposes was most carefully made and that he had no power to exceed it. The consumption of coal in the Camp was a very large one and if it was further increased the difficulties of transport would be very great. It should be pointed out that in other camps, with virtually the same coal allowance, there is no complaint on this score and that the fires made for the usual cooking suffice for the pastries, cakes, etc. made from the flour allowances.
In addition to these general complaints there were individual requests for hospital treatment and for repatriation on the gound of being over 55 years of age. These requests have been taken up by me with the competent authorities of the British Government.
Observations
It is particularly to be observed how cordial and pleasant are the relations between the prisoners in this camp, civilian, military and naval, with the Camp Authorities. The Camp Captains and the others, who spoke to me, explicitly stated that any complaint or request they had to make, was not to be taken as reflecting in any way on the Commandant or the officers under his command. They said that everything they complained of and every request they put forward, would have been granted by the Commandant, if it had been within his power.
In going about the camp with the Commandant I was struck with the pleasant relationship that existed between him and the men in his charge. He was greeted pleasantly in all of the compounds and a number of men spoke to me privately of him in the most cordial terms.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,Edward G. Lowry
Special Attache in Charge of the German Division.
Exhibit A
Accompanying Report of February 17 1916 covering visit of inspection to Prisoner of War Internment Camp at Stobs nr, Hswick N.B. [North Britain]
State of Prisoners of War interned at Stob Soldiers Sailors Civilians
Statement showing number of Soldiers and Sailors interned
Number of Soldiers Number of Sailors "C" Compound Number in huts Hospital Orderlies Hospital Patients Cells Strength "D" Compound Number in huts Hospital Orderlies Hospital Patients Cells Total in "C" and "D" Less 4 Non-combatants in "D" compound Add 3 Alsatian Sodiers in "B" comound Total number of Soldiers and Sailors
TNA FO 383/162 - contains reports on many camps based on visits in the early part of 1916
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Editor Text + Transcription © F.Coakley , 2021 |
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