HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2025
An oft quoted comment is that Josef Pilates developed his approach to muscle development whilst interned at Knockaloe - however there is no documentary evidence of such other than his own recollections of the period, often recalled second-hand by his friends. His only appearance in the fairly extensive camp newspaper archive is when he acted as 'the impartial referee' at a boxing match, part of the inaugural programme of the newly established wrestling & boxing society of Camp IV on the 2nd December 1915 - possibly newsworthy as "the impartial referee Mr. Pilates" disqualified the stronger boxer during the 8th round for not obeying his instruction by continuing to attack his opponent whilst down [reported in Lager Zeitung, Thursday, January 25, 1917].
Perez Point devotes chapter 2 of an extensive biography to the "1914-1919 Confinement" but seems quite confused as to the sequence, though it is worth repeating that the UK government had no prepared plans for what became a large scale detention of civilians - detention facilities were hastily improvised for example the crew of the Belgia were held for several days in the local Temperance Hall at Newport before being moved to Queensferry Camp. A major problem is however the loss of the PoWIB records leaving only the weekly lists issued to enemy governments and the I.C.R.C.
These lists were photographed and put on-line in 2014 as part of the Centennial remembrance of the first world war and it is these that throw some light on his internment history.
He is found with PoWIB index number 14001, being towards the end of a group of 29 (#13978-14007) all giving Blackpool addresses at the time of internment - there is nothing in the records that links all these other than many can be found with close Knockaloe camp numbers 16626-16643 which indicates they were transferred as a group. The "German Circus" comes from a reported comment by Pilates that he toured with a German Circus (a published interview in Sports Illustrated 12 February 1962 states a boxer and circus tumbler) - however Perez Point could find no documentary evidence to back this and Pilates himself is somewhat coy about his activities at this time - personally I suspect he was with a much smaller group that were based at Blackpool for the summer season of 1914, maybe just the three sharing a small bedroom.
A Josef Pilatus, corrected to Pilates, is found on sheet 11 of the sixth list issued - undated but calculated to be 24th October 1914 - however these early lists did not give any indication of the camp in which they were held.. He is linked with two others as the three are reported as living at 22 Melbourne St - actually 22 Milbourne St, one of the smaller properties in a road of terraced houses about a quarter of a mile from Blackpool North railway station and the sea front. This was a rented house occupied by a widow with 2 sons whom it would appear offered accommodation in a third bedroom, possibly servicing the artistes who frequented this major holiday town. It would however indicate that the three, the 30 year old Pilates and two younger men (Herbert L'Orange from Berlin aged 21 and 22 year old Austrian Ernst Scherr from Hainfeld) were not well paid - given Pilates' interest in body building & boxing I suspect that he may have paid his way by operating a small boxing or wrestling entertainment on or near the sea-front.
It would seem that many of this larger group of Blackpool internees were placed in the same hut in Camp IV compound 3 - hut 2b - a couple of the group named by Pilates are known from other records to have been allocated to this hut. They arrived in one of the large group transfers of over 600 a day spread over a week in mid September 1915 when the Lancaster Camp was being closed.
An unexpected discovery in a box of unexamined Knockaloe material held at the Manx Museum included two issues of a Lancaster Camp newsletter "Sport Zeitung" apparently a weekly publication with issue No 3 dated 27 June 1915 - official organ of the Sports Clubs Deutschland, Saxonia and Victoria. One of the editorial staff is noted as F Frohlich who gives his camp number as 1733 in #3 Company (another editor W Wolff is given as #3292 #33 Company) - Frohlich can be found in the party transferred to Knockaloe with Knockaloe camp number 16629 (i.e. very close to that of Pilates 16626) - he appears as the Football rep for Camp IV in subsequent years. When internees are transferred between camps they are allocated a new camp number in the destination camp which is allocated sequentially and cannot be re-used - it is lost on any transfer from a camp and even if re-transferred back to a camp a new camp number must be allocated. The procedure specified by the PoWIB for a group transfer is that the accepting camp should issue the new camp numbers to the internees in the order in which they are found in the camp list of the originating camp.
Thus it is likely that Pilates has a Lancaster camp number very close to that of Frohlich and would have entered Lancaster at the same time. Besides the report on a football match is a short note by a Hans Olthoff asking why is Boxing so neglected and why our old sports teacher Herr Pilates is so in the background. As mentioned earlier these camp numbers are issued in sequence and as the early February report states that over 1800 internees together with a further 200 boys were then held at Lancaster argues both these individuals were in Lancaster camp prior to this February inspection.
Prior to this time it is not clear where Pilates was held - however Perez Point states that Pilates was transferred to Sandhurst - it is, in my opinion, highly unlikely that Sandhurst, an officer training college, was involved - however not that far from Sandhurst is Frith (or Frimley) Hill, a large area used as a training ground which was quickly adapted to provide a tent based internee camp - two parties each of over 300 were transferred from there to Douglas by October 28th 1914, one internee who died in the riot at Douglas Camp left an account of this camp in its early days - he mentions the arrival of survivors from the sinking of the Königin Luise a ferry converted to act as a minelayer sunk in the first naval engagement of the war. Perez Point mentions that Pilates met August Benkert at this time - an August Benkert may be found as PoWIB #2822 a 20 year old Combatant noted as of the Königin Luise. Thus it likely that Pilates (and the other Blackpool internees) spent time at Frimley until it closed, probably late October/early November at which time they were transferred to the newly opened (and likewise unready) Lancaster Camp. Transfer to the Jersey camp as mentioned by Perez Point is, in my opinion, a figment of someone's imagination.
Pilates was transferred to Alexandra Palace Camp on 16th March 1919 as part of a group of 700 - this camp was then acting as a transit camp for transport on the Harwich to Rotterdam route; the repatriation voyage would be a couple of days after arrival at Alexandra Palace but by this time the PoWIB no longer issued nominal rolls of those repatriated as it appears the Swiss did not ask for them.
EINGESANDT.
Werbe Sportfreunde .
Warum hat man in unserm Camp den Boxsport so vernachlasssipt? Ich mein es sind doch genug Boxer im Camp,die uns mit einer guten Vorstellung erfreu en koennten. Warum wurde unser alter Sportlehrer, Herr Pilates, so in den Hintergrund gedraengt? Er war es doch, der sich so zu sagen die meisten Sport freunde erzogen hat. Abar sogar von Leuten,die sich zum Spott Aller "Sportler te nennen,wurde ihm in jederweise entgegen gearbeitet. Lasst uns versuchen ihn wieder an unsere Spitze zu bekom- nen.
Mit sportlichem Gruss Hans D1thoff. (Nach den von unsserhaltenen Infor- mationen hat dieses Schreiben nichts mit den Olympischen Spielen zu tun.D.R.)
Javier Perez Point Hubertus Joseph Pilates. The Biography 2012 HakaBooks Barcelona ISBN 978-84-15409-81-6
Graham Mark Prisoners of War in British Hands during WW1 The Postal History Society 2007 ISBN 978-0-85377-029-9
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