INTERNED PRISONERS WORLD WAR 1
SWITZERLAND TRIPS

Rarely talked about are the trips women made from the United Kingdom to Switzerland to visit their sons or husbands who had been Prisoners of War in Germany. Their trips were made between October 1916 - November 1917. The costs were covered by a fund established by Lord Northcliffe.

It's only when the date gains significance that we realise this is not just a trip for holidaymakers, as the sub-title suggests, but "a little known aspect of WW1," between 1916 and 1917. This was a two week trip to Switzerland, for a group of about 18 women, each time, with all expenses paid.

These women were the wives, mothers or sweethearts, of soldiers who had been Prisoners of War in Germany, many having been captured in the early months of the war, but were so seriously ill or disabled that they would never be able to fight in the war again.

In early 1916, the Swiss government, with empty, costly, holiday hotels, came to a financial agreement with France and Germany that their respective prisoners of war, who were ill or disabled, could be exchanged and spend the rest of the war in Switzerland, in her empty tourist accommodation. By May 1916, the British Government had come to a similar agreement whereby the costs of accommodation were met by the respective governments.

The first group of British Prisoners of War from Germany were re-located in the picturesque town of Chateau d'Oex, in late May 1916. The group was comprised of a cross section of soldiers from all ranks. For some of the more affluent, they were able to arrange for wives and daughters to join them in Switzerland for lengthy stays. It was when Lord Northcliffe realised how much the soldiers' morale was lifted, with these visits, that he set up a public fund, which raised £13,000 to pay for groups of women to visit their own menfolk.

There was a great deal of information to be found, in the newspapers of the day, with which to fill in names, dates, and many other details. Reporters would meet the trains coming in from Germany, filing reports and photographs of the soldiers, for publication at home. One newspaper account of one trip, dated December 1916, highlighted a local soldier, and the realisation that this was such a little-known event from WW1. The article had the title, 'Darwen Wives Meet Soldier Husbands: A trip to Switzerland described' and was accompanied by a photo of the women in the group who came from various parts of the UK.

PoW Ice Hockey team - Chateau D'Oex

PoW Ice Hockey team - Gstaad

British PoWs atrrived in London from Switzerland

Chãteau D'Oex, Switzerland

British PoWs Arriving in Switzerland

British PoW Working in Switzerland

The first British group to go Switzerland was in September 1916, and the 17 women of the group met up for a stay in London where they were taken sightseeing and shopping before they set off for Switzerland. On the day of departure, they went to Waterloo Station, where they had a photograph taken before boarding the train taking them to Southampton where they were to board a ship bound for Le Havre. A brave undertaking as there was always a danger of enemy attack in the Channel. From Le Havre they travelled by train to Paris, where they had another sightseeing tour and in the evening a train to Switzerland. Once past passport control and into Switzerland, they travelled to Montreux where they transferred to the mountain railway car which took them to Chateau d'Oex. When they reached the station, there, it was to find it crowded with soldiers and welcoming dignitaries, and photos were taken.

Some sick and disabled British Prisoners of War were interned in Murren, another Swiss mountain village, and the Red Cross organised visits for the wives in 1917. The Red Cross was also instrumental in setting up workplaces for activities such as leatherworking. The main centres for the Prisoners of War were Chateau d'Oex and Murren, but they were also located in Rougemont, Rossinieres, Gunten, Signal de Bougy, Vevey, Lausanne, Seebury and Meiringen.

In total, there were about 6,000 Prisoners of War in Switzerland so it would have been impossible for everyone to have a visitor from home. The soldier would have had to request a visit. No information regarding the selection procedure has come to light but may have been down to the women selected being involved in voluntary war work in Britain.

Looking at the various photos from the visits, it seemed that the soldiers were able to come and go in the locality as and when they wished as they were in the mountains and the men were not fit or healthy enough to try and escape. The one condition was that if they did try to escape, they would be re-captured and returned to Prisoner of War camps in Germany but there are no signs that anybody tried to escape. There were even marriages between some of the soldiers and their visiting sweethearts. One such was Lilian May Spencer, who went out with the Group in September 1916 and, in the November, married Edwin Baylie.

Many men's comments served to underline the fact that, once on the train, they could not believe that they were passing from a harsh life in the camps to one of comparative freedom and comfort in Switzerland. Some accounts of the welcome show that they were given presents and flowers that they received as they passed through the various railway stations. They also welcomed the sight of 'British faces' and hearing English spoken.

A number of those in Switzerland, with severe health issues, were repatriated before the end of the war and formally discharged from the army.

Those who were not so lucky died from their afflictions while being held. Many of these can be found in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission graveyard at Vevey (St. Martin's) Cemetery, Switzerland, there are 88 men listed.

VEVEY (ST. MARTIN'S) CEMETERY, Switzerland - First & Second World War Casualties

In the year 1916, agreements were made between the Swiss Government and the French, British and German Governments under which a certain number of wounded prisoners of war were interned in Switzerland. The first British prisoners arrived on Swiss soil at the end of May, 1916; and the average number under treatment during the remainder of the war was 2,000. Of these, 61 died before repatriation; and, including other casualties, 88 British and Dominion sailors, soldiers and airmen, fallen in the Great War, are buried in Swiss soil. The 1914-18 War graves were concentrated in from the following sites; at Arosa, at Berne, at Chateau D'oex, at Chur, at Clarens, at Constance, at Couvet, at Fribourg, at Interlaken, at Laufenburg, at Lausanne, at Lauterbrunnen, at Leysin and at Sierre. During the 1939-45 War, Switzerland was again neutral and accorded asylum to refugees of various types; soldiers who had crossed the frontiers during operations; prisoners of war escaping German and Italian prison camps; civilians escaping from concentration camps or fleeing from feared imprisonment; and frontier fugitives of the last stages of the war. Despite repatriation measures the number of refugees increased steadily, and from 16,000 in 1942 they rose to 110,000 by May 1945. The commonwealth graves of this period are therefore of either escaped prisoners of war or airmen who crashed in or near Switzerland.

Some extracts from various newspapers, at various dates

Evening Irish Times - Monday 31 December 1917, page 7: BRITISH PRISONERS IN SWITZERLAND. A Press Association war telegram from Zurich says that a party of British prisoners of war consisting of 84 officers and 554 men, from Germany arrived here at 10.30 on Thursday evening. They were met by Mr. G. B. Beak, the British Consul, and the staff of the Consulate. The weather was bitterly cold, and the soldiers greatly appreciated the hot coffee which was served out to them. The officers include Brigadier-General Victor Williams, Canadian Expeditionary Force; Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson, North Staffordshire Regiment, and Captain Batten Pool, V.C. The officers are going to Motntreux and Vevey, while the men will be at Chateau d'Oex and Murren. The party, on the whole, looked well : those interned in Northern Germany appeared to have had a much worse time than those in the South. Aberdeen Press and Journal - Monday 9 October 1916, page 6: VISITS TO THE INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND. LIMITED ACCOMMODATION. (Official Press Bureau.) The Secretary of the War Office announces that information has been received from Switzerland that the accommodation for relatives of British non-commissioned officers and men interned in that country is very limited, and that only 50 persons can be accommodated at the Chateau d'Oex and 10 the Leysin, while no accommodation is available at present at Murren. It is also intimated that children under the age of 16 cannot be permitted to proceed to Switzerland. In these circumstances the number relatives proceeding to the Chateau d'Oex and Leysin any one time must be strictly limited, and none can be permitted to go to Murren until arrangements can be made for their accommodation there. It has accordingly been arranged that only two relatives per prisoner can be allowed to go to Switzerland. The prisoner of war shall himself select the relatives whom he wishes visit him, and shall furnish their names and addressee to the British Military Attache in Switzerland, who will forward the names of those selected to the Prisoners of War Committee under the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem. No individual will be allowed to oocupy the roons reserved for the relatives of prisoners of for more than 14 days. Sunday Mirror - Sunday 08 October 1916, page 2: PRISONERS' WIVES. Only Limited Number Able to Visit Switzerland—No Children. The War Office has found it necessary to issue a statement announcing that information has been received from Switzerland that the accommodation for relatives of British non-commissioned officers and men interned in that country is very limited, and that only fifty persons can be accommodated at Chateau d'Oex and ten at Leysin, while no accommodation is available at present at Morren. It is also intimated that children under the age of sixteen cannot be permitted to proceed to Switzerland. In these circumstances the number of relatives proceeding to Chateau d'Oex and Leysin at any one time must be strictly limited. It has accordingly been- arranged that only two relatives per prisoner can be allowed to go to Switzerland. The prisoner of war must himself select the relatives whom he wishes to visit him. He must , furnish their names axed addresses to the British Military Attaché in Switzerland. Singing “It's a long way to Tipperary,” the second party of soldiers' wives, on their way to Switzerland to visit their interned husbands, left Waterloo Station yesterday

Cotton Factory Times - Friday 1 September 1916, page 5: Interned in Switzerland BLACKBURN PRISONER WRITES OF WELCOME EXCHANGE. Mrs. Wood, of Selons-street, Blackburn, has received an interesting letter from her husband, Corporal Ezra Wood, of the Royal West Kents, who is an interned prisoner of war at Murren, Switzerland. Lance-Corporal Wood, before the war, was an overlooker at Griffin Mill, Blackburn, and joined the army in September, 1914. He was wounded in both legs, and taken prisoner at Loos on September 25th, 1915. Lance-Corporal Wood says: “At last I have got back to civilisation, arriving here after a long and trying journey. It is, I think, about 12 months since I saw you. Looking back, it been the most trying year of my life, because although my captivity has not been as bad as that of some prisoners, I acn assure you Germany is no place for an Englishman at present. We reached the Swiss frontier about 4-30 p.m., Constance being the place arrived at. The journey so far has been a very pleasant one. We were handed over to a Swiss guard, and placed in another train, and passing over the frontuer we were at last out of Germany. People waiting all along the line, and a heartier welcome we could not have had. We stopped at the first station over the frontier, and though it was raining a large crowd awaited us. They gave us flowers, fruit, etc., and our welcome to Switzerland was a hearty one. The boys cheered for all they were worth. We thanked the people for their kindness, for after being, as you might say, out of the world for a time, we appreciated it very much.” West Sussex Gazette - Thursday 26 October 1916, page 5: BROCKHAM Private Leonard Cornish, of the East Surrey Regiment, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Cornish, of Park Pale Cottage, who was taken a prisoner by the Germans on August 31, 1915, is now in Switzerland. When made prisoner he did not take kindly to the German rations, and declares he must have gone under had it not been for the parcels from England, which, in his case, appear to have been regularly received. He naturally was delighted to leave Germany. The first month in Switzerland increased his weight 9lbs, and he is still improving in every way. Biggleswade Chronicle - Friday 16 June 1916, page 3: ONE OF OUR BOYS IN SWITZERLAND By arrangement between Germany. England and Switzerland parties of wounded prisoners belonging to Germany and England are now interned in Switzerland. The removal of the British prisoners took place early last week and the Swiss gave the British boys a very hearty welcome. We had anticipated that one of our boys, Pte. F. W. Merry, a Shefford lad, belonging to the Bedfords, would be among the number and this has proved to be the case, for sister at Shefford has written to let us know that Pte. Merry has written home to say that he is in Switzerland. Pte. Merry, who was terribly wounded, and was reported officially as dead, and still is a cripple. Below we give a photograph of the gallant lad. At present we are not sending parcels, but are in correspondence with the Foreign Office to know whether we can continue to send to him. We know he would appreciate help from the fund and we are sure it will be the wish of our subscribers that the parcels should continue go to this wounded lad. Pte. F. W. MERRY, of Shefford Coventry Evening Telegraph - Saturday 30 December 1916, page 2: A letter has been received by a relative in Coventry from Private A. Mitchell, South Wales Borderers, who is now interned in Switzerland as prisoner war. After explaining that he worked a farm in Germany for about three months and stating that the food “wasn't so bad,” while he was there, the writer goes on: “Of course they are in a very bad way. They live on potatoes and a little bread and hot water, and if you were to complain they would say, “Move your Navy,” or start, punishing you, and you get a very rough time of it. Well, I got rather rundownt and went before a Board of Doctors, and was passed for Switzerland with anaemia. I was fortunate. This a very beautiful country. We are upon the mountain and, of course, is very cold—we have about a couple of feet of snow—but I am very comfortable in one of the hotels. I have good bed and some good clothes, also some good food."

Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Wednesday 05 December 1917 - page 5: Captain Herbert Stewart, D.S.0., Scots Fusiliers, has arrived at Teysin in Switzerland, after being prisoner in Germany since 1914. Shields Daily News - Friday 15 December 1916, page 3: GUESTS OF SWITZERLAND. British War Prisoners Now In Safety. Zurich, Wednesday. After being detained at Constants over a month, a party of British prisoners of war, including 24 officers and 380 men, arrived at Zurich to-night, en route for Chateaux d’Oex. The British Consul General at Murren, Sir Cecil Hertslet, and large number of the British colony welcomed the men at the station and distributed sandwiches and cigarettes. Unfortunately, many men are in a very critical condition, and there are several cases of tuberculosis. A second party is expected to arrive within the next few days.—Reuter. Newcastle Daily Chronicle - Saturday 2 September 1916, page 8: THE POPE AND PRISONERS OF WAR. PARIS, Sept. 1. The “Marin” says that the Pope's proposal to the belligerent States to intern in Switzerland prisoners of war who are fathers of three children and have been prisoners for at least 18 months, has been submitted to the French Government by Cardinal Amette, Archbishop of Paris, and has been accepted in principle. It now only remains to go into details and to obtain the consent of the Swiss Government.—Reuter. Northampton Mercury - Friday 26 January 1917, page 5: PRISONERS GRALEY. PTE. ERNEST, East Surrey Regiment, whose parents live at Lowick, has been transferred to Switzerland as prisoner. Widnes Examiner - Saturday 29 September 1917, page 5, and St. Helens Examiner - Saturday 29 September 1917, page 5, and Runcorn Examiner - Saturday 29 September 1917, page 5: RETURNED PRISONERS OF WAR. LANCE-CORPORAL WEBB. Home After Being In Captivity Since August, 1914 After being in the hands of the enemy since shortly after the Battle of Mons, Lance- Corporal Webb, an old Warringtonian, of the Manchester Regiment, has recently been repatriated. He has this week been on a visit to his mother at 20, Tilley-street. He says he is very glad to be alive after the treatment he has received at the hands of the Germans, of whom he speaks very bitterly. “But for the parcels sent from England,” he says, “I ,and many of my comrades would have starved to death.” He has been in various internment camps, including Munster and Sennelager, and for the past eight months has been in Switzerland. While a prisoner he met several Warrington lads, including Private Thomas Ireland, of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment; Privates Gibbs, Fernihough and James, of the South Lancashire Regiment; Private Harrop, of the Cheshire Regiment; and Private H. Travers, all of whom were doing well the last time Lance-Corporal Webb saw them. Lance-Corporal Webb called up as a Reservist at the outbreak of war and was a melber of the first British Expeditionary Force. He fought at Mons, and on August 29th 1914, he was severely wounded in the abdomen and later fell into the hands of the enemy. Prior to being called up he was working in Birmingham, but he was formerly employed as a moulder at Richmond's Gas Stove and Meter Works, Grappenhall.

Last updated 1 April, 2024