The internment of enemy civilians (mostly men of military age and suspected spies) began as soon as war broke out in 1914. They were held in unused army camps, on merchant ships, even in a former holiday camp. In May 1915, following Zeppelin raids, submarine warfare and a vicious press campaign, a more general internment began.
Old workhouses, disused factories, hospitals, and schools were taken over and new hutted camps built. The biggest was at Knockaloe on the Isle of Man which held 20,000. Internees were guarded by soldiers, usually older men, and camps ringed with barbed wire. Prisoners had freedom within the camps during daylight hours. They ran their own kitchens, libraries, lectures and classes, usually a theatre, as well as bands and orchestras. They organised themselves, did the…
