Great War Royal Defence Corps Silver Presentation Cigarette Case given to Sergeant Major C. Dobson, Royal Defence Corps formerly West Yorkshire Regiment and King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, from Captain D.C. Wingate, Royal Defence Corps, formerly 4th Volunteer Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in commemoration of their time at the Prisoner of War Camp at Lofthouse Park near to Wakefield in Yorkshire, and gifted on 11 November 1918, the day the Armistice was signed that ended the war.
Condition: lightly polished, generally Good Condition.
Square form, measuring 80 x 80 mm, silver, stamped on both parts with hallmarks for Birmingham and date letter ’S’ for 1917, the face engraved with the GVR Cypher, King’s Crown and the following wording: ‘ROYAL DEFENCE CORPS / TO SERGT. MAJOR DOBSON / FROM / CAPT. D.C. WINGATE. / P.O.W. CAMP / LOFTHOUSE PARK / NOV. 11 1918’. Complete with both inner retaining bands for holding the cigarettes, the inside of the case has been gilded with a frosted finish.
The officer who presented this case, D.C. Wingate, had originally been an officer in the Volunteer Force who had been promoted from Lieutenant to Captain in the 4th Volunteer Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) on 7 January 1891. He resigned his commission on 15 January 1896. He then returned to uniform when gazetted as a Captain in the Royal Defence Corps on 28 June 1916, and then saw service with the Protection Companies, being assigned to guarding the prisoners of war, in this case at Lofthouse Park, near to Wakefield in Yorkshire. Wingate relinquished his commission on ceasing to be employed on 15 July 1919.
Sergeant Major Charles Dobson’s India General Service Medal 1895-1902, 2 Clasps: Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Tirah 1897-98, awarded to him as a Lance Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was previously sold by the London Medal Company. He saw service during the Punjab Frontier operations which lasted from 10th June 1897 until 6th April 1898 as well as the operations with the Tirah Field Force. Later serving during the Boer War in South Africa, he would be wounded in the action at Magersfontein on 12th December 1899. Having been discharged, he would re-join for the Great War seeing service with the West Yorkshire Regiment and Royal Defence Corps, being awarded a Meritorious Service Medal on 22nd February 1919.
Lofthouse Park, near to Wakefield in Yorkshire, was originally designed as an amusement park by the main tram line between Leeds and Wakefield and built by the tram company in 1908. At the beginning of WWI its communal buildings, holiday chalets and open spaces were converted into an internment camp for people living in Britain but from German descent.
In 1914, German mobilisation began. An appeal was made outside of the country for its citizens and their relatives to sign up to the army. This led to suspicion of anyone in Britain with a connection to Germany who might be seen to have the potential to be an enemy combatant; those who were in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time. Action was taken gradually. Those born in or with connections to Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Ottoman empire or Bulgaria were ‘asked’ to register. At this time women took on the nationality of their husbands on marriage so many British women were classed as German making their status more difficult. Registration coincided with general anti-German sentiment and propaganda, with occasional outbreaks of violence, such as rioting in Keighley and targeting of businesses. Some naturalised Germans in the public eye, shopkeepers, language teachers and tradesmen, were moved to take out ‘loyalty advertisements’ in local papers, proclaiming their British patriotism. The government decided registration was inadequate and moved to a policy of internment of healthy men of fighting age. The largest such camp, Knockaloe, was situated on the Isle of Man, but others were built forming a network around the country.
Lofthouse was a ‘gentlemen’s camp’ holding around 1500 men. Mostly middle-class internees paid for their upkeep and were able to buy goods and services from the surrounding area. Those without money were employed by fellow internees for services as barbers, tailors etc. using their fees to pay for their board. Civilians could not be put to work, but found occupation in writing, putting on plays, creating a camp university and studying. Our knowledge of the camp comes from many sources: official documents, photos of people and buildings, various ephemera such as theatre posters or invoices for goods. Correspondence from and to internees give us more personal stories, as do accounts from those present passed down to family members still in the area or written down at a later date.
By October 1918, civilian internees were moved out of Lofthouse to Knockaloe, to make way for military PoWs. A small number to begin with, increasing to 800 officers and 200 orderlies by the next year. Officers were held there due to its relative comfort, but on arriving much of the furniture had been removed or destroyed and the camp was initially in poor repair. Inmates came from different areas. The last to arrive in June 1919 were naval officers from Scapa Flow where the German fleet had been scuttled. Having been imprisoned on their ship and then experiencing aggression on reaching Lofthouse by rail, they were relieved to reach the camp.
Armistice had been and gone, but the PoWs were still being held. The uncertainty affected their morale. Prior to joining the army, the men had held various roles as pastors, lawyers, teachers, clerks etc. and they used their previous experience to pass the time in the camp. Writing, reading, theatre, music and studying occupied them and as previously they were able pay for goods and services from outside the camp. Musical instruments and theatrical costumes were bought and playbills printed.
International treaties gave officers the privilege of not working, unlike rank-and-file soldiers. They received an allowance and could pay the orderlies. Unsurprisingly the camp was more structured than previously, along military lines. Not all the arrangements were popular and conditions became stricter as time went on. Letters were censored, incoming goods were opened, canteen prices were felt to be inflated. Movement was restricted and roll calls increased. The military experiences and attitudes were different from that of the civilians, bringing a feeling of humiliation and a need to resist, although conditions were considerably better than similar camps in other parts of the world, especially on the eastern front. Acts of resistance were carried out such as hacking the electricity supply and even a couple of escape attempts, with 2 men getting as far as London, though none were successful.
Christmas 1919 brought little relief but by the end of December repatriation was taking place and the camp was shut. PoWs returned to a very different Germany with no monarchy and a messy democracy. Some turned to Nazism and returned to the military in the next war. Civilian internees were also ‘repatriated’, effectively expelled from Britain. Some were able to return at a later date having families and businesses in this country or moved elsewhere. By 1920 the camp was shut and it’s furniture up for sale. In 1922 most of the site burnt down, leaving little trace and is now mostly fields and housing.
