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We have connections to two people who were imprisoned as civilians in Germany during the First World War, at Ruhleben camp near Berlin. Charles Dugay was one of them. (Although not part of this story, the other was Frank Forrester).
Charles was one of the older brothers of Kate Agnes Dugay, which makes him our 2xGreat Uncle. He was actually called Henry Charles but was always known simply as Charles. Born in 1868 he spent 12 years in the army between 1886 and 1898, in the Royal West Kent Regiment alongside his older brother William.
The year after he was discharged from the army he married Christina Payne, but sadly she died three years later.
Charles then joined the Merchant Navy and worked on several ships out of Bristol (His wife came from Bristol). He worked as a fireman and trimmer. A fireman shovelled coal into the ship's furnaces to heat the boilers. A trimmer moved coal from bunkers to the furnace area, taking coal from different bunkers to keep the ship on an even keel. Whether working as a fireman or a trimmer the work was hot and arduous.
In 1914 he was aged 46 serving on the ship "Victorian Transport".
She was a fairly new ship, having been completed in 1913, and at the outbreak of war on 4th October 1914 she was docked at Danzig, which was then part of Germany. On that day the Germans seized the crews of all British ships then in German ports and waters, and captured 155 officers of various ranks and 888 other ratings, including Charles Dugay. All of them were sent to Ruhleben, a prison camp to the west of Berlin.
Ruhleben was originally a race-track with grand-stand and stables. The crews taken from the merchant vessels, and other British civilians who were taken prisoner in Germany, were housed in barracks converted from the stables.
Initially there was inadequate provision for cleanliness, and insufficient food. The men consistently refused to do any work to assist the enemy, and perhaps received worse treatment on that account. Many eventually became ill, some insane, and some died. But things did improve. Perhaps the most notable change was that the administration and day to day running of the camp was delegated to the British themselves. A so called Camp Captain was in overall charge, and each of the barracks had its own Captain. Gradually all manner of services and events were set up. Sports facilities, football, cricket, boxing were popular. There were several professional sportsmen among the prisoners. Educational facilities were set up where the prisoners could learn languages, seamanship etc, aided with a library of 20,000 books supplied by the Red Cross. The camp had its own shop (men with no money were allotted a weekly allowance by the British Government), and its own internal express post system which used its own stamps.
There was also a thriving camp magazine published every month. Reading the magazines now gives an impression that the camp was being run along the lines of a leisure club. There are many references to theatre productions and concerts. Perhaps one of the reasons the camp was so well run was that it was close to Berlin - it received more visits from Red Cross inspectors than any other camp. It became a showcase.
The Ruhleben camp was around ten acres in size, with eleven barracks to house the internees. Nine more barracks were completed in 1915, but it was only towards the end of the war, when the population was reduced to 2,500, that the problem of overcrowding was solved. The death rate in the camp was around sixty out of the total of 5,500 who passed through the camp during the war. This figure is well below the rate experienced in other civilian camps during the war and is helped by the fact that there were periodic repatriations of invalids and those deemed permanently unfit for military service.
These images of the camp give some idea of the life inside.
In December 1916, it was announced that internees over the age of 45 would be released. However, only 65 of the eligible 400 or so men were released in 1917. It wasn't until January 1918 that the rest left the camp. Charles Dugay was released on 7th January 1918 after 3 1/2 years in the camp. He was living in Barrack 19 at the time. He was sent by train to Holland, and thence by steamer to Britain.
Charles returned to work in the Merchant Navy at Bristol, and died at Cardiff in 1927.
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