Tips on Connecting for an International Genealogical Research Project - A Covid research project

Republished from the Robyn and the Genies blog.....

Researching Family History is a lovely project but it is often isolated and lonely. Collaboration is “more funner” especially during a covid pandemic. At the beginning of Covid I was approached to contribute to research on a prisoner of war (POW) escape project. The initial group comprised of men and women from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Four people who had had grandparents or relatives in this event at Schweidnitz POW camp in Poland in WWI had started researching the circumstances and events. I was contacted due to a blog I had written on a third cousin Mark Strelley Fryar about the project. Even though my connection to this event was via a WWI British soldier, I felt I could get my teeth into the Aussie side of things as there were 6 Australian soldiers and Flyers involved in the escape.

Ruve's desk and her memorabilia

Since then (mostly throughout COVID lockdowns and isolation) five of us along with other interested parties have followed up on a World War I tunnel escape of 26 prisoners of war from Schweidnitz on 17^th March 1918. It was important to contact the “holders” of any hundred-year-old letters, photos, documents and memoirs. Usually these would be in the hands of aging children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. 

This is a little-known Prisoner of War escape story where British, New Zealand, Canadian and Australian officers who have been shot down or captured during their time in the RAF, AIF, infantry or Merchant Navy. They had generally escaped their way out of other camps into Schweidnitz Prisoner of War camp where the last of their daring escape plans was hatched and carried out in March 1918 The men were relatives of the researchers and throughout research and writing, we connected and pulled our knowledge and resources. The combined story is amazing.

Along the way we attracted photos, stories, records and memoirs from some other relatives who were glad to share and for us to go for it.  We were lucky enough to score some personal memoirs, letters, anecdotes, scrapbooks and articles. Basically, we were looking for “the last man standing” in each family- the keeper of the medals, facts, photos etc for men who fought over 100 years ago.

The results of a group search collaboration are fun. The combined skills produce a result, far larger than the sum of its parts.  Think about the synergy of many heads in such a diverse team. Some are fantastic communicators where personal Ancestry messages or emails to strangers are well received and often fruitful. Others are lateral thinkers and approach a problem in a more productive way.                               In other words, we all went down different rabbit holes. Of course, it helps to have a devil’s advocate to cast an eye over findings, to question or query assumptions.

The ability to access local research or different subscriptions add to the knowledge and scope of information found. For example, we discovered National Archives were free in the UK during and after Covid. We could all access up to the quota. Lots of research and Australian and New Zealand records are free to use and search especially war records and newspapers. Knowledge of this improved our chances of finding all that we needed.

Our inboxes were always dinging with correspondence. After all we were operating in at least 4 time zones. Files and comments were flying everywhere. We needed a system of organisation and storage.

Template for storage of files for each person on Dropbox

We used a cloud system called Dropbox to collate all our files. Everyone can access the team content through a single site. After an email had been circulated to all members with new information or files correspondence was summarised and files sorted in a systematic way on Dropbox.

We developed a standardised format for collecting and filed it on the Dropbox account based on this template. Occasionally we had to cull because of storage limitations, but it was okay because we had usually saved it to our own personal computers also.   Files and photos all in one easily accessible space – easily saved to our own systems too. Soon it was filled with the fruits of our research.

We were systematic in collating our research -Claude Asquith Captivity and photos

Similarly, on your own Personal computer be systematic with naming the files and storing them. A major folder called for example POW Project is ideal. Separate folders within this folder for each man eg Mark Strelley Fryar or possible general topics such as camp life. Separate out the other information into subfiles for each person eg Mark Strelley Fryar photos, war records, capture,  Red Cross records, repatriation.

One of our team was a wonderful “spreadsheeter”. Soon we had information about all the POWs coming in an out of prisons, the length of their stays, matching record numbers and photos in colour-coded spreadsheets.

An original spreadsheet of the escapees

An historian had already started off some Family trees for the men and I used my Ancestry account for tracing all the POW families of men in the escape sharing the links so others could access, add, and refer to information at will. We populated it with genealogical information, photos and records. As the number of stories expanded so too did the number of people being researched. It was all so interesting. My tree had all the men in one single tree but as several disconnected family groups. The tree was named after the Schweidnitz POW Camp.  Contact information was included to catch anyone who stumbled upon our main men. Hopefully they would have their interest peeked and they would make contact. A bonus is the Ancestry “tree hints” which attract others to us and provide information to us through their algorithms.

Murphy's family details on a tree up loaded to Ancestry to share

 Naturally, being during Covid, we were unable to face-to-face to communicate (I could easily have jumped on a plane and visited in a different time). We became experts at Messenger video chats and found that we could have very productive meetings and gatherings if we chose 7.00 am Australian time to converse.  In that time frame business was discussed with either a nighttime aperitif in England, a red wine in Canada or a breakfast or morning coffee in Australia and New Zealand. It was great to chat and touch base with one another individually or in a group from time to time, especially at Christmas. 

A 4 timezone catch up with and without alcoholic beverages!

 

Besides sharing via the Ancestry tree, I wanted to share our stories.

Schweidnitz  POW Camp Escapes and Escapades https://schweidnitzpowcampwwi.blogspot.com

We used the blog to get out our research story into a wider open public arena.  The Blog would end up being used to capture other researchers or interested relatives who would stumble to cross it after a websearch on a particular person or a search for Schweidnitz POW Camp. We wrote a series of short stories on the various characters involved in the escape plus some of the other people of interest which popped up during discoveries such as the Queen Mother’s brother and a fellow who later became a Catholic priest after the war. We rounded it off with camp stories, information about life in the camp and their eventual repatriation. We invited guest writers to contribute their stories.

The blog is a means of directing people to our incredible story, and to capture their stories. People can contact us once they have found us.  Interestingly, a Polish historical page found us and we are now working collaboratively with them via their Polish blog site. 

The Polish Schweidnitz History portal

A word of warning here – for all its benefits be cautious of what you want to reveal. Do not give everything away in a blog if you are considering writing a book, a huge report or screenplay. 

One of the team developed timelines for our research “chapters” and in view of our accumulated information makes it easier to gather up referenced information when or if the book finally comes along. Colour coded charts and a spreadsheet is also a great data sorter for this task.

I thoroughly recommend a collaborative project. These men couldn’t have planned such a massive escape if they didn’t join forces, cooperate, help others. Likewise, like our ancestors we colluded and joined forces- how proud they’d be.

 

Below is a summary of tips for collaboration.

• Develop resources on shareable ancestry trees such as Ancestry or Wikitree
• Organise a cloud share service for files such as Dropbox. Make sure to standardise and sort files using easy to understand file titles/names. These are particularly useful when files are large.
• Develop protocols for emails so that information is easily shared, followed up and retained.
• Beware of email overload- develop a system of updates occasionally for those who may not want to be flooded with every bit of data.
• Think of using blogs or Facebook groups to pass on information to others.  eg We have a Strelley Family Facebook page and the blog for people to receive updates. People can access new information at will or introduce new interested parties to the current information. Blog links and stories are easy to share.
• Instagram, X , Messenger are other options to explore.
• Catalogue information into stories. My kids like 1 page summaries – little bites keep their interest.

Some of the photos collected - from the Nobbs Collection

What are we going to do next?? 

With the world coming back to normal our project has slowed as we make up for lost travel. I'll keep the blog going with updates like this. Some researchers and contributors have been able to write about their relatives and interests and we are always open to more finds and information. This is a space to celebrate them.

One member is engaging a ghost writer to incorporate her grandparent's part of the story into a larger family history of war, immigration and farming history. 

Another is planning a book on the topic between trips. Who knows- I think it could be a good documentary or film.

The search is always open for more information and memorabilia. We'd love to place a War Memorial in the location of the POW camp but negotiating that between 4 governments is probably easier said than done. Poland in Spring in 2028 might be nice!

I recently had a copy of the blog series made into a book. It is added to my collection of stories from my other blog- something I'm really proud of. Any suggestions ?  Contact us

Repatriation from Internment in Holland

 

Repatriation from Dutch Internment camps (Repatriation Part 3)

 

A Remembrance Day Rose outside my study window

Between January and April 1918 some 2000 - 3000 men were transferred “on parole” from German POW camps to internment in Holland. This means most of them were captured in 1914 to 15 and after two years it was considered that these men were suffering from ‘barbed wire disease’ and therefore eligible for internment in a neutral country. “On parole” means  Prisoners of war who are paroled or who have given their promise in conformity with the laws and regulations so notified, are bound on their personal honour and good behaviour.

Many of the men at Schweidnitz and Holzminden became eligible during 1918. For the  German Army, prisoners’ continued internment was in breach of the Hague Convention. As tempting as this may have sounded some men refuse to put their name forward for the prisoner exchange. Internment in Holland only meant they were sent to a neutral country- they did not get to go home and were to sit it out until the end of the war. Besides this meant that they did not get to attempt escape.

They did not get to return to fight another day or fly in RFC planes and sorties. Many of the POWs were intent on refusing prisoner exchange with a view to escaping so that they could return to their unit!

W hile still technically incarcerated ex-prisoners of war at the Dutch camps experienced better living conditions and improved freedom. From our group of Schweidnitz escapees it appears the following went to Holland under the prisoner exchange program. 

POW                                      Capture date                               Internment date             Repatriation                           

Claude Asquith                 7 Nov1916                                          13 June 1918                      22 Nov 1918

 

Reginald Burrow               8 Aug 1916                                        12th Oct 1918                    22 Nov 1918

 

Henry Kramm Bush          30 July 1916                                       15 June 1916                     22 Nov 1918

 

Mark Strelley Fryar          1 July 1916                                         7 Oct1918                           22 Nov 1918

 

William B Moorehead    8 Aug 1916                                          12 Oct 1918                        22 Nov 1918

 

Ernest Michael Murphy 8 Aug 1916                                          12 Oct 1918                        21 Jan 1919

 

Alexander Patton           21 July  1916                                       3 June 1918                        22 Nov 1918

In the case of some of our men, they have been delayed from going to Holland while awaiting their Court Marshall for their part in the Schweidnitz tunnel escape. Fryar believed that this delay in conducting the Court Marshall delayed his and other’s transfer to Holland and it was in breach of the Hague Convention Agreement. 

Mark Strelley Fryar takes action

He told the Commandant of Holzminden just that by way of requesting he forward a letter to the Dutch Ambassador who would then forward it to the British government. Eventually Mark Strelley Fryar arrived in internment camp on 7 October 1918.  

Complaint to the Hague 

 

 

They were to remain at Internment Camp in neutral Holland until Armistice was reached.  Upon repatriation they  may have been split up on two different ships but is known that they arrived in Hull on the 20th Nov on the SS Porto and Murphy arrived home one month later.

Part of Confidential Repatriation List

 
Remembering  the Armistice 11/11/1918

A Field of Crocheted Poppies  Canberra  (S Reid)

11/11/1918 Armistice at Holzminden

11/11/1918 Armistice at Holzminden (Repatriation part 2 )

Holzminden Officers' Camp

At the announcement of Armistice most of our men were in Holzminden POW camp where the men had been  held since being rounded up after their escape from Schweidnitz. Some had been involved in prisoner transfer and were being held in Holland.

Holzminden, located in Lower Saxony, was the location of  largest POW escape of the war. Our men had arrived there and were in solitary confinement when it occurred. On the night of 23^rd/ 24^th July 1918,  24 POWs escaped through a tunnel that was  9 months in the making and 10 of those  escaped recapture. This did not sit well with the Commandant Hauptman Karl Niemeyer who until then had a perfect record for escapes.   

Margaret Clarke and family, relatives of Eric Fulton  one of the recaptured Schweidnitz POWs from Australia have generously shared his memoir  and photographs which contained some recollections of his time there and his departure at Armistice.   Jaqueline Cook in her book “The Real Great Escape” also wrote about the days surrounding the men leaving the camp.

Prior to the news of pending Armistice,  the men were bored by their idleness but managed to break this boredom by playing football, hockey and tennis.  Although better fed than the local Germans and the staff they were malnourished. However, sometimes the prisoners could use their food items supplied by the Red Cross to bribe the guards for better treatment or contraband items.

                          A group shot supplied by De Selincourt's (right seated) family Holzminden

 Realising the end was nigh, the very unpopular and possibly evil Commandant Niemeyer commissioned a photographer to portray the camp in a most favourable light. The allied officers posed in a series of casual scenes. You could say he was preparing the propaganda. Eric Fulton in his memoir described Niemeyer as a “particularly nasty piece of work “.

Some shots made it look like the men were just killing time or enjoying sport. These shots of our men standing around posing for the photographer were not just commemorative shots for Niemeyer, several shots were purchased by the officers to collect their friends’ signatures etc.

In  the weeks leading up to the end of the war there were very real fears that the lager would be stormed by the villages desperate for food.  Some of the guards began to arm themselves against the event.

After the announcement of Armistice  delivery of over 2000 Red Cross parcels of food for the POWs was raided by townsfolk and only 200 made it to the camp in one week alone.  Our men  relied on the Red Cross for food. However, release was not immediate and the reality was that times were tough both in and outside the camp. Food was running short and winter approaching.

Our men and other POWs were suffering from malnutrition and were being struck down by the presence of Spanish influenza which had been in the camp since January 1918. Their immune system from this influenza pandemic was certainly compromised.

Niemeyer fled the camp two days after Armistice.  He never got to answer for his war time behaviour. 

Fulton in his memoir told of a love story between a female staff member and his Aussie mate ‘Brolga’ Hill. “After declaration of peace” when the men had added freedoms, he says “Brolga got out and met his Fräulein and had a whale of a time.”

When there are  more than 300,000 prisoners to repatriate from Europe It was always going to be a logistics nightmare.  There were significant delays for Holzminden man who arrived home much later than their colleagues who were interned in Holland. By Mid- November they expected to know that they would leave any day or by the end of November at the latest. However, it was a period of delays, discomfort and frustration.

Jacqueline Cook in her book “The Real Great Escape” states that the POWs celebrated with Armistice dinners with printed menus. Some of the menus remain as they  were passed around to each other for signing. While the men waited, they had  freedoms to take photos and  leave the camp “on parole”  during their free time. They  explored the river and the town which was already decorated in anticipation of their own troops returning from the war. Some POWs left the prison deciding to walk themselves to the nearest exit point.  

 

Here is Rickards Parole card issued in July 1918.

Rickard's Parole Document Holzminden

 

One night, in anticipation of the repatriation orders,  the man had a good night on the town using up the camp currency on alcohol. This was around the 4th and 5th of December. However,  the departure date was extended. Soon they were running out of food with the Red Cross parcels drying up and the letters from home not getting through. Next, they were told they were to leave on the 9th and 10th of December by train. That didn’t come to fruition. When they didn’t leave there was some discontent.   Camp items were  smashed up and bonfires lit. The  POWs sabotaged the fire hoses by cutting them and in all it was not a good look.

 Finally, it  took a senior officer to get action from the local train station. It worked,  and on 11^th  December the men marched in formation out of the Holzminden  compound to their train home.

 As Fulton recounts the happy day when they were released men from Holzminden. They were moved by train to Holland. Imagine their excitement to be greeted at the border by some English ladies who have travelled from England to ensure the first people to greet them upon leaving captivity were some of their own. Each was presented with a small silken Union Jack as a memento. Next, they spent three days in Holland, visiting shops and  mixing and drinking with the excited Dutch who treated them quite hospitably.

From Rotterdam,  they boarded ships and were escorted around under- sea mines to the estuary at Hull.  As with the Schweidnitz POWs, they were met with a declaration from the King on the wharf and a banquet of delicious delicacies provided by the local women. Of our 24 tunnellers, 6 returned via the internment camp and the rest returned between 14^th December and 6^th January.

Wearne in a short memoir  wrote 

“On the 10^th December 1918, we entrained for Holland. We arrived at Rotterdam on the 12^th December 1918, and embarked on the S.S. Takada on the 15^th December 1918 arriving at Hull on the 14^th December 1918.”

Upon return to Britain each man received a King's welcome home letter, 2 pounds and a voucher for two months leave. 

Extract from Fulton's memoir c 1980

 They were given leave while they awaited demobilisation. After giving their “capture statements” and contemplating whether they would reenlist or re-join their units everyone went their separate ways.

For Australia and New Zealand Royal Flying Corps members demobilisation was slower due to their being no longer attached to the AIF or the New Zealand Infantry. Passage home was going to be slow so the men took advantage of the time and hospitality of various friends and relatives around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.  All those addresses and signatures became invitations to “see my home town ”. A trip back to the “old country” would be a long time coming for most.  Eventually passage home for the Canadians, Aussies and NZers was available by ship via a long sea journey home. A lot of returning men didn’t make it back to the Antipodes until mid-1919.

Fulton tells of one last retaliation at the camp for their treatment by the Germans.  Some cans were hidden in the wall of their prison home. Think of unwanted cans of soup, cabbage etc which were punctured and put back into the wall cavity. Fulton’s plan was that they would announce themselves at some later stage to those military personnel who are going to be housed there sometime in the future.

So, what became of our tunnelers post war? As we’ve seen from our “tunneller” stories some remained with their units and continued have a career in the  Military, Air Force, Navy or Merchant Marines. Some went  back to start their careers or marry their sweethearts after they were demobbed. One died of Spanish Flu. It is interesting to see who returned to their homelands for good and who moved to the countries of their POW friends they had met in camp in either  Canada, New Zealand, Australia or England.

      Prisoners needed to be repatriated from all over Germany- the officer camps have orange dot

Some of our research has revealed friendships which were fond and rekindled. For some and not unusually they never talked of their time in the POW camp or indeed the war to family. Many never wanted to join in regimental reunions such as Anzac Day etc. As with a lot of WWI soldiers- best forgotten or experiences never understood by their families. There have been reports of reunion dinners organised by the English and Canadian men. As for ANZAC reunions, these have generally been in their battalions or district marches and events  rather than POW groups.

Some like Fulton , Howes, Wearne, Copeland and Harker we have found have been open about their war time experiences of flying, planning escapes and life at the POW camp. We have fine examples of some very articulate  memoirs that they have been persuaded to write  much later in life.

We are mindful of the fact that so much has been preserved and needs to continue to be preserved by the many generations in between the 1914 and now. Their story needs telling. One of our team is in the process of writing it based on the research of many who share the passion.

Thankfully we’ve had the opportunity to pull together this part of history. Thanks to all those generations who have  jealously guarded the relics of this story and who have shared with us and researched with us  to give insights into the story of capture, transfers, POW life, escapes, repatriation and  other antics.

Repatriation Part three follows ......

Remembering Armistice 11/11/1918   Remembrance Day 2022