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They might have been the enemy but by the end of 1918 the German prisoners in Cumbrian prisoner of war (PoW) camps helped shorten the war by doing the important work of the British men who had left to fight on the front. This important contribution continued well into 1919 before they were eventually repatriated.

Rowrah PoW Camp was established to house German prisoners so they could be usefully employed working in the nearby quarry, iron ore mines and on local farms. With more and more local men being called up into the army the camp鈥檚 manpower filled in the breach left by their departure. Rowrah also served various satellite and tented migratory camps where seasonal work on repairing infrastructure and harvesting crops required small teams of prisoners close to the job in hand.

Shortages of food and British soldiers in 1918 saw a relaxation in the restrictions on PoW鈥檚 working on farms, and it was reported in The West Cumberland Times; 6,000 men in gangs of four and five were working on the land. The camp was administered from Leigh in Lancashire and the excellent rail links at the time enabled swift transport of men and food to where they were needed. It was run by the South Wales Borderers and Lieutenant Tew of The Military Intelligence Prisoner of War staff acted as the camp interpreter. The prisoners exchanged gifts they had made from silver foil and scrap wood for some small luxuries and gained the respect of those who came in contact with them.

Tragedy struck the prisoners however as ten of them died of the flu epidemic at the end of the war, just as they must have thought they were going to see their loved ones again. One prisoner, Vinzenz Suchanek, was killed in 1917 in an accident at the quarry. The shortage of soldiers to guard the prisoners proved to be the biggest stumbling block to their wider deployment; that and the anxieties felt by the close-knit agricultural community surrounding the camp at concerns of prisoners mixing with local families.

Location: Rowrah, Frizington, Carlise CA26 3XJ
Image: Craftwork depicting a PoW, courtesy of Maureen Fisher

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