The British Interned in SwitzerlandPicot, Henry Philip
History
The British Interned in Switzerland
Picot, Henry Philip
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Swiss
In the spring of 1917 I was approached by Mrs. Cook Daniels and Miss
Martin, who had opened a hand-made carpet factory at Gunten, on the Lake
of Thoune, with the object of giving employment to French and Belgian
Interned quartered at that place. They had made a success of the
enterprise, and offered to give similar employment to forty or fifty
disabled British soldiers. This number of men was accordingly gradually
drafted to Gunten from Mürren, where they were continuously employed
until their repatriation in December, 1918. The Gunten carpets obtained
a high reputation in Switzerland, and found a ready sale in the country.
The profits were distributed to the men in salaries varying from frs. 3
to 6 per diem, frs. 1·20 being paid for every 1,000 stitches. These
ladies also opened at their own expense a Club House and Canteen, which
became a social centre for the men of the whole district. Gunten always
struck me as one of the happiest and best organized of the Allied
communities in the Bernese Oberland, and reflected great credit on the
two ladies who stood sponsors for its welfare.
With the above exception of the carpet workshop, all the classes and
workshops at the camps were financed by the "B.L.R.C.O.," sums being
advanced to the "S.B.Os." for the purpose. At Mürren the management was
so successful, that Colonel Neish was able to refund, out of profits,
the greater part of the advances made by the "B.L.R.C.O."
During this period of preliminary organization, the number of Interned
was constantly increasing, owing to the arrival of fresh contingents,
whilst the health of the men who had been in the country some months was
showing signs of marked improvement, thus adding to the sum total of
those for whom it was desirable to find work. For the reasons already
given, any outlet in the factories or workshops in Switzerland being
practically barred, the minds of our officers were turned to our own
schools and workshops, as offering the most likely and useful field for
the absorption of the surplus energies still available, and it was
calculated that by developing these so as to provide training for
another 350 men, the needs of the Interned would be fairly well met.
Further development at the camps was out of the question, as every inch
of roof space had already been utilized, and it was determined,
therefore, to look elsewhere for the necessary accommodation. A step in
this direction was taken by the formation by Lieut. Wallis of the
advanced class of motor engineering at Vevey, on the Lake of Geneva.
So far, the financial arrangements involved had been commensurate with
the funds at the disposal of the "B.L.R.C.O.," but as the developments
contemplated went far beyond the resources of that Organization, it was
realized that we should have to look farther afield to meet the
increased cost of additional technical training.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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