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
Early in 1916, the Abbé, now Captain Aumônier Herbert Savoy, was
nominated Chaplain-General to the Roman Catholics, Captain Aumônier
Spahn to the Protestants, and Dr. M. Erlanger, of the "Rote Mogen David
Society," to the Jews. These appointments affected the French, Belgian,
and German Interned, the British not having as yet made their appearance
in the country.
Each centre of Internment was as far as practicable considered as
forming part of local parish organizations, and Interned priests were
also appointed to assist the Swiss in their work. The services were held
in the parish churches or chapels and oratories improvised for the
occasion. Protestants being in a minority, it was not found possible to
arrange in an adequate manner for their worship, and Captain Aumônier
Spahn could only hold a service for the men once a fortnight, the
dissemination of the Interned throughout the various cantons adding to
his difficulties. The Jews were ministered to by Grand Rabbi T.
Lewenstein at Zürich, and by Dr. M. W. Rappaport and Rabbi Jules Wolff.
The above arrangements met with little difficulty in their application,
as they simply portended an expansion of the existing religious
organizations of the country. Language offering no bar to common
worship, the addition of accommodation in church, chapel, or synagogue
was seldom necessary, and the Interned Frenchman, Belgian or German took
his place as a member of the ordinary Swiss congregation. The clergy,
too, understood the psychology of their flocks, and were not puzzled by
any new manifestations of racial characteristics.
In the case of the British, the conditions were of a different order.
Here, at once, the differences of race, religious observances, and
language became apparent, and it was evident that I should be thrown on
my own resources in providing for the spiritual welfare of our officers
and men. Château d'Oex was, I found, well served as to religious needs.
The importance of the place as a popular mountain resort for British
tourists had led to the maintenance there by the Colonial and
Continental Church Society of a resident Church of England Chaplain, the
Rev. E. Dudley Lampen, and there was also a resident Swiss Roman
Catholic priest, the Abbé Bullet. Both these gentlemen placed themselves
at my disposal for the service of the men. The Rev. A. M. Sutherland,
Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church of Lausanne, likewise offered
himself for duty, and in due course established, at his own expense, a
chapel at Château d'Oex for the use of his military congregation.
In September, 1916, the C.C.C. Society further sent the Rev. Isaac
Hutchinson from England to assist Mr. Lampen, and these gentlemen
performed all the duties connected with the Anglican Church at Château
d'Oex, Rougemont and Rossinières, until their relief in 1917, when Army
Chaplains were appointed by the Chaplain-General for duty in Switzerland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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