Fron Goch and PoWs

johnny_doyle

off to Fron Goch in North Wales tomorrow as part of my general interest in the Easter Rising and aftermath.

Lyn Ebenezer's book on the camp noted 7 German deaths so tried to do a little bit of research. Found it hard as my schoolboy German is very poor.

2 soldiers appear to have died before the Irish arrived - Hugo Schroter died of wounds in April 1915 and Hubert Langenberg died of TB in early 1916.

The remainder appear to have died in 1918 and 1919 :

Paul Vellener died Q3 1918. Born approx 1894
Rudolph Waschkowitz died Q4 1918. Born approx 1882
Alfred Schirmer died Q4 1918. Born approx 1895
Ernst/Ernest Forster died Q4 1918. Born approx 1898
Adolph Stauch died Q3 1919. Born approx 1896

All the deaths are registered with the local General Register Office in the same way a birth, marriage and death would be registered for someone native to the area.

johnny_doyle

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24810/24810-h/24810-h.htm

“In a corner of the bonny little churchyard of Frongoch, adjoining the extended camp, there are two solitary graves. Here, in a strange land, the land of their captivity, two German prisoner soldiers lie at [146]rest, as in many a plot of ground in France and Flanders, German and British lie together, strife hushed in the last sleep. Here there are no grim sounds and sights of battle, but instead there is all the peace and beauty of a lovely spring. Immediately beyond the graves a wooded bank descends to the stream, and over and through the fresh green foliage, amidst which the birds are happily melodious this bright April morning, and all around can be seen the mountains of Wales, the ‘land of freedom.’ Over the grave of one of these liberated captives is a tombstone erected at the expense of, and engraved by, his fellow prisoners. It marks the place where Hugo Schröter, Under-Officer of one of the Crown Prince’s Infantry Regiments, who died on April 9, 1915, as the result of wounds received in the cause of his country, was laid to rest by his grateful comrades.

“The other grave has no stone as yet, but one is being prepared. It is that of a prisoner who died of consumption, after many months of lingering suffering in the hospital, where every care was bestowed upon him. It was in reference to this man that the Chief Officer wrote me: ‘To our regret died last Thursday the patient in the isolation hospital. If only he could have seen the two beautiful bunches of violets you sent! The funeral took place yesterday at 10-30. It was an impressive sight but a very sad one, too.’

“My daughter laid a little offering of white flowers on the grave, and then I photographed them in order to send copies to the families of the poor men, which I hope may prove little winged messengers of sympathy and goodwill.”

W. Whiting.

johnny_doyle

a couple of photos from today's trip attached. Not a great deal to see in the area as the camp has effectively gone. A school now stands on one section and the other is a field. There is an old hut which may be an original from 1916 though there is some doubt about it. The remains of the train station is still there.

The enthusiasm of some of the locals was very good; a real interest in the history. One lady who lives in a house formerly occupied by the British officers showed clippings and photos she had put together in a scrapbook when she was at primary school. Still has it and was very happy to talk about it and the local area. One German PoW stayed behind after the war and married into her family.

My blog entry is updated with info about the 7 PoWs with links to their entries on the German equivalent of the CWGC.

One of the next tasks is to try to find about a bit about the 4 German PoWs who escaped from Fron Goch and tried to make their way to Liverpool.

R.Dub.Fusilier

i know that this is a bit off topic but i remember reading that when some of the Irish Volunteers arrived off the boat at a train station two local men attacked the men at the end of the line and were chased off by an NCO guarding who apparently said " Thesehave fought for their country , what have you done".