“It is difficult to write calmly about it for the simple reason that I have never before in my life seen such a welcome accorded to anyone, although for twenty-eight years I have been present at every kind of function in half the capitals of Europe. At Lausanne some 10,000 people, at 5am, were present at the station. At Fribourg the cheering is described as being quite deafening. At Zurich the scenes are described as not less enthusiastic than in French Switzerland.”
“I called for three cheers for Switzerland. I do not suppose since the beginning of the world cheers were ever given more heartily. Our men were simple astounded… Many of them were crying like children, a few fainted from emotion. As one private said to me “God bless you, sur, it’s like dropping right into ‘even from ‘ell.”
These words were penned on 2 June 1916 by Evelyn Grant Duff, Britain’s ambassador to Switzerland, following the welcome of British prisoners of war in Switzerland.
Evelyn Grant Duff addressing British prisoners in Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland in 1916
During the last two years of the 1914-1918 war, as part of Switzerland’s humanitarian policy, some 68,000 wounded and sick soldiers were transferred from prisoner of war camps to neutral Switzerland for internment. The prison transfers were made under the auspices of the International Red Cross (ICRC).
Prisoners arriving in Chateau d’Oex
Soldiers were lodged in hotels and sanatoria in over 200 (mainly mountain) villages such as Davos, Murren, Château d’Oex, Leysin, Montana, Rossiniere, Rougemont and Les Diablerets. Internees included Germans, French, Belgians, British, Indians and Canadians.
Interned British soldiers in Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland
On 30 May 1916, the alpine village of Chateau d’Oex welcomed 27 English officers and 488 English NCOs and soldiers, along with around 200 officers and soldiers from other nations.
On Sunday 29 and Monday 30 May 2016 the town is holding a centenary event. In preparation for the event they are trying to identify and learn more about the soldiers interned in Switzerland. If you have stories or other records that you would be willing to share, please send them to: stpeterschateaudeox(at)gmail.com.
The map below shows the numbers of people, rank and where they were interned.
Some stories are already well documented. Private Ernest Bunn, a New Zealand soldier, was captured by the German army in France after being wounded in the forearm by a grenade splinter. He was transferred to Chateau d’Oex in Switzerland in 1917. He says in a letter: “…having a fairly good time and I hope it will not be very long before I get back to New Zealand, for although this is good there is no place like ‘home’.” This hope was short lived as Ernest succumbed to the Influenza epidemic of June 1918. He died on 7 July 1918 at 5.45am at the Hotel La Soldanelle in Chateau d’Oex and is buried in St. Martin’s cemetery, Vevey, Switzerland together with two other New Zealand soldiers.
Commemorative Church plaque in Chateau d’Oex
Another, Private Michael J. Boland, who served with the 1st Royal Newfoundland Regiment (Canada), was wounded and captured on 14 April 1917 in Monchy-le-Preux and imprisoned in three different prisoner of war camps in Germany. Transferred to Switzerland in December 1917, he spent time in the Interlaken hospital, where he received treatment for his wounds. He was then transferred to Château d’Oex where he stayed in the Hotel Torrent.
More on this:
Evelyn Grant Duffs full text (in English)
Chateau d’Oex centenary information (in English)
The British interned in Switzerland (in English)
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Gaynor O'Reilly says
My Grandfather, Thomas William Ames, was a British soldier who fought in France in WW1 and was captured and imprisoned in Cassels Germany. While there he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis.
He was subsequently transferred to the Beau Site Sanatorium in Leysin. I believe his Swiss doctors treated him by pulmonary plombage which worked by collapsing the apex of his affected lung, an area which the tuberculous bacillus attacks. This treatment effectively killed the tuberculous bacillus and saved his life.
My Grandmother, Maud Ames, ne Pearson, visited him in Leysin by the courtesy of the Red Cross. For a lady who had never left London, it was the trip of a lifetime. Over the years, my Grandparents spoke often of the kindness and generosity of the Swiss people in accepting and caring for him. They often reminisced about the extraordinary beauty of the Swiss landscape and wished to return. Unfortunately because of limited finances and ill health that was never to be.
My Grandfather’s who was an avid reader said that his most treasured possession was an Edelweiss bookmark, which I now cherish.
Julie flood-hunt says
Great story, Phillip. Hope you get a good response.