Recently I have been researching the records of the dozen or so residents of Chorlton-cum-Hardy who as citizens of the Axis powers were deemed to be a danger to National Security and placed on an “Enemy Aliens Register”.
Many of these civilians, mostly Germans (including those born in Austria) and Italians were later interned in several camps on the Isle of Man. Although all these individuals were judged on mass the records reveal some of each person’s individuality.
They range in age from the youngest born in Frankfurt A. M. on 22nd December, 1924 to the eldest born on 1st May, 1878 in Grantham, Lincolnshire who was only included on the list as she had married a German national and as such held a German passport.
Some on the list were very newly arrived refugees fleeing the escalating atrocities of the Nazi regime whilst others had resided and worked in Britain for many years.
One of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy “contingent” had lived in Manchester since the Edwardian era working as a chef in hotels and restaurants. In the December quarter of 1907 he had married the Grantham born lady at the Moss Side Baptist Church, Moss Lane East, Manchester. They are shown on the 1911 census living at 40, Beresford Road, Moss Side, Manchester with one daughter born in 1909.
It is quite uplifting to see that even in what must have been very dark times for all concerned, love also found a way to break through and blossom. Three of the young females on the list who were residing in Chorlton-cum-Hardy were to marry under the impending threat of internment. In one instance the couple married in the June quarter of 1940 only for the newly married groom to be almost immediately interned.
The government policy regarding the internment of those on the “Aliens” list was not uniform throughout the war but was to largely reflect the changing “fortunes of war”.
Initially only those who had voiced pro-German or Nazi policies or were engaged in sensitive industries such as shipping or aircraft manufacturing was it thought necessary to intern. This fairly relaxed attitude perhaps typifies what has come to be known (perhaps mistakenly) as the “Phoney War”.
Indeed, I was shocked to see as late as 22nd April, 1940 the Birmingham Post carrying fairly glowing reports of Hitler’s birthday celebrations in Berlin alongside news that on Wall Street, Italian Government Bonds had rallied. The country’s mood changed dramatically in the following two months with the Fall of France and the Benelux countries, the Dunkirk evacuation and the growing imminent threat of a German invasion .
In response to the public mood and the threat from Germany the Home Office issued a fresh instruction in respect of “Enemy Aliens” in a circular of 21st July, 1940. This involved the internment of virtually all males on the list (and some females) regardless of prior exemptions. This event even meant that one Chorlton- cum- Hardy resident was interned less than two months after he had been released from a previous period of internment.
As the threat of a German invasion began to recede there started a slow release of some of those interned and I am happy to relate that one of the first to be authorised for a compassionate release was the newly wed groom who was to return to his young bride in South Manchester on the 14th November, 1940. Further happiness was to come for this couple with the birth of a baby girl in the December quarter of 1943.
Also revealed by these records are the hardships of the young refugees faced having to leave their families and interrupt their studies or careers in the face of oppression.
In a somewhat counter balance to this horror is the kindness of the number of Chorltonians who offered them a place of refuge. Two of these “refuges” were houses opposite each other on Chandos Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy
The records of those interned subsequent to their release is more sketchy but some returned to live out their lives in the Manchester area with a number recorded as becoming naturalised British Subjects in the 1940’s others appear to have later continued on a migratory path.
Tony Goulding © 2020
Location; Chorlton, The Isle of Man
Pictures; courtesy of Tony Goulding
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| The Isle of Man |
They range in age from the youngest born in Frankfurt A. M. on 22nd December, 1924 to the eldest born on 1st May, 1878 in Grantham, Lincolnshire who was only included on the list as she had married a German national and as such held a German passport.
Some on the list were very newly arrived refugees fleeing the escalating atrocities of the Nazi regime whilst others had resided and worked in Britain for many years.
One of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy “contingent” had lived in Manchester since the Edwardian era working as a chef in hotels and restaurants. In the December quarter of 1907 he had married the Grantham born lady at the Moss Side Baptist Church, Moss Lane East, Manchester. They are shown on the 1911 census living at 40, Beresford Road, Moss Side, Manchester with one daughter born in 1909.
It is quite uplifting to see that even in what must have been very dark times for all concerned, love also found a way to break through and blossom. Three of the young females on the list who were residing in Chorlton-cum-Hardy were to marry under the impending threat of internment. In one instance the couple married in the June quarter of 1940 only for the newly married groom to be almost immediately interned.
 |
| One of the houses on Chandos Road, 2020 |
Initially only those who had voiced pro-German or Nazi policies or were engaged in sensitive industries such as shipping or aircraft manufacturing was it thought necessary to intern. This fairly relaxed attitude perhaps typifies what has come to be known (perhaps mistakenly) as the “Phoney War”.
Indeed, I was shocked to see as late as 22nd April, 1940 the Birmingham Post carrying fairly glowing reports of Hitler’s birthday celebrations in Berlin alongside news that on Wall Street, Italian Government Bonds had rallied. The country’s mood changed dramatically in the following two months with the Fall of France and the Benelux countries, the Dunkirk evacuation and the growing imminent threat of a German invasion .
In response to the public mood and the threat from Germany the Home Office issued a fresh instruction in respect of “Enemy Aliens” in a circular of 21st July, 1940. This involved the internment of virtually all males on the list (and some females) regardless of prior exemptions. This event even meant that one Chorlton- cum- Hardy resident was interned less than two months after he had been released from a previous period of internment.
 |
| Another of the houses on Chandos Road, 2020 |
Also revealed by these records are the hardships of the young refugees faced having to leave their families and interrupt their studies or careers in the face of oppression.
 |
| Chandos Road, 2020 |
The records of those interned subsequent to their release is more sketchy but some returned to live out their lives in the Manchester area with a number recorded as becoming naturalised British Subjects in the 1940’s others appear to have later continued on a migratory path.
Tony Goulding © 2020
Location; Chorlton, The Isle of Man
Pictures; courtesy of Tony Goulding
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