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Caring for Belgian Refugees in Scotland During the First World War

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Caring for Belgian Refugees in Scotland During the First World War Scotland in the FirstDrummond World War REFUGEES WELCOME HERE Caring for Belgian refugees in Scotland during the First World War Jacqueline Jenkinson uncovers the fascinating story of how Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, responded to the influx during the First World War of Belgian refugees, thousands of whom came to Britain in order to escape German occupation of their homeland. ermany’s invasion were killed in unprovoked attacks, Refugees leaving when secretary of the local of Belgium on 4 in many cases in mass executions, Belgium (c.1917-19) government board Herbert Samuel August 1914 was by German troops. announced that all Belgians in swiftly followed by The first arrivals to Britain came Britain would be entitled to the Britain’s declaration within days of the outbreak of same relief as native Britons. The Gof war against Germany to defend the war in August and were those number of refugees arriving in Belgian neutrality. Belgian civilians who made their way individually, Britain increased dramatically in began a move to the coast and escaping the first German October 1914 after the surrender towards the borders with France advances. In September, the of the garrison city of Antwerp and neutral Netherlands seeking British government followed the to German troops following a refuge from the German military lead of the Belgian government, week-long siege. This was followed assault. Civilians fled their homes which announced that all by the rapid fall of the port of under real threat of violence – over foreigners would be given the Ostend. German occupation of the 5,500 Belgian civilians of all ages same assistance as native Belgians, whole Belgian coastline led to the HISTORY SCOTLAND - MAY / JUNE 2018 35 www.historyscotland.com for work and resettlement purposes so that Scotland had new arrivals of Belgian refugees in all the war years. The day after the fall of Ostend, Thursday 15 October, Glasgow lord provost Thomas Dunlop held a meeting with Glasgow corporation magistrates who constituted the wartime committee for the relief of distress at which it was agreed to ‘accommodate temporarily and feed about 3,000 refugees.’ This group of refugees – half of them straight from Folkestone – came to Glasgow by train on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October. They were received and registered by staff at the Mitchell Library and at St Andrew’s halls. The city’s magistrates quickly became a formal committee involved with fund-raising as well as the administration of relief efforts for Belgian refugees arriving in Scotland. Magistrate Alexander Walker became the full-time treasurer and honorary secretary of the Glasgow corporation Belgian refugee committee. In the same way that Belgian refugees were distributed around Britain, the refugees who came to Glasgow were also dispersed. Within days, refugees were settled in the homes of local families and in hotels, hostels and grand houses in Glasgow and in towns and villages around west and central Scotland such main outflow of refugees to France, Belgian & Allies Glasgow’s response as Paisley, Rutherglen, Hamilton, the Netherlands and Britain. Aid League poster: During the course of the First Dumbarton, Helensburgh, Crieff, In the first weeks of the war ‘Will you help these World War, Glasgow received Falkirk and Perth and to villages the London exhibition arenas of sufferers from the close to 19,000 civilian refugees. such as Strahaven, Slammanan Alexandra Palace and Earls Court, war to start a new This was around eight percent and Aberfoyle. workhouses and hotels had been home. Help is better of the 240,000 refugees who set up as receiving and dispersal than sympathy’ came to Britain. The main body Links with wider Scotland centres for Belgian refugees by the (published in 1915 of Belgian refugee arrivals in A difficulty for those running charitable War Refugees Committee, by Avenue Press, Britain came in the period from the Glasgow corporation Belgian reliant on public support for London) October 1914 to mid-1915, refugee committee was that what was seen as a just cause to although others came later in many parts of Scotland had been help innocent victims of German the war, often via refugee camps designated wartime ‘prohibited wartime aggression; however, the in the Netherlands and France. areas’ which meant that no ‘aliens’ numbers of arrivals was so great by The arrival of refugees peaked in could be settled in such areas October that the local government the first three months of 1915. due to military considerations, board decided on immediate There was a steady outflow of in particular fear of a German and direct dispersal of refugees. men of military age going back to invasion from mainland Europe. Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow Belgium and adults called up for For Scotland this meant the whole were key areas for dispersal for war work in Belgian factories set of the east coast was designated refugees arriving via Dover, up in France, however refugees as a prohibited area for aliens, Folkestone and Hull. were moved around the Britain hence Scotland’s three other main 36 HISTORY SCOTLAND - MAY / JUNE 2018 Scotland in the FirstDrummond World War cities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and monthly subscriptions were also gave £5. Meanwhile trades unions Dundee could not house Belgian pledged from individual Scots donated large regular sums, for refugees. To overcome this difficulty around the country. example the Lanarkshire miners’ the committee held regular mass Assistance in kind came from county union gave two amounts meetings to solicit financial support church congregations and clergy. of £180 and £87 in December from representatives of Scotland’s The Roman Catholic church 1915, while the national union local authorities and members of took the lead among Christian of Scottish mineworkers in the many local Scottish refugee denominations in support of the Dunfermline gave over £130 a relief committees. predominantly Catholic Belgian month earlier. For example, in early 1915 refugees. Catholic clergy and The Glasgow corporation Glasgow corporation was asked their parishioners in Glasgow committee also followed the by central government to find and the surrounding area conventional charitable route homes for a further 5,000 refugees. housed hundreds of refugees. St by setting up a volunteer ladies’ In response, the corporation Patrick’s, Dumbarton (under the committee which organised regular committee called a meeting of auspices of father Hugh Kelly) fund-raising events including flag over 200 local authorities and accommodated 200 refugees and days, music and sporting festivals local Belgian refugee committees at St Mirin’s, Paisley, Belgian and sales of lace work made by at Glasgow city chambers. priest Father Alphonsus Ooghe refugees. There was also a scheme Dundee’s lord provost Sir William acted as an interpreter and took introduced in March 1915 for Don pledged that his city would in another 200 refugees. It is Scottish school children to give do all it could and had already likely fathers Kelly and Ooghe regular weekly donations via a raised £20,000. As a result of worked in collaboration in The Refugee by little pledge card to increase funds. this meeting, numerous refugee support of Belgian refugees since Norah Neilson Gray By May, over £1,700 was raised homes and hostels were opened in they were known to each other, (1882-1931) through the collection card scheme Glasgow and financially supported having both worked in parishes by donation from east coast areas. in Dumbarton and Paisley. In Dundee, Edinburgh and Aberdeen Glasgow the convents of Notre and smaller towns such as Wick Dame, the Little Helpers and the and Dunfermline paid for the rent, Little Sisters of the Poor and the furnishing and upkeep and for the convent at Dalbeth also provided costs of feeding and clothing the accommodation to refugees. refugees accommodated in these Support was also given by other hostels situated in Glasgow. Christian denominations, for The Glasgow corporation example two church of Scotland Belgian refugee committee also and three salvation army homes printed annual calls for donations in Glasgow housed refugees. from across Scotland. These yearly Episcopalian, congregationalist and appeals for funds and in kind help baptist congregations also made were publicised in the regional financial donations to the Glasgow press. For example, an appeal corporation Belgian refugee from the Glasgow corporation committee. In central Scotland, committee to assist ‘in money three church of Scotland and united or in kind’ to the townsfolk of free church presbyteries (Bathgate, Grangemouth, a prohibited area Linlithgow and Falkirk) formed which could house no refugees, the churches’ refugee committee, was printed in the local press on with the intention of preparing 20 February 1915. houses for refugees. By March Another successful fund-raising 1916 the committee had provided effort was to send committee seventeen houses occupied by 60 members around the country from Belgian refugees in the village of the borders to the Highlands – Slammanann (around five miles over 70 locations were visited per from Falkirk). By war’s end they year – to address public meetings had accommodated 83 refugees at and solicit funds from individual Slamannan and 64 in Cumbernauld. subscribers. These initiatives There were also regular attracted donations ranging from donations by companies, including £1,000 from Glasgow trades Scottish banks, which placed house in June 1916 to five guineas collection sheets in their branches, given by the trout anglers club of from university students, Edinburgh in November 1915, including St Andrews students’ to 7d given by ‘little Chrissie union, and from gentry such as Kelly’ at Christmas 1914. Regular the duchess of Sutherland, who HISTORY SCOTLAND - MAY / JUNE 2018 37 www.historyscotland.com including donations amounting Departure of first to almost £100 from the pupils at contingent of schools in Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire Scottish Belgian and Edinburgh.
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