Royal Naval Division Internment in Holland

Alan will explain how 17 North Shields men were amongst almost 1500 members of the Royal Naval Division who spent most of the First World War as internees in Holland.

After an unsuccessful attempt to assist the Belgian Army defend the key coastal port of Antwerp, the RND marched to the Netherlands to avoid capture by German forces. The Dutch government had declared itself neutral, and any members of the fighting forces coming into the Netherlands were held in internment until the end of the hostilities. The camp in Groningen was nicknamed HMS Timbertown

It certainly wasn’t the wartime experience they expected. They spent four years working in factories and farms around Groningen. They were even granted home leave on condition they returned to captivity.

Alan will explain how two naval brigades – a total of eight battalions – were formed in August/September 1914 by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty. A mix of regular seamen and officers, plus naval reservists, embarked for France and Belgium in early October 1914.