The Battle of Bowmanville was a 1942 revolt in the Bowmanville prisoner of war camp (Camp 30) in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The prisoners, most of whom were higher-ranking German officers, objected to the intended

shackling A shackle (or shacklebolt), also known as a gyve, is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also applies to handcuff ...

of 100 prisoners. The battle lasted for three days.

Revolt

The residents of Camp 30 were mostly Germans captured by the British and sent to Canada for internment in anticipation of a potential invasion of Britain. They were guarded by the Veterans Guard of Canada. The violence began after 126 prisoners were sent to another camp to be shackled as a reprisal for the chaining of Canadian soldiers captured at

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

(itself a reaction to captured plans for the shackling of German POWs). After a period of hand-to-hand fighting, during which one Canadian guard had his

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the human skull, skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near ...

d, 400 prisoners barricaded themselves in a hall. They remained there for over a day while the guards awaited reinforcements. A group of students at a nearby

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course in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

arrived on

Canadian Thanksgiving Thanksgiving (french: Action de grâce) or Thanksgiving Day (french: Jour de l'Action de grâce), is an annual Canadian holiday and harvest festival, held on the second Monday in October, which celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the ...

, subduing the barricaded prisoners with fire hoses and

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. Three shots were fired during the revolt, two of which wounded PoW Volkmar Koenig, shot by a tower guard after prisoners grabbed a Canadian officer. Another prisoner was stabbed with a bayonet, but survived. A number of other prisoners and guards were injured during the revolt, often in hand-to-hand combat.

References

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Bowmanville Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated as a to ...

1942 in Canada Riots and civil disorder in Canada Clarington Prison uprisings 1942 in Ontario