The Sefton Hotel and Gaiety Theatre - geograph

Sefton Camp was one of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

s in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where Italian, German and Finnish residents of Britain were held. The camp was located in the Sefton Buildings, built during the 1890s next to the Gaiety Theatre, on the promenade in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. It was one of the smallest of the ten internment camps on the island during World War II, with only 307 residents. Of these, 42 were invalids. The Sefton Camp held prisoners from October 1940 until March 1941. The camp had a newspaper, the ''Sefton Review'', published fortnightly from November 1940 to 3 February 1941. Notable editorial pieces concern its letters sent to notable politicians and public figures to try to find a sympathetic ear for their plight. It also wrote to the Mayor of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

offering toys as gifts to families stricken by the

bombings A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

. The letter received a kindly reply. The camp closed around the beginning of April 1941 due to the relatively large numbers of internees who had been released since the start of the internment camps on the island. The internees there who were not due for release were transferred to other camps on the island. The Home Office then informed the Sefton Hotel Company, and tenants of the Church Road houses, that they could have their property back on 4 May 1941.http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org

References

{{reflist Internment camps in the Isle of Man Buildings and structures in the Isle of Man

See also

References