Aliens in Swansea!

No, its not a sci-fi alarm.

Rather, its about what happened to enemy 'aliens' (basically foreigners) who happened to be in Swansea when war broke out in 1914. Assuming they were, e.g. German or Austrian, they would probably be regarded as potential enemies and would be subject to internment for the duration of hostilities.

Typically they were sent to a camp on the Isle of Man and remained there for, in some cases, as long as 5 years. Carl Oscar Roth was one such man having been born in Dresden but working in Swansea in 1914 (he had his own sausage skin making business). Off he went to the camp...

Swansea in the Great War

I have now started writing 'Swansea in the Great War' and have to get the work to Pen and Sword Books by 30 November 2013 (for publication late 2014).

I've completed about 8,000 words (out of a target of 35,000) in the last 2 weeks so am on target though these things always take longer than planned!

So far I've written about a Swansea man at the Battle of Coronel, one on board a Q-Ship (trapping U-Boats), winning a VC (William Fuller) as well as the Englishman (living in Swansea) who joined the Swansea Battalion as a private, ended up as a captain, and won a Military Cross and a Distinguished Service Order for his bravery. Oh, and he ended up as a prisoner of war and got outside the prison camp walls on two occasions (but was recaptured), turning back on a third attempt after he risked being shot!  

William Fuller VC

With a little bit of luck I shall be providing an interview to BBC Radio on how William Fuller won his VC. I've just written 2,600 words on the man and his exploits for my 2014 book 'Swansea in the Great War'. That said the BBC slot is only about 4 minutes long so some word reduction will be required!

Media interest in 1914-1918 is growing...