On 1st July, I attended a ceremony at Chatham to mark the re-interment of the remains of 362 French prisoners of war found on St. Mary's Island, Chatham. These prisoners had been amongst those who died while incarcerated on board the prison hulks at Chatham during the period 1793-1814. They were originally buried on the mainland, but were moved (and the remains placed in wooden coffins) during the late nineteenth century to the site on St. Mary's Island. A memorial was erected over the grave.

This monument was later moved, along with some of the bodies, to Chatham Dockyard. During recent redevelopment work on the island the remaining bodies were discovered and respectfully removed to a new grave by the monument. The ceremony was the culmination of this project, and included representatives from the French Embassy. It was organised by English Estates, Chatham.

While this has been going on, the memorial to the prisoners of war at Norman Cross has been generating much interest.

This monument was vandalised in October 1990 and is presently in storage. There are plans to resite it once the Al road developments have been finished. The Napoleonic Association is in the forefront of plans to re-erect this memorial, once it is known where it can be sited.

On the subject of prisoners of war, I am in the process of writing a book on the subject, to be entitled Hell Upon Water, and will look at treatment of prisoners of war in Britain during the Napoleonic era. I have all the data that I require for this book, but there is one aspect that you, the reader, may be able to help me with.

I am going to include a chapter on the bone, wood and straw models and the paintings that the prisoners produced for sale to local civilians. I have seen many examples of these museums and historic houses around the country. However, if you come across an example of such work anywhere in the country, I would be interested to hear of it, for inclusion in the section on where to see these models today. Any information would by appreciated.

Please write c/o Partizan Press.

Related

Marching Into Captivity: Part 1