40-650: Charles Algernon Fryatt (2 December 1872 – 27 July 1916) was a British merchant seaman who was court martialled by the Imperial German Navy for attempting to ram a German U-boat in 1915. When his ship, the SS ; Brussels , was captured by the Germans off occupied Belgium in 1916, Captain Fryatt was court-martialled under German military law and sentenced to death for "illegal civilian warfare". He
80-492: A Scotland international, John Cameron ; a German international, Edwin Dutton ; and John Brearley , once of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur . The Ruhleben Football Association was formed with Pentland as chairman and Cameron as secretary. Cup and league competitions were organised with teams representing the individual camp barracks. Around 500 prisoners played in the football competitions. Several thousand spectators attended
120-419: A German U-boat. The ship was chased for 40 nautical miles (74 km). With deckhands assisting the stokers , the vessel made 16 knots (30 km/h) when it would normally have been difficult to make 14 knots (26 km/h). Wrexham arrived at Rotterdam with burnt funnels. The Great Eastern Railway presented Fryatt with a gold watch for this feat. The watch was inscribed Presented to Captain C. A. Fryatt by
160-807: A bit beauty; this later evolved into the Ruhleben Horticultural Society, which became a formal affiliate in October 1916 of the Royal Horticultural Society in London (subscription fee waived). Later they grew their own vegetables in the centre of the race track as fresh produce became harder to acquire. In addition, a number of independent businesses developed within the camp, including a casino. The detainees arranged their own entertainment. Among them were several musicians, including Ernest MacMillan , later to become
200-667: A conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra . Other British musicians included Edgar Bainton , Edward Clark and the Australian-born Arthur Benjamin . MacMillan was a prominent member of the Ruhleben Musical Society, formed in 1915, and directed performances of The Mikado (with orchestra and costumes) and a pantomime version of Cinderella . MacMillan transcribed the music for the former from memory with
240-753: A fund to erect a permanent memorial to Fryatt. A similar fund was opened in the Netherlands . In the United States, The New York Times denounced the execution as "a deliberate murder". The New York Herald termed it "The crowning German atrocity". In the Netherlands , the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant described the execution as "arbitrary and unjust", while the Handelsblad Holland termed it "A cowardly murder inspired by hatred and revenge". In Switzerland ,
280-480: A statement in the House of Commons. I deeply regret to say that it appears to be true that Captain Fryatt has been murdered by the Germans. His Majesty's Government have heard with the utmost indignation of this atrocious crime against the laws of nations and the usages of war. Coming as it does contemporaneously with the lawless cruelty towards the population of Lille and other occupied districts of France, it shews that
320-674: Is a street named after Captain Fryatt – Kapitein Fryattstraat . A wing at Dovercourt Cottage Hospital – which is now known as the Captain Fryatt Memorial Hospital. – was named in Fryatt's honour. A public house in nearby Parkeston is also named in Captain Fryatt's honour. In Canada, the 11,027 feet (3,361 m) high Mount Fryatt ( 52°33′00″N 117°54′35″W / 52.55000°N 117.90972°W / 52.55000; -117.90972 )
360-663: The Allied Powers who were living, studying, working or on holiday in Germany at the outbreak of World War I . They also included the crews of several civilian ships stranded in German harbours or captured at sea. There were numerous fishermen captured from trawlers which had been sunk in the North Sea in the first days of the war: they were mainly men from Hull , Yorkshire; and Grimsby and Boston, Lincolnshire . Numbers in
400-685: The Arts and Science Union, organised by the British chemist and inventor Henry Stafford Hatfield, scholars from different fields gave lectures of university standard, organised in the open air. Among the lecturers were the physicists James Chadwick , Charles D. Ellis and Henry Brose , and the historian and author John Cecil Masterman . Sports also played a major role in the lives of the detainees. Among them were several former professional footballers , including three former England internationals, Fred Pentland , Samuel Wolstenholme and Steve Bloomer ;
440-600: The Constantinople Flotilla . The basis for the charge was the inscription on his gold watch from the Admiralty. Fryatt was tried at a court-martial by the Imperial German Navy on 27 July 1916, at Bruges Town Hall. Captain Fryatt was found guilty of being a franc-tireur and sentenced to death. The sentence was confirmed by the Kaiser . At 19:00, Fryatt was executed by a naval firing squad at Bruges within
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#1732791869182480-543: The Great Eastern Railway as a seaman on SS Ipswich . Fryatt's father had been the First Officer on SS Cambridge . Fryatt was promoted through the ranks, serving on various ships. His first command was SS Colchester . In 1913, he was appointed master of SS Newmarket . On 3 March 1915, Fryatt's command, SS Wrexham , a Great Central Railway ship, was attacked by
520-462: The House of Commons . On 23 June 1916 Brussels left Hook of Holland bound for Harwich. Lights were shown from the beach and a flare was fired. A passenger is reported to have remained on deck and signalled to shore. Five German destroyers surrounded Brussels . The passengers were told to prepare to take to the lifeboats and the ship's official papers were destroyed. Brussels was then captured by
560-621: The Journal de Genève said "It is monstrous to maintain that armed forces have a right to murder civilians but that civilians are guilty of a crime in defending themselves". The Dutch branch of the League of Neutral States presented the Great Eastern Railway a memorial tablet which was erected at Liverpool Street station . The memorial was unveiled on 27 July 1917, exactly a year after Fryatt's execution. The scrap value of Brussels
600-575: The Corporation School. He and his wife, Ethel Fryatt, had seven children; six girls and one boy. The children were Olive, Victoria, Doris, Vera, Mabel, Charles and Dorothy. The younger Charles later followed his father into the merchant navy, training at HMS Worcester . After ending school, Fryatt joined the Mercantile Marine , serving on SS County Antrim , SS Ellenbank , SS Marmion and SS Harrogate . In 1892, Fryatt joined
640-644: The Court Martial of Bruges following judgment in the court-martial proceedings of 27 July 1916, involves no violation of international law. [However, t]he Commission regrets most deeply the haste with which the sentence was carried out. The commission's ruling was not unanimous. Two members of the legal review panel, Eduard Bernstein and Oskar Cohn , dissented because in their opinion Fryatt's conviction and execution had been "a serious violation of international law" and "an inexcusable judicial murder". On 31 July 1916, British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith issued
680-634: The Field Court Martial of the Naval Corps, and has been executed. A ruthless deed has thus been avenged, belatedly but just. Signed VON SCHRÖDER, Admiral Commandant of the Naval Corps, Bruges, July 27th, 1916. On 2 April 1919, a German international law commission, named the "Schücking Commission" for its chairman Walther Schücking , reconfirmed Fryatt's sentence: The execution by firing squad of Captain Charles Fryatt, ordered by
720-540: The German High Command, under the stress of military defeat, have renewed their policy of terrorism. It is impossible of course to conjecture to what atrocities they may proceed. His Majesty's Government desire to repeat emphatically their resolve that such crimes shall not, if they can help it, go unpunished. When the time arrives they are determined to bring to justice the criminals whoever they maybe and whatever position they may occupy. In such cases as these
760-466: The Germans, the radio was destroyed, and it was escorted into Zeebrugge and then to Bruges . Fryatt and his crew were sent to the civilian internment camp at Ruhleben , near Berlin. On 16 July 1916, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Fryatt had been charged with sinking a German submarine. In reality, U-33 had not been sunk; at the time of the trial it was on active service as part of
800-821: The Government were many members of the Admiralty , the Board of Trade , the Cabinet and the War Office . The band of the Great Eastern Railway, augmented by drummers from the Royal Marines , played the " Dead March ". " Eternal Father, Strong to Save " and " Abide with Me " were sung, and a blessing given by the Bishop of London . The route of the coffin to Liverpool Street station was lined with people. Fryatt
840-759: The Harwich and District, Fryatt Memorial Hospital from about 1925. In 2019, the modern Harwich Hospital was renamed in his honour as the Fryatt Memorial Hospital. Court martial Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 975586478 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:04:29 GMT Ruhleben internment camp Ruhleben internment camp
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#1732791869182880-532: The Ruhleben Express Delivery, was organised by Albert Kamps and began operating in July 1915. Soon it was handling over 6,000 pieces of mail per month, and 16 different postage stamps were issued which have since become collectors items. In April 1916, however, the German postal authorities declared the service illegal and it ceased operating. Prisoners grew flowers beside their barracks to give
920-613: The United Kingdom for burial. Fryatt was one of only three sets of British remains given a state funeral following the end of World War I, the others being the nurse Edith Cavell and The Unknown Warrior . His coffin was landed at Dover , and transported in South Eastern and Chatham Railway PMV No.132 to London. On 8 July 1919, his funeral service was held at St Paul's Cathedral . Hundreds of merchant seamen and widows of merchant seamen and fishermen attended. Representing
960-423: The authors of the system under which such crimes are committed may well be the most guilty of all. The question of what immediate action can be taken is engaging the earnest attention of the Government and I hope very soon to announce to the House of Commons what we can do. Lord Claud Hamilton , MP , Chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, denounced the execution as "sheer, brutal murder". The Mayor of Harwich opened
1000-526: The bigger games. A series of exhibition and "international" matches were also organised. On 2 May 1915 an "England XI" featuring Pentland, Wolstenholme, Brearley and Bloomer played a "World XI" captained by Cameron. Towards the end of the war an international triangular tournament called the Coupe de Allies , featuring a "British XI", a "French XI" and a "Belgium XI", was organised. Other sports such as cricket , rugby , tennis and golf were also popular within
1040-498: The camp varied between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners, most of them British . Life in the camp was described in several books and essays subsequently written by detainees. They included To Ruhleben – And Back (1916) by Geoffrey Pyke , who had successfully escaped from the camp in 1915; and Life in Ruhleben, 1914–1918 (1920) by Frederick Keel . Quarters were cramped: the stable blocks averaged 27 stalls, each housing six men, and
1080-645: The chairman and Directors of the G.E Railway Company as a mark of their appreciation of his courage and skilful seamanship on 2 March 1915 . Later that month he was in charge of Colchester when it was attacked unsuccessfully by a U-boat. On 28 March 1915, as captain of the SS Brussels , he was ordered to stop by U-33 when his ship was near the Maas lightvessel. Seeing the U-boat had surfaced to torpedo his ship, Fryatt ordered full steam ahead and tried to ram U-33 , which crash-dived. For this second action, Fryatt
1120-441: The execution of Fryatt in a letter to Mrs Fryatt. In the letter, he also wrote: "The action of Captain Fryatt in defending his ship against the attack of an enemy submarine was a noble instance of the resource and self-reliance so characteristic of his profession." The incident inspired an Australian film, The Murder of Captain Fryatt (1917). In 1919, Fryatt's body was exhumed from the small cemetery near Bruges and returned to
1160-421: The harbour grounds. The execution was witnessed by one of the town's aldermen. He was buried in a small cemetery just outside Bruges that was used for burying Belgian civilians executed after being convicted of offenses involving guerrilla warfare or perfidy . The grave was later visited by diplomat Sir Walter Townley (British Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1917 to 1919) and his wife. An execution notice
1200-621: The help of four other musicians, including Benjamin Dale . Among those who attended these performances were James W. Gerard , the United States ambassador. The detainees also presented Trial by Jury , The Pirates of Penzance , The Yeomen of the Guard and The Gondoliers . MacMillan gave lectures on each of Beethoven 's symphonies, which were followed by piano duet performances played by him together with Benjamin Dale. MacMillan
1240-651: The military authorities there. Some of his lithographs , depicting life in the camp, are now in the Australian War Memorial collection. The British Government provided internees with books for educational purposes for free. A wooden hall erected by the YMCA, which housed the library of about 5000 volumes sent over from Britain, served as a place for reading. Detainees also arranged their own school and ′college′. A Ruhleben Camp School offered elementary and high school education to younger internees. Within
Charles Fryatt - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-482: The stable block lofts each housed about 200 men. The German authorities adhered to the Geneva Convention and allowed the camp detainees to administer their own internal affairs. Gradually, a mini-society evolved. Letters, books, sports equipment and a printing press were all allowed into the camp, and the detainees organised their own police force, magazine, library and postal service. The latter, known as
1320-559: Was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I . It was located in Ruhleben, a former Vorwerk manor 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west of Berlin . This area is now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf . The camp was developed on the site of a harness racing track laid out in 1908 north of the Berlin-Hamburg Railway line. The camp detainees included male citizens of
1360-570: Was also a member of the Ruhleben Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello , Twelfth Night , Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest . The artist Charles Freegrove Winzer was interned at the camp, and provided illustrations for the camp magazine. His detention was contested, because he worked for the French Red Cross , and had been visiting his sister in Germany with permission of
1400-473: Was awarded a gold watch by the Admiralty . The watch was inscribed Presented by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to Chas. Algernon Fryatt Master of the S.S. 'Brussels' in recognition of the example set by that vessel when attacked by a German submarine on 28 March 1915. Fryatt was presented with a certificate on vellum by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. He was also praised in
1440-553: Was buried at All Saints' Church, Upper Dovercourt . His coffin was carried from the station to the church on a gun carriage. His widow was presented with the insignia of the Belgian Order of Leopold that had been posthumously awarded to Fryatt. Fryatt was also posthumously awarded the Belgian Maritime War Cross. In November 2018, Fryatt's grave was restored after years of neglect. In Zeebrugge there
1480-561: Was donated towards the cost. The Great Eastern Railway awarded Fryatt's widow a pension of £250 per annum. The Government granted her an extra £100 per annum pension in addition to her entitlement. Fryatt's insurers, the Provident Clerk's Association, paid the £300 that Mrs Fryatt was entitled to immediately, dispensing with the usual formalities. The Royal Merchant Seaman's Orphanage offered to educate two of Fryatt's seven children. The King expressed his indignation and abhorrence at
1520-521: Was executed by firing squad near Bruges , Belgium. In 1919, his body was reburied with honours in the United Kingdom. Fryatt was born on 2 December 1872 in Southampton , the son of Charles and Mary Fryatt. He attended Freemantle School during the late 1870s. In 1881, Fryatt's family lived at 22 Trinity Terrace, in St Mary's, Southampton , but later relocated to Harwich , Essex where he attended
1560-494: Was named in 1921 in honour of Captain Fryatt. The 10,317 feet (3,145 m) high Brussels Peak ( 51°31′00″N 117°49′20″W / 51.51667°N 117.82222°W / 51.51667; -117.82222 ) was named in honour of his ship. In 2016, an exhibition was held from 23 to 31 July at the Masonic Hall, Harwich, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his execution. The local cottage hospital became known as
1600-452: Was published in Dutch, French and German announcing the death of Fryatt. It was signed by Admiral Ludwig von Schröder . A translation of the execution notice reads: NOTICE. The English captain of a merchant ship, Charles Fryatt, of Southampton, though he did not belong to the armed forces of the enemy, attempted on March 28th, 1915, to destroy a German submarine by running it down. For this he has been condemned to death by judgment this day of
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