Responses
to Belgian refugees in Britain during the First World War: a Symposium
Tuesday 2 September,
2014, 9.30 – 17.30
C1 and C2, Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling
C1 and C2, Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling
Keynote
speakers
Professor
Lorna Hughes, University of Wales Chair in Digital Collections, based in the
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, “Finding
Belgian Refugees in Cymru1914.org: Using digital resources for uncovering the
hidden histories of the First World War in Wales”
Dr Rebecca Gill, Lecturer
in Modern British History, University of Huddersfield, “Brave little
Belgium arrives in the West Riding ... voluntary action, local politics, and
the history of international relief work”
Call for Papers
The arrival of 250,000 refugees from
Belgium was the largest single mass reception of refugees in British history.
Despite accounting for three quarters of those from overseas resident in
Britain during the war (Saunders) there has not been any in depth consideration
of the experiences and wartime treatment of Belgian and the many thousands more
refugees and migrants from allied or neutral nations who lived in or arrived in
Britain in the course of the War (for example, Jewish and various other peoples,
including Serbians, fleeing the impact of war in the Russian empire).
This symposium aims to bring research
into ‘official’ responses to Belgian and other refugees together with
consideration of the refugees’ reactions to their residence in wartime Britain.
The history of migrants from enemy nations living in Britain has been well
covered by secondary literature; particularly on the internment and mass
deportation of Germans (Panayi). In contrast, the only full length study in
English of Belgian refugees in Britain by Cahalan focused on the work of middle
class philanthropists in assisting the refugees. Yet, central and local
government agencies worked alongside charitable effort to provide the housing,
employment, education and medical care required by Belgian and other refugees.
Belgians sought wartime refuge only, the
overwhelming majority had returned home by 1920. This is starkly illustrated by
census figures for Belgians living in Britain of 4, 794 in 1911 rising to 9,
892 Belgians in 1921 quoted by Holmes. Mass repatriation of Belgians was begun
at the end of 1918 funded by the Belgian government and administered by the
Local Government Board and Ministry of Transport. This rapid return did not
prevent questions in parliament on the potential cost to Britain of the repatriation
process (Kushner). This symposium aims to shed light on a group whose mass
wartime presence is often unremarked and has been largely unrecorded.
Papers may
consider (but are not limited to) the following:
·
Central government and refugees
·
Local responses to Belgian and other
refugees
·
Refugee voices
·
Charitable arrangements
·
Class, gender and religious difference
in the treatment of refugees
·
Police and press attitudes
·
Anti-alienisim
·
Britain’s ‘tradition’ as a place of
refuge
·
Repatriation
Papers
of 30 minutes are sought. Please send 250 word abstracts to Dr Jacqueline
Jenkinson jlj1@stir.ac.uk by 15 June 2014.
This
symposium is free to attend but numbers are limited. To reserve a place please
contact Dr Stuart Salmon at:
s.i.salmon@stir.ac.uk.
The
symposium is funded by a personal research grant [SG122197] from the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust – ‘British government policy and reactions towards
Belgian refugees during the First World War.’
