Looking for relatives

KnockaloeClaire's picture

Are you trying to trace someone with a connection to Knockaloe, either as an internee, guard or other member of camp staff? If so, please leave the details of the person you are looking for here. With no register surviving from Knockaloe it's difficult to track down individuals but there are lots of documents, photos and correspondence out there so someone may be able to help with your search.

My Great great grandfather, Heinrich Kuck was interred at Knockaloe, presumably after the Luisitania riots in Liverpool in May 1915. He was born in 1862 and had married Susan Delaney in the German Church, Renshaw Street in the 1880s. In census forms he is referred to - no doubt like many foreign nationals as an anglicised 'Henry Cook' yet no Naturalisation record exists. According to family legend his daughter refused to speak of his German ancestry and WW1 consequences. I have so far been unable to trace any internment record, the Red Cross replying to a request many years ago along the lines of "......wars are still going on today so we have better things to deal with'. My search will continue.

Hi Ian,
Thanks so much for getting in touch. It's great to hear your story. I will have a look and see if I can find anything about your great great grandfather in my data. Unfortunately, finding details of individual internees at Knockaloe is really difficult as the register of internees hasn't survived. Instead we have to rely on the names recorded on other official documents, personal correspondence, artefacts and pictures which means it's not easy to look up an individual. There's always a chance that he'll appear though and more research is being done all the time so I hope that eventually we might be able to come up with a fairly comprehensive list of a large number of Knockaloe internees.
Do you have any more information on Heinrich including his life before and after the war? And would you be happy for me to add a biography of him on the website?
Best wishes, Claire

I will indeed, Claire - apologies for my delayed response as I have just returned from a posting abroad. I shall be in touch. Thank you again for your kind assistance. Regards Ian

Dear Claire,
in the forums I've read similar numbers of internees, as the number on card from Grandma Pauline Spindler to your husband in the camp of Knockaloe. The Numer is No 22504
regard Gerhard

Hi Gerhard, hope you are well? Yes, every internee had his own individual identity number and these were often used in correspondence from family members. Unfortunately the camp register listing all internees at Knockaloe no longer exists making it difficult to identify individuals when only there ID number is used.
Best wishes, Claire

I've been looking for my grandfather Frank Hutter (Huter) who spent the whole war at Knockaloe. He was still there at the end of the war as I have a letter to prove it. He never return to his family in England and despite various searches there no trace of him.
His number was 4884 Camp 1, comp. 6&5, Hut 3B. His brother had talent for drawing & painting, he could have had the same talent. Perhaps some of the drawings of Knockaloe where done by him. Many don't have names of their creators.

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