I owe my best thanks to Mr. J. John Vernon, hon. secretary of the Hawick Archaeological Society, for the following note on Hawick:
‘Not many of Napoleon’s officers were men of means, so to the small allowance they received from the British Government, they were permitted to eke out their income by teaching, sketching, or painting, or by making little trifles which they disposed of as best they could among the townspeople. At other times they made a little money by giving musical and dramatic entertainments, which proved a source of enjoyment to the audience and of profit to themselves.
‘Though “prisoners”, they had a considerable freedom, being allowed to go about as they pleased anywhere within a radius of a mile from the Tower Knowe. During their residence in Hawick they became very popular among all classes of the people and much regret was expressed when the time came for their returning to the Continent. Hawick society was decidedly the poorer by their departure. Paradoxical it may seem, but most of those who were termed “French Prisoners” were in reality of German extraction: Fifteen of their number became members of the Freemasons, St. John’s Lodge, No. 111. They were lodged in private houses throughout the towns. No. 44 High Street was the residence of a number of them, who dwelt in it from June 1812 to June 1814.’
Speaking of Freemasonry in Hawick, Mr. W. Fred Vernon says:
‘Each succeeding year saw the Lodge more thinly attended. An impetus to the working and attendance was given about 1810 by the affiliation and initiation of several of the French prisoners of war who were billeted in the town, and from time to time to the close of the war in 1815, the attendance and prosperity of the Lodge was in striking contrast to what it had been previously.’
The following extracts are from a book upon Hawick published by Mr. J. John Vernon in November 1911.
‘One of Bonaparte’s officers, compelled to reside for nearly two years in Hawick, thus expressed himself regarding the weather during the winter, and at the same time his opinion of the people. In reply to a sympathetic remark that the weather must be very trying to one who had come from a more genial climate, the officer said:
‘“It is de devil’s wedder, but you have de heaven contré for all dat. You have de cold, de snow, de frozen water, and de sober dress; but you have de grand constitution, and de manners and equality that we did fight for so long. I see in your street de priest and de shoemaker; de banker and de baker, de merchant and de hosier all meet together, be companions and be happy. Dis is de equality dat de French did fight for and never got, not de ting de English newspapers say we want. Ah! Scotland be de fine contré and de people be de wise, good men.... De English tell me at Wincanton dat de Scots be a nation of sauvages. It was a lie. De English be de sauvages and de Scots be de civilized people. De high Englishman be rich and good; de low Englishman be de brute. In Scotland de people be all de same! Oh! Scotland be a fine contré!
‘The fact that so many of the French prisoners of war were quartered in Hawick from 1812–14 did much towards brightening society during that time. Pity for their misfortunes prevailed over any feeling that the name “Frenchman” might formerly have excited, and they were welcomed in the homes of the Hawick people. It heartened them to be asked to dinner; as one of them remarked: “De heart of hope do not jump in de hungry belly”, and many valued friendships were thus formed.’
‘The presence of so many well-dressed persons for so long a period produced a marked reform in the costume of the inhabitants of Hawick,’ says James Wilson in his Annals of Hawick.
The first prisoners came to Hawick in January 1812. Of these, thirty-seven came from Wincanton, forty-one came direct from Spain a little later, thirty-seven from Launceston. The prisoners had been sent hither from such distant places as Launceston and Wincanton on account of the increasing number of escapes from these places, the inhabitants of both of which, as we have seen, were notoriously in sympathy with the foreigners. Two surgeons came from the Greenlaw dépôt to attend on them. Mr. William Nixon, of Lynnwood, acted as agent, or commissary, and by the end of 1812 he had 120 prisoners in his charge. A few of the Hawick prisoners were quite well-to-do. There is a receipt extant of a Captain Grupe which shows that he had a monthly remittance from Paris of £13 4s. 6d., in addition to his pay and subsistence money as a prisoner of war.
In the Kelso Mail of June 20, 1814, is the following testimony from the prisoners, on leaving, to the kind and hospitable treatment they had so generally received:
‘Hawick, May 2, 1814.
‘The French officers on parole at Hawick, wishing to express their gratitude to the inhabitants of the town and its vicinity for the liberal behaviour which they have observed to them, and the good opinion which they have experienced from them, unanimously request the Magistrates and Mr. Nixon, their Commissary, to be so kind as to allow them to express their sentiments to them, and to assure them that they will preserve the remembrance of all the marks of friendship which they have received from them. May the wishes which the French officers make for the prosperity of the town and the happiness of its inhabitants be fully accomplished. Such is the most ardent wish, the dearest hope of those who have the honour to be their most humble servants.’