Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815 / A record of their lives, their romance and their sufferings

by Francis Abell

Alresford

At Alresford the prisoners were at first unpopular, but their exertions at a fire in the town wrought a change of feeling in their favour. It is interesting to note that when the Commune in Paris in 1871 drove many respectable people abroad, quite a number came to Alresford (as also to Odiham), from which we may deduce that they were descendants of men who had handed down pleasant memories of parole life in these little Hampshire towns.

The Rev. Mr. Headley, Vicar of Alresford, kindly allowed me to copy the following from his Parish Records:

‘1779. The Captain and officers of the Spanish man-of-war who behaved so gallantly in the engagement with the Pearl, and who are prisoners of war at Alresford, lately gave an elegant entertainment and ball in honour of Capt. Montagu and his officers, in testimony of the high sense they entertain of the polite and most generous treatment they received after their capture. Capt. Montagu and his officers were present, also Capt. Oates and officers of the 89th Regiment, and many of the most respectable families from the neighbourhood of Alresford.’

I am indebted also to Mr. Headley for the following entries in the registers of his church:

Burials.

1794. July 21. St. Aubin, a French prisoner on parole. 1796. July 11. Baptiste Guillaume Jousemme; aged 21, born at Castillones in France. A prisoner on parole. 1803. June 27. Thomas Monclerc. Aged 42. A French servant. 1809. Dec. 12. Jean Charbonier. A French prisoner. 1810. Dec. 14. Hypolite Riouffe. A French prisoner. 1811. Aug. 2. Pierre Garnier. A French prisoner. 1811. Dec 25. Ciprian Lavau. A French prisoner. Aged 29. 1812. Feb. 7. Louis de Bousurdont. A French prisoner. Aged 44. 1812. April 13. Marie Louise Fournier. A French prisoner. Aged 44. 1812. Aug. 8. Jean de l’Huille. A French prisoner. Aged 51.

Mr. Payne of Alresford told me that the clock on the church tower, which bears the date 1811, is said to have been presented by the French prisoners on parole in the town in gratitude for the kindly treatment they received from the inhabitants.

Thame

At Thame, in 1809, Israel Eel was charged at the Oxford Quarter Sessions with assaulting Ravenau, a French prisoner on parole. To the great surprise of all, not a true bill was returned.