... And the Policeman Smiled by Barry Turner

Author:Barry Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

From the first day of the war the security forces went in fear of the unseen enemy: agents and provocateurs smuggled into the country under the guise of fugitives from Nazi persecution. Voices were raised in support of rounding up all foreigners, but the government was unwilling to go the way of its predecessor in the first world war and order a general internment. Public opinion, it was argued, would react unfavourably to such an extreme measure. Instead, a nationwide network of 120 investigative tribunals was set up, headed by lawyers who were empowered to call before them all adult foreigners living within their jurisdiction. The plan was to categorise aliens under one of three headings. A small number were assessed as category A – German and Austrians with specialised military knowledge which could be used to hinder the British war effort. They were immediately interned. Category B covered those who had lived in Britain for some time and showed no obvious signs of hostility. They kept their basic freedom but were not allowed to own a car, a camera or any large-scale maps, and were forbidden to travel more than five miles from home. Those who could produce evidence of ‘character, associations and loyalty’ were placed in category C and were left to their own devices, at least for the time being. Home Office guidelines suggested that refugees from religious, racial or political persecution had the strongest case for a C registration.

The tribunals began their work in October 1939. Since they met behind closed doors and no provision was made for legal representation, decisions were heavily dependent on the sensitivity of individual chairmen. Not surprisingly, their deliberations revealed wild inconsistencies. In Leeds, aliens of whatever background were given a B label, whereas in Manchester they were designated grade C. Several tribunals put the unemployed into B category, telling them to apply for a transfer to C when they found jobs. One tribunal decided that all women qualified for a B rating on the entirely erroneous assumption that domestic servants were a prime source of disaffection. It was not until the Home Office called the tribunal chairmen together to clarify the guidelines that the ratio of Bs to Cs began to fall. Even so, the RCM had to accept that some 300 of its boys were stuck with a B rating. Protests were made on their behalf but, as Henry Toch discovered, self-help was the only effective recourse.

When the war broke out my brother and I went to a tribunal at King’s Cross Police Station. My brother went one morning and I went the next. My brother was classed as ‘B’ (dangerous enemy alien). I thought this was unfair. I went on my own to the police with our registration books and told them they had got it wrong. They asked me what I wanted and I said: ’’m the dangerous one and he’s the friendly.’ The police sergeant, seeing an unusually small boy of sixteen, laughed and said: ‘I’ll see what I can do.

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