20 Nov 1917: Skipton Urban Council pass motion to accept POWs into Raikeswood Camp

A meeting of Skipton Urban District council was held in the Town Hall that evening. The council was clearly in a bit of a quandary. It would be unpatriotic to voice its displeasure, there was a war on after all, but would you really want German prisoners imprisoned only a short distance away from the town centre?

In the event the following motion was passed: it was resolved that whilst the Council regretted that the Camp at Skipton has been selected as an internment camp for German prisoners of war, under the difficult circumstances, no objection to the proposal would be made, provided the prisoners of war were securely fenced in, and kept within the bounds of their camp.

Skipton Town Hall