SOME of the oldest soldiers ever to pull on a uniform in Barrow did their bit for the war effort between 1914 and 1918 as guards on the Isle of Man.

On a clear day we can see the hills of the island from the Furness coast but few at the time realised it had become a home for thousands of British people whose loyalty was doubted by the government.

Anyone with German family links – unless they were very wealthy or very well connected – were interned on the island for up to five years.

Many of the Isle of Man’s young men had signed up to fight for the British Empire in the trenches so guards for massive camps such as Knockaloe, near Peel, were drawn from the North West of England, including Barrow.

Knockaloe was originally designed for 5,000 people, but by the end of the war it held 23,000 internees – plus 3,000 officials and guards.

There was even a branch railway line from the Isle of Man Railway to bring in supplies which was opened on September 1 in 1915.

Steam locomotives which operated the line to Kockaloe – such the the Kissack from 1910 – are still in service on the existing route from Douglas to Port Erin.

A display on the internment camp and its railway can be seen in the railway museum at Port Erin.

The Leece Museum, in Peel, has made items carved in bone by craft workers in the camp.

Displays at the museum note that the camp had 695 miles of barbed wire and had a bakery which produced 15,000 loaves of bread a day.

During the war, the camp got through 539 tons of soap and 145,000 pairs of socks.

There was no successful escape by any of the German, Turkish or Austrian internees.

The covered 22 acres, divided into 23 compounds, each with four camps made up of wooden huts.

The units each ran their own hospital, entertainment and theatres.

Nearly 200 people died during internment and were buried at Patrick Church close to the camp.

When the camp closed in October 1919, many internees had served up to five years.

The site was returned to its former state as a farm.

Among those keeping order at Knockaloe were Lance Corporal Frank Close, 69, and Lance Corporal John Taylor, 64!

Frank was born on August 28 in 1848 at Number 9 Rabbit Hill Cottages, in the St George’s Square area of Barrow, and was christened at Walney Old Church.

His first work was as a fireman on the Coppernob locomotives for Furness Railways before joining the army.

He served 15 years in India and came out of retirement on the outbreak of the First World War to sign up with the National Reserves 4th King’s Own (Lancasters).

John Taylor was born in Kendal on July 4 in 1853 and came to Barrow with his parents a year later.

His working life started as a painter and plumber with his uncle, Alderman Park.

He admitted to putting a tin hat on the monument of Sir James Ramsden as a lark.

At that time there was only one policeman in Barrow – John Blezard of Newland Street – so the chances of being caught were not that great.

He joined the 5th Volunteers in 1868 at a time when they shot muzzle loading Enfields which would not have been out of place at Waterloo.

He was 10 years in the ranks, two of them as bugler.

The Ulverston News of July 28 in 1917 noted: “Now he is at Knockaloe looking after the Aliens and seeing they take no harm.”