The Isle of Man was used by the British Government for the internment of enemy aliens during both World War One and World War Two. During 1914-1919 there were two large camps on the Island at Douglas and Knockaloe near Peel. The first was a requisitioned holiday camp whilst the second was purpose built using prefabricated huts and even had its own railway link. Large numbers of internees were held for up to five years until the camps finally closed in 1919. [The Manx National Library has a Register of Prisoners of War interned at Douglas Aliens Detention Camp which can be checked on request]

Douglas Camp was in fact the Cunninghams Young Men’s Holiday Camp, requisitioned by the War Office for the purpose of holding prisoners. However the tented accommodation proved unsuitable in winter, and this along with overcrowding provoked a riot in December 1914. Conditions eased when the purpose built Knockaloe Camp was opened at Peel in the following year.