Quaker Bertha Bracey features in new book
'A major part of the narrative involves Bertha Bracey, a Quaker who was chair for the department that looked after interned refugees.’
A book featuring the work of Quaker Bertha Bracey has been published this month, based partly on research from Friends House Library.
The Island of Extraordinary Captives by Simon Parkin tells the story of the internment of refugees during the second world war. Focusing especially on Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man, it also tells the broader tale of internment in Britain at that time. Simon Parkin said: ‘A major part of the narrative involves Bertha Bracey, a Quaker who was chair for the department that looked after interned refugees. Her work in this regard was truly inspiring (and won her an OBE).’
According to Simon Parkin, Bertha Bracey visited the camps and coordinated the visits and reports of other Quakers, such as William Hughes. He drew on dozens of sources, a number of which are held in Friends House Library.
These included: minutes of the monthly meetings of members of the Central Department for Interned Refugees; a biography of Bertha Bracey written by her friend Brenda Bailey; listings of welfare organisations based within Bloomsbury House (as organised by Bertha); various reports on internment camps, some written by Bertha; articles in the Friend about internment injustice; a historical account of the Germany Emergency Committee by Lawrence Darton; and various letters congratulating Bertha on her OBE.
He also drew on an oral history interview with Bertha, held at the Imperial War Museum, and correspondence with Patricia Webb, Bertha’s niece.
An interview with the author about Bertha’s work, from Radio 4’s Sunday programme on 20 February, can be heard on BBC iPlayer.
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