Exploring the rich multicultural history of Devon.

Napoleonic Wars and French POWs

Posted on

1st January 1815

Posted by

Chelsea Vincent

Posted in

Tiverton Timeline
Gold Street. Image courtesy of Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life.

During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars of 1797 – 1815, French Prisoner of War officers were sent to live with households in provincial parole towns such as Tiverton.

Officers had to swear not to attempt escape. The government made a payment of 10/6 a week for their lodgings, and the prisoners seem to have been made quite welcome, often joining in with the social life of the town. There were some restrictions on their correspondence and movements (prisoners were not allowed more than a mile from the town, for example), but most lived a fairly comfortable life. 

More about the French Prisoners of War and the life of a French émigré can be found here.