German people in UK WW1

[ellyjane70]

I have been trying to research on this subject with little success-there seems to be more about WW2 on-line

Is it true that German people in the UK would have been - if not arrested- then questioned?

If you were born in Germany but were described as a British national on a census , would any such suspicion fall on a person? One census actually says 'born Germany, Irish Parents' then 'Born Germany, British National' on another.

Or would you be allowed to carry on your trade and life as before? Reason for asking is one ancestor changed his name shortly before war broke out. But reverted to the original some years later.

[Peter Goodey]

Have you looked at the National Archives research guide?

It can be found here

[Megan Roberts]

I think that this link might help shed some light on the subject:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/p.../espionage.htm

[malcolm99]

This looks useful> https://www.
rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=112434.0

[ellyjane70]

all great links-thankyou

[lawsue]

When WW1 broke out in 1914 our German/Austrian ancestor had been in Australia since 1869. He then applied for naturalisation in August 1914 and was approved. He had fathered 7 sons in Australia, the last born in 1887 and I have wondered why none of the boys ever enlisted. I believe that it was because their father was a German national at the outbreak of war and they would have been turned down.
I also believe that had he not applied and received naturalisation that he would have been interned with some other 7000 German nationals in isolation in NSW.

Sue

[ellyjane70]

Sue, that's really interesting...we do have these riddles and if it's one person, we can say it could be a reserved occupation of disability, but that was quite some family of sons...you now have me wondering how WW1 affected places like Australia...I love research!! I know many people enlisted from Australia and Canada and such, but actually living there..I am now wondering. A local cemetery here has so many Canadian men who died during the last war, as do many cemetries of course but I always stop - and wonder if there was pressure on them or if they felt it was something they had to do.