Sport and Gymnastics
It is clear that sport and gymnastics played an important role in the camp. The very first edition
of the Stobsiade
1 mentions the third sports day!
It consisted of athletic events, gymnastics and football.
2. While they lasted, such events also
provided an opportunity for social contact between the civilian and military prisoners
3. In autumn the weather became a constraint on
sporting activities
4 although football continued to be played, and indoor
gymnastics and exercises took place. Later, snow provided a chance for sledging
5. The opening of the Y.M.C.A. Hall
in the military camp gave
the captain of the camp an opportunity to emphasise the need for everyone to take part in
physical exercise as a patriotic duty
6.
In February 1916 a combined sporting and musical evening took place
7. Similar events would become a regular feature
in the camp. The Y.M.C.A. Hall in the civilian camp obviously provided good opportunities for
gymnastic activities
8, and this resulted in a higher level of participation
9. The newspaper for November 1916 contains a summary of the
summer's sporting activities
10. The winter of 1916-17 turned out to be much better
than the previous one, with lots of snow, which enabled the prisoners to enjoy some basic winter
sports - including football
11 (despite the snow!). The sporting and
musical event which took place in January 1917 was obviously ambitious - and popular
12.
The exhibition in April 1917 was
intended to display all aspects of the camp, so it also included gymnastic demonstrations
13. In August 1917 the work camp in Crawford was able to
report that it had held a sports day,
14 which included a challenging obstacle race, and in
October a similar event was held in Lentran
15. The newspaper published at the start of 1918 reported
on how sporting activities had been curtailed due to people having been sent to work camps
16. However, there was still a sporting component in the
camp's exhibition in June 1918
17. This final article emphasised how difficult but
necessary it was to maintain fitness in the camp environment.