Could the Essex coast once again be home to detention vessels?
Interned Germans being marched to prison ships lying off Southend during World War One in 1915"When I tell people there used to be three ships housing detainees next to the pier, there's just this sense of shock," says local historian and tour guide Chris Langdon. "They just had no idea."
"The thing with the prison ships was that they were Cunard liners which were great for a week's travel to New York but were poorly equipped to keep people in for long periods.There was real hostility towards those on the boats and a real sense of paranoia.And there was little compassion amongst the townsfolk for those on board.
The vessel was deemed appropriate by the then Home Secretary Douglas Hurd who reportedly thought the vessel did not appear too luxurious.Some of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers aboard the Sealink Earl WilliamFor many in the town, the ship's presence is now a distant memory. As for talk of a new asylum seeker barge in Harwich, Mrs Fowler says she has heard nothing official and no concerns from residents have been raised with her.Historian Dr Anna McKay sees a number of parallels between the prison hulks of the 18th and 19th Centuries and the current government's decision to use barges.
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