Defence Regulation 18B

Defence Regulation 18B was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. It allowed for the internment of people suspected of being Nazi sympathisers.

Life for 18B detainees

A person subject to 18B would be arrested without warning. Some were in the forces and arrested while on parade. They would be taken first to police cells, and then to prison. The first detainees were sent to HM Prison Wandsworth for men and HM Prison Holloway for women; the men were later moved to HM Prison Brixton. With the expansion in numbers in 1940 came a shortage of prison accommodation and some derelict wings of prisons (including Stafford and Liverpool women's prison) were brought back into use to house 18Bs.

Related Topics:
HM Prison - Wandsworth - Holloway - Brixton - Stafford - Liverpool

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Eventually it was decided to hold the detainees in camps. The winter quarters of Billy Smart's circus provided one camp at Ascot racecourse, and uncompleted council housing at Huyton near Liverpool was used from March 1941. Finally the authorities solved the accommodation problem for 18Bs as well as detained enemy aliens by setting up camps on the Isle of Man. A new Act of Parliament was needed to authorise the transfer. The men stayed at Peveril Camp, Peel, with the women at Rusden Camp, Port Erin. A small number of designated 'leaders' remained in Wandsworth prison throughout for greater security. In a few cases, husbands and wives were both interned, and were later allowed to live together.

Related Topics:
Circus - Ascot - Council housing - Huyton - 1941 - Isle of Man - Peel - Port Erin

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Detainees could be subject to dehumanising treatment but once transferred to camps the regime was relatively liberal with free association and the opportunity for some entertainments, even including trips to the cinema.

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