Guildhall Museum in Rochester
The models and toys were made by French prisoners of war, held in
hulks and prisons. (Dartmoor prison was originally built for French
pows).
Prison uniform was a shirt, trousers and coat, all in saffron yellow with TO stamped in black front and back.
Ordinary prisoners were paid 21/2 p a day, going up to 11 shillings a day for a captain. Higher ranking officers could chose to be put on parole.
The weekly food allowance for each man was 101/2 lbs of bread, 21/2 lbs of meat, 2 lbs of fish + potatoes and other vegtables.
The men were allowed to make articles for sale with the full approval of the goverment. Markets, open to all inside and out, were set up in the prison yard. Objects made by the prisoners would range from simple knick-knacks to ship models up to 5 foot long, quite often a group of men would get together to build a model. Models could be built to commision and there are even accounts of French pows forging banknotes!
Beef bone was the most commonly used material, followed by mutton, veal and whale bone. Baleen, tortoishell,wood, metal, hair and twine were also used, these, as well as paints and handtools were easily available as trade.
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Prison uniform was a shirt, trousers and coat, all in saffron yellow with TO stamped in black front and back.
Ordinary prisoners were paid 21/2 p a day, going up to 11 shillings a day for a captain. Higher ranking officers could chose to be put on parole.
The weekly food allowance for each man was 101/2 lbs of bread, 21/2 lbs of meat, 2 lbs of fish + potatoes and other vegtables.
The men were allowed to make articles for sale with the full approval of the goverment. Markets, open to all inside and out, were set up in the prison yard. Objects made by the prisoners would range from simple knick-knacks to ship models up to 5 foot long, quite often a group of men would get together to build a model. Models could be built to commision and there are even accounts of French pows forging banknotes!
Beef bone was the most commonly used material, followed by mutton, veal and whale bone. Baleen, tortoishell,wood, metal, hair and twine were also used, these, as well as paints and handtools were easily available as trade.
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