All Men are Brethren

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This is the first book to attempt a comprehensive and detailed history of the thousands of French and other prisoners of war (POW) in Scotland during the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1803–14 POW in Scotland endured experiences similar to but also different from prisoners of more recent times. All Men are Brethren describes conditions at each Scots depot (as the POW camps were then termed) at locations such as Edinburgh Castle, Perth and Penicuik.

The book describes in vivid detail how the prisoners passed their years of captivity – gambling, forging banknotes, making impressive items from straw, paper, wood, hair and mutton bones from their rations, playing musical instruments, attending education classes, fencing with sticks, keeping pets and even playing cricket. From the culmination of twenty years of research and writing, this book is based on material from the National Archives in Kew and Edinburgh, on diaries and memoirs by prisoners, and on reports in contemporary Scots and English newspapers.

Ian MacDougall is the author of several works of social history including Voices from War, Voice of Work & Home and Voices from the Spanish Civil War.