Vashti Vincent had also created other images of life at Vittel, and below are some linocuts from that time. The Imperial War Museum also houses some of her work including a watercolour from Besançon, and a poster for a play that was put on...
The linocut to the right seems to have been a precursor to the oil painting of the Chapel St Louise. Internees were allowed to visit the chapel for worship.
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A Field Kitchen at Vittel: these were mobile kitchens which were able to produce boiling water...
With regard to the Field Kitchens, ‘Aunt Fan’ in the book ‘FRONTSTALAG 142 The Internment Diary of an English Lady’ writes through her diary about these, first at Besançon, and then at Vittel...
‘The field kitchen from where we fetched our black coffee in the morning was indescribably dirty. We drank it until one day we found a mass of tousled hair at the bottom of the can. Rats were frequent; some seemed as large as rabbits. The awful creatures would tear the sacks of dried vegetables before our very eyes.
In June a cuisine roulante [mobile camp kitchen] which supplied the morning tisane was allowed to boil up water in the afternoon for tea. It was besieged every day soon after lunch by people waiting for the water to boil which was any time after 3 o’clock. A long queue formed with different sorts of pots, tins or cups. A few lucky ones had tea pots, many only condensed milk tins held by a bit of string. There was never enough water for everybody. After six weeks another rolling kitchen was given us. This was in charge of an English woman who enrolled 50 helpers and then we had hot water for tea or bottles all day. She was the most popular woman in camp. It was hard work and she got up at 4:30 every morning to light the fires. We could then have tea for our breakfasts.’
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Internees playing bridge outside the Grand Hotel, Vittel....
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To create the camp at Vittel the German authorities requisitioned five hotels and a casino which were centred in a park where there were thermal springs. Opulent surroundings made a sharp contrast to the lack of heating and warm water, with Red Cross parcels containing food and personal items being a great help to the internees. Many activities were organised and internees were also able to walk in the park, and even play tennis.
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The linocut of women standing around a tree, with inscription ‘Little Sisters of the Poor (Snow-Drops) singing in the Park in May 1948. They organised a home for the aged men internees. British Internees Camp Vittel 1941-44.’: there were a number of different denominations of nuns at Vittel and Besançon. Rosemary Say writes – ‘Many women took (or returned to) religion to help them cope with their internment. There were hundreds of nuns in the camp. Divided firmly into Catholic and Protestant orders, they stood apart from the rest of us. There was one silent order. The impact of the camp on them and on some of the other closed orders was terrible. They still wore wonderful medieval cornettes: great white swan-wing constructions placed over a neat wimple wrapped tightly around the head. How they managed to keep these headdresses clean and stiff I never worked out. They would exercise in the cinder-covered courtyard like flocks of birds swooping from one side to the other.
Many of the nuns stood up extremely well to this unaccustomed life. They organised a school for the children, study circles and religious plays. They were a calming influence, giving a sense of security to many people. They were very much the carers of the camp, providing nursing and emotional support. They made many true converts as time went on. I wasn’t one of them but I could readily understand the importance for many people of the blessings bestowed by these holy women.’
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