Alexandra Palace Concert Society of German Internees

On the outbreak of war with Germany in 1914, some 50,000 Germans, Austrians, Hungarians and Turks living in Britain were arrested and detained in internment camps for 'male enemy aliens of military age'. Entertainments venue Alexandra Palace in North London was converted into a camp housing around 3,000 men, sleeping in rows in the Great Hall. The inmates formed various clubs including a football club, gardening society and amateur theatrical society as well as the concert society.