Defence Regulation 18B
Encyclopedia
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations
used by the British
Government during World War II
. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment
of people suspected of being Nazi
sympathisers. The effect of 18B was to suspend the right of individuals to habeas corpus
.
to bring in emergency regulations, that the Regulations should be split into two codes. Code A would be needed immediately if war broke out and could be passed in peacetime, while Code B (containing the more severe restrictions on civil liberties) would be brought in later.
In order not to alert the public to the existence of Code B, Code A was simply numbered consecutively. Defence Regulation 18 concerned restrictions on movement of aircraft. It was originally intended that Code B would be imposed by an Order in Council, with retrospective indemnity being granted by an Act of Parliament should anyone dispute the actions of the authorities.
When tension rose over Poland, the House of Commons
was recalled from its summer recess on 24 August 1939 to pass the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act
which gave authority to implement the Defence Regulations. Code A was brought into effect that day, and Code B followed on 1 September. Foreigners (enemy aliens) were detained using powers under the Royal Prerogative
while 18B was used mainly for British nationals.
been tipped off by an MI5
officer (probably Charles Maxwell-Knight
) of his impending internment, allowing him to flee to Germany. A group of Labour
and Liberal
MPs attempted to annul Code B in Parliament on 31 October 1939 but were persuaded to withdraw their motion in favour of consultation which produced a slightly amended wording.
in Norway
, a politician whose career superficially resembled that of Sir Oswald Mosley
, raised the possibility of a fifth column
deposing the government. The fall of the Low Countries
and the invasion of France
led to a very real fear of invasion. Then on 20 May 1940 a raid on the home of Tyler Kent
, a cypher clerk at the U.S. Embassy, disclosed that Kent had stolen copies of thousands of telegrams including those from Winston Churchill
to Franklin Roosevelt. Kent was an associate of Archibald Maule Ramsay
, an openly anti-semitic MP.
This opened the possibility that Ramsay might have used the privilege of Parliament to reveal the telegrams, about which Churchill had not told the Cabinet, thereby possibly endangering his government. It would also reveal Roosevelt was trying to help Churchill while proclaiming his support for neutrality in public. The Cabinet decided in favour of widespread detentions of the far right on 22 May, which required an amended version of the Regulation - 18B (1A). One of the first to be arrested, in the early morning of 23 May, was Sir Oswald Mosley
, whilst others arrested later included Admiral
Sir Barry Domvile
and Sir Reginald Goodall
. Popular reaction was strongly in favour, with one reader writing to The Times
to note with satisfaction that news of Mosley's arrest had been carried in the fifth column. By December 1940, there were more than a thousand detainees in custody.
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.
Eventually it was decided to hold the detainees in camps. The winter quarters of Bertram Mills
'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, the Isle of Man (Detention) Act 1941, was needed to authorise the transfer. The men stayed at Peveril Camp, Peel, with the women at Rushen 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.
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.
A detainee could challenge their detention by way of an appeal to an Advisory Committee headed by Norman Birkett
. The committee would be presented with a statement of the reasons why detention had been proposed, drawn up by MI5
, which the detainee was not permitted to see. The Committee could recommend continued detention, release under condition, or unconditional release. The Committee's recommendations went to the Home Secretary, who was not bound to accept them; MI5 often lobbied him not to accept a recommendation to release.
Some detainees attempted to take further action through the courts. Challenges were brought on the basis of habeas corpus
, but refused on the ground that the Home Secretary had taken his decision to intern on the basis of reports which must be kept secret; the Court satisfied itself that he had reasonable cause to sign a detention order.
The most significant case was Liversidge v. Anderson
, brought by Robert W. Liversidge who was a successful Jewish businessman and therefore a highly atypical 18B detainee. He brought a civil action for damages for false imprisonment but did not apply for habeas corpus. The ultimate ruling in his case has since been adjudged to have been wrongly decided. It was that where it is required in law that a Minister "has reasonable cause to believe" something before acting, the Court can only inquire into whether he really did believe it, and not whether the things causing this belief were true. Lord Atkin wrote a celebrated dissent from this judgment.
Archibald Maule Ramsay
, as the only MP detained, had the matter referred to the House of Commons
Committee on Privileges
for a ruling as to whether the detention of an MP was a breach of the Privilege of Parliament. It decided that it was not.
the immediate invasion scare was over. The number of detainees slowly decreased as the less harmful were let out. From a peak of about 1,000 in 1940, by summer 1943 there were fewer than 500 in detention. Oswald Mosley
, suffering from phlebitis
, was released on 23 November 1943 to a great deal of public criticism. The National Council for Civil Liberties demanded his continued imprisonment along with all other active fascists.
The invasion of France
on D-Day
again lifted pressure on invasion and by the end of 1944 only 65 detainees remained, most of whom had been naturalized German-born citizens. At the time of the death of Adolf Hitler
there were 11 and on V-E day
only one. 18B was abolished a few days after.
Defence Regulations
During the Second World War Defence Regulations were a fundamental aspect of everyday life in the United Kingdom.They were emergency regulations passed on the outbreak of war and during it to give the government emergency powers to prosecute the war. Two Acts of Parliament were passed as enabling...
used by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Government during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
of people suspected of being Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
sympathisers. The effect of 18B was to suspend the right of individuals to habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
.
Preparations for war
The Defence Regulations existed in draft form, constantly revised, throughout the inter-war period. In early 1939 it was decided, since a war might break out without warning or time to pass an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to bring in emergency regulations, that the Regulations should be split into two codes. Code A would be needed immediately if war broke out and could be passed in peacetime, while Code B (containing the more severe restrictions on civil liberties) would be brought in later.
In order not to alert the public to the existence of Code B, Code A was simply numbered consecutively. Defence Regulation 18 concerned restrictions on movement of aircraft. It was originally intended that Code B would be imposed by an Order in Council, with retrospective indemnity being granted by an Act of Parliament should anyone dispute the actions of the authorities.
When tension rose over Poland, the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
was recalled from its summer recess on 24 August 1939 to pass the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act
Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939
The Emergency Powers Act 1939 was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the British Government to take up emergency powers to prosecute the war effectively...
which gave authority to implement the Defence Regulations. Code A was brought into effect that day, and Code B followed on 1 September. Foreigners (enemy aliens) were detained using powers under the Royal Prerogative
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
while 18B was used mainly for British nationals.
Text of the Regulation
18B in force
The initial arrests were few and confined to those believed to be hard-core Nazis: by 14 September, there were only 14 people interned. Several of these were German or Austrian by birth but naturalized British subjects. The total would have been higher had not William JoyceWilliam Joyce
William Joyce , nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an Irish-American fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was hanged for treason by the British as a result of his wartime activities, even though he had renounced his British nationality...
been tipped off by an MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
officer (probably Charles Maxwell-Knight
Maxwell Knight
Charles Henry Maxwell Knight OBE, known as Maxwell Knight, was an English spymaster, naturalist and broadcaster, whilst reputedly being a model for the James Bond character M.-Spymaster:...
) of his impending internment, allowing him to flee to Germany. A group of Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MPs attempted to annul Code B in Parliament on 31 October 1939 but were persuaded to withdraw their motion in favour of consultation which produced a slightly amended wording.
Expansion in May 1940
The authorities dramatically revised their approach to the British far right in the late spring of 1940. The recent rapid seizure of power by Vidkun QuislingVidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, a politician whose career superficially resembled that of Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, raised the possibility of a fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
deposing the government. The fall of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and the invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
led to a very real fear of invasion. Then on 20 May 1940 a raid on the home of Tyler Kent
Tyler Kent
Tyler Gatesworth Kent was an American diplomat who stole thousands of secret documents for a pro-German organization while working as a cipher clerk at the U.S. Embassy in London during World War II....
, a cypher clerk at the U.S. Embassy, disclosed that Kent had stolen copies of thousands of telegrams including those from Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
to Franklin Roosevelt. Kent was an associate of Archibald Maule Ramsay
Archibald Maule Ramsay
Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay was a British Army officer who later went into politics as a Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament . From the late 1930s he developed increasingly strident antisemitic views...
, an openly anti-semitic MP.
This opened the possibility that Ramsay might have used the privilege of Parliament to reveal the telegrams, about which Churchill had not told the Cabinet, thereby possibly endangering his government. It would also reveal Roosevelt was trying to help Churchill while proclaiming his support for neutrality in public. The Cabinet decided in favour of widespread detentions of the far right on 22 May, which required an amended version of the Regulation - 18B (1A). One of the first to be arrested, in the early morning of 23 May, was Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, whilst others arrested later included Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Barry Domvile
Barry Domvile
Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile KBE CB CMG was a distinguished Royal Navy officer who turned into a leading British Pro-German anti-Semite in the years before the Second World War....
and Sir Reginald Goodall
Reginald Goodall
Sir Reginald Goodall was an English conductor, noted for his performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and conducting the premieres of several operas by Benjamin Britten.-Biography:...
. Popular reaction was strongly in favour, with one reader writing to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to note with satisfaction that news of Mosley's arrest had been carried in the fifth column. By December 1940, there were more than a thousand detainees in custody.
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 PrisonHer Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
Wandsworth
Wandsworth (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in western Europe, with similar capacity to Liverpool...
for men and HM Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...
for women; the men were later moved to HM Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
Brixton
Brixton (HM Prison)
HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. With the expansion in numbers in 1940 came a shortage of prison accommodation and some derelict wings of prisons (including Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
women's prison) were brought back into use to house 18Bs.
Eventually it was decided to hold the detainees in camps. The winter quarters of Bertram Mills
Bertram Mills
Bertram Wagstaff Mills was a British circus owner who ran the Bertram Mills Circus. Originally from Paddington, London, his circus became famous in the UK for its Christmas shows at Olympia in West London...
's circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
provided one camp at Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
, and uncompleted council housing at Huyton
Huyton
Huyton is a suburb of Liverpool within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, with some parts belonging to the borough of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Urban Area and has close associations with its neighbour, Roby, having both formerly been part of the Huyton with...
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
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. A new Act of Parliament, the Isle of Man (Detention) Act 1941, was needed to authorise the transfer. The men stayed at Peveril Camp, Peel, with the women at Rushen 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.
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.
Legal process and challenging detention
There were two justifications for an order to intern: "acts prejudicial to the public safety" and "hostile origin or associations".A detainee could challenge their detention by way of an appeal to an Advisory Committee headed by Norman Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, QC PC was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School...
. The committee would be presented with a statement of the reasons why detention had been proposed, drawn up by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, which the detainee was not permitted to see. The Committee could recommend continued detention, release under condition, or unconditional release. The Committee's recommendations went to the Home Secretary, who was not bound to accept them; MI5 often lobbied him not to accept a recommendation to release.
Some detainees attempted to take further action through the courts. Challenges were brought on the basis of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
, but refused on the ground that the Home Secretary had taken his decision to intern on the basis of reports which must be kept secret; the Court satisfied itself that he had reasonable cause to sign a detention order.
The most significant case was Liversidge v. Anderson
Liversidge v. Anderson
Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206 is an important and landmark case in English law which concerned the relationship between the courts and the state, and in particular the assistance that the judiciary should give to the executive in times of national emergency. It concerns civil liberties and...
, brought by Robert W. Liversidge who was a successful Jewish businessman and therefore a highly atypical 18B detainee. He brought a civil action for damages for false imprisonment but did not apply for habeas corpus. The ultimate ruling in his case has since been adjudged to have been wrongly decided. It was that where it is required in law that a Minister "has reasonable cause to believe" something before acting, the Court can only inquire into whether he really did believe it, and not whether the things causing this belief were true. Lord Atkin wrote a celebrated dissent from this judgment.
Archibald Maule Ramsay
Archibald Maule Ramsay
Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay was a British Army officer who later went into politics as a Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament . From the late 1930s he developed increasingly strident antisemitic views...
, as the only MP detained, had the matter referred to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Committee on Privileges
Committee on Standards and Privileges
The Standards and Privileges Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges...
for a ruling as to whether the detention of an MP was a breach of the Privilege of Parliament. It decided that it was not.
Death of 18B
After the Battle of BritainBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
the immediate invasion scare was over. The number of detainees slowly decreased as the less harmful were let out. From a peak of about 1,000 in 1940, by summer 1943 there were fewer than 500 in detention. Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, suffering from phlebitis
Phlebitis
Phlebitis is an inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs.When phlebitis is associated with the formation of blood clots , usually in the deep veins of the legs, the condition is called thrombophlebitis...
, was released on 23 November 1943 to a great deal of public criticism. The National Council for Civil Liberties demanded his continued imprisonment along with all other active fascists.
The invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
again lifted pressure on invasion and by the end of 1944 only 65 detainees remained, most of whom had been naturalized German-born citizens. At the time of the death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
there were 11 and on V-E day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
only one. 18B was abolished a few days after.
See also
:Category:People detained under Defence Regulation 18B- United States Executive Order 9066, order for internment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent