Kinmel Camp
Encyclopedia
Kinmel Camp was an army
training ground in what was once the grounds of Kinmel Hall
, near Abergele
, in Conwy county borough
, Wales
. The Kinmel Camp Railway
served the camp from 1915 until 1964http://www.railscot.co.uk/Kinmel_Camp_Railway/frame.htm. First World War training trenches can be seen nearby in the grounds of Bodelwyddan Castle
.
It is notable for the Kinmel Camp Riot
on 4/5 March 1919, in which 20,000 war weary soldiers expressed their anger at their treatment at the end of the First World War. The riot broke out in the Canadian section of the camp, and lasted for a night and a day. Five men were killed, and 23 were injured, including two subalterns. It was reported that the men were angry that several boats to Canada
had been cancelled, and were also annoyed that promises that those men who had enlisted first would be sent home first had not been honoured.
The five Canadian troops killed during the riot were buried in the graveyard of Bodelwyddan church
among other Commonwealth War Graves Commission
memorials. Most of the war graves are casualties of the Spanish flu
pandemic.
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
training ground in what was once the grounds of Kinmel Hall
Kinmel Hall
Kinmel Hall is a mansion near the village of St. George, close to the coastal town of Abergele, in Conwy county borough, Wales.The present chateau style house, the third on the site, was designed by W. E. Nesfield in the 1870s, and the adjoining Venetian Gardens were designed by his father, W. A....
, near Abergele
Abergele
Abergele is a community and old Roman trading town, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on the Irish Sea coast and is known for its beach, where it is claimed by some that a ghost ship...
, in Conwy county borough
Conwy (county borough)
Conwy County Borough is a unitary authority area in North Wales.-Geography:It contains the major settlements of Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Llanrwst, Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Abergele, Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan, and has a total population of about 110,000.The River Conwy, after...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The Kinmel Camp Railway
Kinmel Camp Railway
The Kinmel Camp Railway was a long standard gauge railway built to serve Kinmel Camp near Rhyl in north Wales.- History :Kinmel Camp was a training camp opened by the British Army in 1915 to train soldiers during the First World War...
served the camp from 1915 until 1964http://www.railscot.co.uk/Kinmel_Camp_Railway/frame.htm. First World War training trenches can be seen nearby in the grounds of Bodelwyddan Castle
Bodelwyddan Castle
Bodelwyddan Castle, close to the village of Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl, Denbighshire in Wales, was built around 1460 by the Humphreys family of Anglesey as a manor house. Its most important association was with the Williams-Wynn family, which extended for around 200 years from 1690...
.
It is notable for the Kinmel Camp Riot
Kinmel Park Riots
On 4 and 5 March 1919, Kinmel Park in Bodelwyddan, near Abergele, north Wales, experienced two days of riots in the Canadian sector of the military complex. The riots were believed to have been caused by delays in repatriation...
on 4/5 March 1919, in which 20,000 war weary soldiers expressed their anger at their treatment at the end of the First World War. The riot broke out in the Canadian section of the camp, and lasted for a night and a day. Five men were killed, and 23 were injured, including two subalterns. It was reported that the men were angry that several boats to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
had been cancelled, and were also annoyed that promises that those men who had enlisted first would be sent home first had not been honoured.
The five Canadian troops killed during the riot were buried in the graveyard of Bodelwyddan church
Marble Church, Bodelwyddan
The Marble Church , Bodelwyddan, is a prominent landmark in the lower Vale of Clwyd in Denbighshire, Wales and is visible for many miles. It lies just off the A55 trunk road....
among other Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
memorials. Most of the war graves are casualties of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
pandemic.