Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

PoW includes men who are identified as having died whilst formal Prisoners of War.

Detail :

Died as a prisoner of war at Ruhleben. A "Sterbeurkunde" [Death Certificate] exists dated 22nd December 1917. Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I. It was located in Ruhleben, a former Vorwerk manor 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west of Berlin. On his grave the date of his death is cited as 28th December 1917, and it is from that which this record is taken.

Taken from The Ruhleben Story:

Captain Edward Russell was one of the Ruhleben prisoners to sign a message of greeting to Sir Edward Letchworth, Grand Secretary of English Freemasons, postmarked December 9th 1914, and printed in the Times of December 28th 1914 (page 3, col. B). The message stated:

"Worshipful Sir & Bro.,

We the undersigned brethren, at present interned with other British civilians at the concentration camp at Ruhleben - Spandau, Germany, send hearty good wishes to the Grand Master, officers and brethren in Great Britain, hoping that we may have the pleasure soon of greeting them personally."

Russell, of Grimsby, was named in a list of merchant seamen interned at Ruhleben, as published by the Scotsman newspaper on 7/1/1915 (p.7).

Captain Russell was appointed in March 1915 by Powell, the camp captain at Ruhleben, to vice-chair the Watch and Works Department, as reported by the Scotsman on 29/3/1915 and the Times on 29/3/1915 ("More and Better Food at Ruhleben" p.4 col A). The department's remit was to take control o the camp's police, the maintenance of order in the camp, and the control of the hot water boilers, barbers, cobblers and petty tradesmen.

In an article in the Scotsman newspaper of October 27th 1915, Captain Russell was listed as captain of Barrack 8 ("Ruhleben Camp - Success of Civil Administration", p.9).

See also: Great War Forum for a thread regarding Edward, which includes an image of his grave at Scartho Road Cemetery.

See also: Freemasonry Today.

The masonic prisoners of Ruhleben are commemorated on a plaque now housed at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry the which states:
"The equipment of this ward was presented by the British Freemasons who were interned in Ruhleben, Germany, during the Great War, 1914-1918, as a token of their deep gratitude to the Craft for the fraternal help and relief extended to them during that period of captivity and distress: and in the memory of their fellow prisoners,
Bro. Captain C. Fryatt, S.S. "Brussels,"
Bro. Captain E. Russell, S.S."Bury,"
Bro. Captain A. Cordiner, S.S. Heworth,"
To whom death brought release".

Masonic :

The Masonic record shows that Edward Russell was initiated into Earl of Yarborough Lodge, at Great Grimsby, No. 2770 in 1903. At the time he was a Master Mariner and resident in Grimsby. He paid dues up to 1916 whereafter the comment in the contribution record shows that he was "Interned in Germany. Died at Rhuleben [sic] Dec 1917."

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley