N. P. Cooper

Q's Historical Legacy - XIX - The Westcotes (Napoleonic Prisoners of War in Devon) N. P. Cooper

In this volume, Q recounts the lives and experiences of Devon and Somerset residents who were forced to accommodate French prisoners of war and the daily routine and behaviour of the prisoners, many of whom were used to build Dartmoor prison. This volume contains an annotated edition of The Westcotes, a tale of daily life in Devon and Somerset in the times of the Napoleonic Wars and of potential romance between a prisoner and a wealthy gentlewoman. It also contains extracts written about prisoners of war and a summary of the actual lives of the 'parole town' prisoners of war in towns and villages in Devon and Cornwall as well as a brief history of Dartmoor Prison which held thousands of French prisoners and a history of Wincanton in the times of the Napoleonic Wars. This volume concludes with the tale of one escapee, Louis Vanhille, who after his escape travelled a complicated route back and forth across England, perhaps to drum up support for a mass uprising of the detained men.