Alien Restrictions Act 1914

One of these people was Harry Morris, born Henry Moros in Kovno, Russia in 1876. He moved to the UK in 1897 after being summoned for compulsory recruitment into the Russian army, initially settling in Middlesbrough, where he worked as a tailor. In 1914 Harry was issued with an Alien Registration Card. This was replaced by a new book following the Aliens Order of 1919, and the new certificate's registration stamps continue from 12th January 1920 to 27th March 1961; thus, although Morris lived in Britain for over sixty years, he remained an ‘alien’ citizen. The Alien Registration book also contains information about fines imposed on Morris on two occasions, both in 1915, for ‘failing to extinguish window light’, and permits for the possession of Winchester rifles.

Harry, after moving to his wife’s hometown of Manchester, was called up for service in July 1918. Thanks to help from Leon Locker, one of the founding members of the Manchester branch of the ‘Foreign Jews Protection Committee’, he was able to prove he was over the age of 41 in 1917, and therefore his calling up notice was cancelled. It was about this time that his Russian passport was lost, for he apparently deposited it in 1919 at the Liverpool Russian consulate. After that institution closed, it was not possible to trace his passport, and this is what meant Harry was not able to become a naturalised British citizen.

Many of those subject to restrictions had family members serving in the British armed forces. For example, Abraham Cossack appears in the Salford Aliens Register, living at 91 Eccles New Road, Salford, and described as Russian. It states that he has three sons serving in the British Army: Solly and Mark in the Loyal North Lancashires, and Hyman in the Lancashire Fusiliers. Sadly, all three brothers lost their lives. Mark and Hyman were both killed in action, and Solly died shortly after the war in 1920, potentially from the deadly Spanish Flu.

Abraham, being over military age and a Russian Jew, would not have been subjected to the sorts of restrictions that German, Austrian or Ottoman Jews would have been. However, he remained an alien citizen and would have had to have his registration card stamped at the police station periodically during the war, whilst his three sons were serving in the British Forces.

Another example of this is Freha Leon, who was of Dutch nationality but whose husband Jacob was born in the Turkish city of Smyrna. Their son Alec served in the Manchester Regiment, signing up at the age of just 16, and went on to become the youngest Sergeant in the British Army. Despite this, both Freha and Jacob were subject to the Alien Restrictions Act, and had to register regularly at the police station. Freha’s registration card dates from July 1916 to August 1918, and stamps show that in that time she was allowed to visit Blackpool, Southport and Harrogate.

Those who were classed as enemy aliens- mostly men and women from Germany and Austria-Hungary - had great restrictions put on them, and men of military age were interned (see 'Jews interned during the First World War' History Window). When the Ottomans joined the war in November 1914, this complicated things further, particularly for the Jewish community, as there were many Jews living in this country who had been born in places like Syria and Mesopotamia who were now at risk of being interned as enemy aliens.

In May 1915, the Conjoint Board of Elders in Manchester submitted a list of 13 names from its membership who came from Aleppo and Baghdad, and were affected by the restrictions, to the Home Office requesting exemption. Each name came with a letter and two guarantors – a surety of £200 from each, around £17,500 in today’s money. Of these names submitted all were from Withington, except one from Whalley Range and one from St Annes-on-Sea.

Even those that had served in the British army previously were not able to serve if they had German or Austrian roots. Leonard Messel, born in Brixton, London in 1872, had been a member of the Volunteer Movement (or Territorial Force) since c.1892. In 1912 he was given the title of Captain and Hon. Major 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, Territorial Force. During the First World War, Leonard was debarred from fighting overseas due to his German origin. Instead, he trained soldiers from the 4th Reserve Battalion, ‘The Buffs’ (Kent), for which he was awarded an OBE. Leonard became a Lieutenant-Colonel and was known as ‘Colonel’ for the rest of his life. He exchanged many letters with serving soldiers, and occasionally provided financial support for their families. Despite his knowledge and passion, Leonard was unable to serve on the front lines due to his heritage.

Shortly after British troops entered Baghdad in March 1917, a petition was sent to the Secretary of State by 20 merchants from Manchester who had been born in Mesopotamia, and were therefore technically ‘enemy aliens’. The petition stated that because these men were “loyal to the British Empire”, they should be “relieved of the stigma of being described and treated as alien enemies”. These men were particularly affected by the restrictions, as they were allowed to travel no further than 5 miles from their home address, and this, they argued, impacted their trade greatly.

It was eventually agreed that restrictions would be lifted for those aliens from Baghdad, but they remained in place for many other members of the Jewish community who originated from other areas of the Middle East still under Ottoman rule, such as Salonika and Smyrna.

The Alien Restrictions Act was one way in which the Jewish community was affected by the First World War at home in Britain, whether they had family members serving at the Front or not.

'World War One and the Manchester Sephadim' by Basil Jeuda

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