Cunningham's, Douglas Internment Camp internee-made matchbox holder
Date made: 1915
Description: Internee-made matchbox holder. A polished wooden box open at one end, carved on one side '1914 Walter Bott 1915' on a textured background and 'Douglas Isle of Man' and three legs design on the other side. A glued and jointed box, made from thin pieces of wood (possibly reused tea chests?) with a metal strip inside the box to act as a spring. Made by internee at Cunningham's Camp for the donor's grandfather, a clerk at the camp during the First World War and during the summer months in peacetime. He met his future wife, who was nanny to Cunningham's children, at the camp. 2.3 x 6.9 x 4.5 cm.
Walter Bott married at Port St Mary Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1914. He died in Douglas in 1949 aged 64. In 1940 he was living at 12 Strathallan Crescent, a bookkeeper by occupation. In a 1922 court case he was described as a clerk in the employ of Joseph Cunningham.
Measurements: overall: 2.5 cm x 7 cm x 4.7 cm
Materials: wood
Object name: matchbox holder
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1991-0082
Subject tags : #WW1INTERNMENTMUSEUMCOLLECTIONS