ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a range of host responses to the presence of each of the case study groups of overseas residents during and after the war. Fear of such a “house famine” led to the launch of a Britain-wide initiative by the War Refugees Committee in January 1915 to house Belgian refugees in lodging houses in coastal towns, which had excess room capacity due to the negative impact the war had on seaside holiday numbers. Negative host reactions to the perceived reluctance for military service among migrant and refugee groups will also be considered. The Chief Commissioner’s assessment as well as downplaying the attacks on eastern European Jews in London also overlooked rioting by locals against Belgian refugees and Chinese in the capital in 1916. The post-war government survey of the arrangements made for Belgian refugees in Britain made no mention of the Fulham rioting.
