In his memoir The Emden, Hellmuth von Mücke described how the SMS Emden arrived at Diego Garcia and were immediately greeted by an Englishman who had no idea that World War I was raging, or that the United Kingdom and Germany were at war. The Germans didn't tell him, and enjoyed his hospitality for a few days. Mücke did not record the Englishman's name.
At the outbreak of the Great War, the British possession of Diego Garcia was inhabited by an English coconut plantation manager and his assistant. They had little contact with the outside world, and no wireless. Thus, they had no idea that a global war was taking place.
On 9 October 1914, the GermanleviathanSMS Emden arrived at Diego Garcia. The Englishman immediately greeted Captain Karl von Müller. When the Englishman told Müller that the island didn't have a wireless, Müller told the crew not to speak of the war. While the Emden coaled and the crew relaxed for a few days, the Englishman and Müller drank beer and talked of the plantation. Things were briefly awkward when the Englishman asked for news of the outside world. Müller was able to avoid talking about the war, discussing instead the recent death of Pope Pius X. After a few days rest, the Emden took off again.[1]