BRITISH SEA CAPTAIN'S ADVENTURE.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16434, 30 January 1919, Page 7

BRITISH SEA CAPTAIN'S ADVENTURE.

CAUGHT IN A SUBMARINE NET. (From "The Times" Correspondent.) PARIS, November 19. At the Gare do l'Esfc i had the* good fortun© to come a cross a, merchant soa captain who was captured in the Mediterranean two years ago by an Austrian submarine. His experiences were as follows: — I was taken to an Austrian port in the submarine. On. the way thithor we had a thrilling experience. Wo were caught in u British submarine net iu the Gulf of Tarimto, apd for over two- hours wo lay caught, expecting at any moment to be blown to bits by a depth charge- We could hoar a destroyer overhead. We got away in the end. On my arrival 'n Austria the older men omongßt us woro placed in an internment camp, while the younger were sent to Germany for hard work. I have not much to say about the Austrian treatment. The Austrinns showed themselves callous rather than brutal, but during the early period, ■when, there was plenty of food m Austria, wo were badly fed. Our daily ration was two ounces of bread, and the same of meat and mangold wuraols. Had it not been for the home par-' eels we should have died. The most noticeable thing about our captors was the way they lied tind stole. Fully 40 per cent, of the parcels sent to us never reached ua. They were stolen. In reply to complaints there was always a ready excuse. When the armistice was reported a guard at our camp, wxuch was Salzburg, told us to clear. We 12 captains cleared. But if we had not possessed a box of tea and sugar we should never have reached the Italian lines. Wo had to bribe our way to the Allied troops, not by mogey, for that was refused, but by a handiful of tea hero, and lumps oi sugar there. Thus we managed to got lifts by train and cart. On reaching _ the Italian lines we were well received and sent on to Modane, where wo took train to Paris. This particular captain, who had been halo and hearty, weighing 14 or 15 stone, has lost weight considerably. In the first month he lost two stone. Now, his ruddy face is deeply furrowed. I shall never forget his closing words, which proved him to be a typical British seaman: —"Life in prison was po demoralising that I did a thing that I could never have done before. An Austrian officer refused mo a cigarette when I asked him. He left the room, and I took three out of lis box."