AN EXCITING TRIP

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2271, 3 October 1914, Page 7

AN EXCITING TRIP

NEW ZEALAND LAD'S EXPERI- . . ENCE. Writing from London on August 15. George Elhvood, son of- Mr. Ellwood of Ohnstchurch, details his experiences when the war broke out. He reachec" Berlin, where he intended to pursue his musical studios, on July 22. Or August 1 he was. having tea with i mend .when he heard a r great upro'a; in the street below announcing tha" war had been declared'against ltussia ...Nearly everyone went mad, but i was worse when any spies wer caught; says' tho writor. "The pr ic ot rood went-up, but only for the firs week. A law was passed that all shop keepers who charged high prices icon to bo put in prison." On August i Germany began to mobilise. It was im pc-ssible to leave Berlin., as all tin trains were used for taking the soldierj to the frontier, and it got dangerou *o be on tlio Btreets, as "they' took al tpreigners for spies.*' When war wa declared by England against Germany i got very bad. Hundreds of people go mobbed because they spoke English. George Ellwood decided that it wa not good to stay in Berlin, so he tool tlio nrst passenger train for Sasnitz on route for Copenhagen, with one o two companions, leaving behind somi friends who had no money. ' Incident ally it is mentioned that "thousands o •the biggest businesses in Germany an going bankrupt" owing to the suddei /cessation' ot money circulation. "W left Berlin at 10.30," he states, "am arrived at Sasnitz at 7 p.m. next day We had to take a .boat to Trallebore in Sweden, from Trallebore we too" the tram to Maluio. On tlio wharf a faasmtz were about three thousand liu< siaus, . The poor beggars ha, he °%™ ««» wharf fo/ three d?vs with out food. They had to leave Germany where they were treated like pigs. 0, the boat they all lay on the decks. The had to go to Russia right across Swc den thousands of miles. W e found tlia a steamer was leaving Malmo for Coper hagen (Denmark) at 3 o'clock. Asm cia pilot came aboard, as tlio place wa full of mines, and we did not knoi when wo were going to be blown up \\ hen wo arrived at Copenhagen w found that a steamer was leavino- f 0 England on AVednesday. We wentaboar< and found about fifty English pcopl, trying .to get back to England. ' "Just as the boat was about to leavi the captain received a cablegram fron tho Admiralty saying we could not sail as the,. German warships had laid hur dreds of mines in the North Sea. B that timo I had only thirty marks, bu I had my ticlcot for London. So w asked the captain if we could sloe] aboard until she sailed, and get ou, meals ashore; He said 'Yes.' Afte: that wo went and saw the. British con sul, and ho.guaranteed to pay us 3s 6d. a day for meals, to bo paid bad when wo got to England. On Thursdai wo heard tho very pleasant news thai tho hoat was sailing at 3 o'clock. Well at last we started, and it was nice h feel that we wero getting nearer Eng land. On Saturday morning at 3 o'cloc] ivo were landed at Edinburgh. But tha, was ncarl.- as bad, .is wo had no mono] « get to London, which costs 325. Gd I had only 165., but I borrowed the toil unco from ono of tho fellows, and arrived in London at 9 p.m. I had t< leave all my luggags in Berlin, also inj cello."