STORY OF A PRISONER OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2771, 15 May 1916, Page 6

STORY OF A PRISONER OF WAR

TOLD BY A PRIVATE SOLDIER

COMRADES IN MISERY, (Continued.) : . ■ ' ' IV. ' Sometime about January 3 about 200 English came in the camp. They arrived iu trucks well packed in, and they looked ft poor lor, as they had come straight t'loui the. trenches. They hawled them out of .the trucks, hitting them with sticks, belts, swords, and anything else they had, and then drove them down to the gates, and they came iii the gates like a lot of mad bulls. They then searched them, aud then told them they could smoke, alter taking all smokes and money off them. A English chap was Hogged in my C 0.—20 cuts with tho rubber. It took four soldiers to hold him. it was for "absent off carts." Another got Ihreo days no bread. Some would be locked up for hours in a damp, shed, and no soup drew for them that day; but we use to put a bit of our so.up each and save it for him when he came out. It was hard to do it; but there! we had to look after one another.

. On about February 7 six English doctors came- to the camp and volunteered for to try and get rid of the disease. They told they were 6orry for us about our treatment, but they could not help it, they got the same food themselves. They used to say "Buck up! About the 7th of March will see the end.". So we use to buck up; but the end of every month was the same old yarn. All wo could hear was thousands of Russians being captured every day.. The weather at this time.was cruel, snow, nearly every day, and cold, and we had no clothes. The only articles I had .was my own ooat in holes, a pair of old trousers I had give mo when I left France, with holes in the seat as big as basons, and same with knees, part of a grey back, and a little undervest, one piece of a sock on my right foot, a piene of rag round this bad one, a cap a Russian made for me out of a tit of blanket; a boat I picked up in Darmstadt, and a old piece of felt I made into a boot for tho left one, on two little crutches, which would do for a chap about 4ft. Bin. .My left knee was drawed up, so I use to come out my loom only when 1 was bound ioo. •', • ■

It was then that the coup, was at its worst. This is some of the food Wo use to get for dinner: Barley soup, cabbage 6oup, horse bean soup, maugo, pea black ones, mealy soup, oil cake ground us, rotton fish soup, which would make you shut your eyes and the smell would make, you sick, sour grap,. Rico soup, macoronie coup, and all sorts. Tho potatoes were put in, just as they came out the ground. At night, twico a week stuff they called tea, weaker than the Chinease drink, other rights like water, supposed to be-soup, rice water, bean water, and meal The meal water was tho best. I use 'to long for a handful of barley meal or bran to thicken it. It would have been good, compared to that.

About tho 20th February they took the names of men who were badly wounded for to receive packets sent by Salvation Army in England. They came from Berlin. WJell, my namo was taken for one. We received'it on the 28th, and wo were glad \to receive it. It contained lib. pudding, Jib. sweets, a Testinient, and a neck wrap. In my mess, we ran it out one between.two, and the spare ono was sold to a English man for a mark, which brought us in -5 fags a man, so we had a good day; and didn't it go down good! At .the same time theyd said the living was going to change. They were going to cut down the bread and givo us potatoes. On the 28th we had a loaf between 6 men and soup as usual at 12 o'clock. Wo were hanging about up to 10 o'clock at night _ when up came potatoes in tubs, the filthiest thing you ever seen. They were issued just as they were. Then they started, us off on potato rines for soup, but it- all went down. It was very seldom if anyone seen meat. You could see it was sorso and dog at times. The English in the cookhouse were returned to duty for burying the meat one day as it was' so 'bad. ,

A Dwindling Company. Our hair was growing again now, and we looked alright, tho same length all the way round, and no one had shaved for months, 'nor seen 'soap. . Our towels were like dirty grcasey rags, and our shirts were liko house flanels and hcavey. During January,, Feb., and March, fifty men went to hospital out of my room. In February Sgt. Phillips went in he was it a awful state. He died three days after, and Pte. Grocn of the Bedfords went in.. He pulled through. Then two days after Pte. Day. and Pte. Young, 3 days after Pte. Turner, went all with Typhus. Then, Parker went. Then Metcalf went. • He hung it oat 2 months, then died. That left 10 of us. We were wondering who would bo next. Well, in March I-bad a very bad cold—the worst I've ever ' had, and infleweuza. I stuck it in the room for a week. The French doctor made the other men' carry me in Dock on a table. They took me in ono ward. We were only tier* two minutes. The' Major said I was to gc to another place, so they carried ino there, put me on tho ground, and went. You could hardly move in the room. . It was filled with French and English moaning away, everyone off their.head. I was grousing because, I was there; so a chap of the E.A.M.C. came and told me I was to be moved in tho observation ward. He said he'd get some orderleys to carry me, but I said "Never mind. You carrj. my bed." Well, up I jump's on ray one leg, grabbed my crutches, and was olf like a shot; and when I reach the placo where I had to stop and seen it, it made me nearly cry. I had to have mv bed bv the side of two buckets which were for use by them men. I said, "I'm not going to stop here." ■• The Sgt. came and took my name in a book fbr admission, Ue said in i a' joke I'd come to my last home. I told him I was not going to stop there, so they fetched the Major, thinking I was off my nut. Well, when he came I explained things to him, tell,in« him I would sooner bo back to the. Coy., if he'd give mo Quinean Pills. So he told me I could go if-I thought I was alrieht. Well, I went.there and then. Dunne the time was up .to the Hospital the other.men were disenfected and the place where wo slept; they would sprinkle some stuff about. When I come walse- ' ing in the room thy could not make it out;'but I'll tell you it frightened what fever I had out of me, but I thought'l was nearly there. , At this lime the prisoners were dying at an- average of 30 a day. They were burying them 2 in one box—take them 6traight down and lay them alongside one another. Thero was no roll of who was who until March. No one knows now for certain who died before them. We lost one of our Doctors; a week after another, then the Major, went—Major Fry, brother of <3. B. Fry, cricketer; and too more were down with it. There is only,one of them that has not had it. He's at the camp when I left Cant. . E.A.M.C.

The Germans would smoke and lay on their rifles when the corpses were going by; so one Doctor mai?e a comprint to the' Camp Commandant; so after, they use to take their pipes out—German Culture again! At this time they were dying like sheep. It took up to June before it was died out of the camp. The losses at the end were 1500 Russians/over 300 French,, and 87 English, all died with Typhus. In the finish the officers conouercd the disease. The English use to do as our doctor did tell us. Fairy-Tales for Prisoners. The Germans then issued us with papers called the "Continental Times." It wan the siliest book you ever read—we lost all our Navy, our troops on the Western Front were almost done for, and it was only another matter of two weens or so, then General Hindenberg would have the Russians broke up and beaten that much, that they would throw up their hand" and linish. And the thousands they were capturing every day I Well, it would have taken half of Ger many to hold them. Then wo heard the news, or read it, that the Zeppelins had been ovflr London, and the damage dono and lives lort was great; and the Bombardment of Scarborough, it was a great victory, as also was the sinking of the Lusitania. It was loaded with two torpedoes, and thousand of shell and small arms, but they would not let us know the facts of the case. They also "üblish there was conscription in Eng-

land, and tho Miners were on strike, and the people were- shouting for peace, shortage of food in England, no ammunition and tho people in Ireland was crying shame on England. They were hiking pity on the Gorman prisoners, because the English were so cruel to them. We use ot read that bands paraded in England for recruiting; after about G hours' march, all they finished up with was a Loudon urchin with no home to go too; so he joined as that was his last hope. Well,' they use to put all the rubbish they could to poison our minds; but it did not work with us. Then they came, pr sent copies to us, to tell us that the amount of 1 mark would be charged for the copy of the paper, would-we subscribe towards it! But we sounded "The never mind." Then they started putting the names of the English prisoners in. My name was in twice, once as Privato of , next timo as soldier 11th Ijify. Bdg. The battle of the 26th Augubt was not published before about July. They acknowledge casualties about 22,000. When they had a bit of a vicotry up would go their flags; but the last 3 months I was in prison I did not see it but once and then. At the time we heard the Dardanelles had fell. We thought it was right, because they pulled the Turkish flag down and jumped upon it. The trains use to go by the prison; and at the beginning the people use to wavn (Ueir fists at us. Then all tho prisoners use to wait for a train to go by and shout to the people "caput," which ment,-finished, or beat or no good. Well theres no shouting or waving now. Things are all quiet flow; they are ■ more time.. Hunger and PtsH.

It was during the month of March and April that we felt the starvation most. Every one was like. wolves. We were also all affected with itch, which made us nearly crazy. There was no cure for it; we had to grin and bear it. Then a smoke use to worry us. We could not get a flag nohow, so we used to cut up straw out of our beds, coffee grounts, cut up cigarett holders, and scrape the oil out of the wood. All the posts round the camp, what the barb wire was fixed on, was stripped of its bark, where the prisoners use to cut it up and smoke it —also snuff and anyhing that would smolder.

The Germans gave out a order that if we heard a whistle blew, we were to rush in our bungalowsH:en minutes after, if anyone was outside, they would be shot. So they use to have some fun with us No soouer would the men bo outside, than the whistle would go; everyone would rush to the huts; then, after about i minutes, a round would go off. It was all done to frighten the prisoners. hTen, after keeping us in for \ Lour, they would send'.word wa were to come out, No sooner would .we be out, then the whistle would .blow again. We used to be'so nervous, I would not leave the barrack after dark, it was not safe. About 700 yds. from tho prison there was a big factory burnt down. They say it was an expensive place; th; damage was great.

It was in March that we got our first bath. We had to parade with everything we had. It was all shoved in a big steam Toom, when wo had the wash, which was a bit better, but not much) as there was only about a saucer of soft soap for about e'O men, and the water was turned off in no time; so yon had to rub the dirt in or off.with a dirty old towel and then put on your dirty old stinking shirt and clothes, which were wet through with steam. Our old chips were flung away in our mattress, and we had new straw. Well it seemed a treat to miss the lice for a few hours; but we were just as bad in a few days. The Russians use to scrub tho floor. They'd get buckets.of sand flung down; then put enough water-to make it damp; then get a piece of rag, tread on it, and scuff the stuff about; then brush it out. Sometimes the floor would be drenched with water, and just brushed out. Wo use to have to lay on it.

A "Fag" at Last, During March we had a lot of snow. Wo had to put our blankets and mattrcsa out from 8 till' 4. Sometimes they were wet through with. snow. .1 used to mess in with a chap from Bristol. Well, wo were dying for a smoke; wo,had nothing >ve could sell, so I took off my under, flannel, which had been on since Novem.ber and gave it to my chum. It took Mm about 2 hours to got some of the grease off; then about 2 hours out in tho cold drying it; then he tramped all over tho camp to sell it, and came back at bed time to say ho could only get Id. for it' Well, off he went again; another 2 hours, and he came back with Jd., then off he had to go to get a fag. Well, at' 9 o'clock he came back, having been everywhere to get the smoke. Ho brought back a.fag and a bit. Then we had a good smoke, putting a bit awny for the morning, and we thought wo were going to enjoy it ourselves. But first one popped his head out, then another; so I gavo them th© bit to get on with. It was at them times just like giving them i sovereign each. livery morning we use to turn out our pockets for dust to have a smoke.

It was. just.after this in April that my chum went and seen tho Commandant of the Camp to ask him to let him write home, as he wanted to send for some shoes. So he gave him permission for a German Sgt. to write for him; but we thought it was a hoax, so we were anxiously waiting for 6 weeks for a reply. Then everyone started to go up, and they 6aid they would write for four of us'' every Monday; so I got my namo sent off 26th April.

Tho.weather this time was still bad-, snow all April. It was very cold. It was in April that the Doctor had ■ \ ton of soap come out; so we wore issued with aJiar each—the- English. Well, after dinner wo went on the spare ground and stripped,, and that was tho time to see tho lather fly.. It was the' best wash I've ever had in my life. Then we got somo of the filth off our shirts.- Oh, it was great! The men were walking about with nothing on their feet, so they kept ckas. ing the Germans; so they dished Y out about 10 i>r. of wooden clogs for our Coy. Then there was a tow who should have them; so they were drew for in the finish. Also some clothing came from Holland for English prisoners—underclothing; but the Germans had taken most of tho new stuff that was any good, and put in old stuff. Some socks had holes in them. There were inly a few aritcles, but I was luckey to draw a shirt; so that Was luck if you like, (To bo continued.)

At tho Anglican General Synod on Saturday, the Rev. W. B. Scandrett moved "that the Synod offers its congratulations to tho Primate on onterintf the eightieth yeav of his life." °Doan Pitchett, in. seconding the motion, said he wouid offer his felicitations on behalf of'the Dunedin diocese. (Cheers.) The motion was put by Bishop Julius, and carried, the members standing and applauding. In responding, the Primate said he came to New Zealand at tho request of Bishop Selwyn, and gavo a short resume of events in the early days. To-night, a social re-union, or' Marist Brothers' Old Boys and their friends is to be held in the Alexandra Hall, Abel Smith Street, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the opening of the 'jSliirist Brothers' School in Wellington. During the evening the Right Hon. Sir. J. q Ward will unveil a roll of honour of Old Boys on active service, and also a pho*o- i graph of the late Captain A. J. Shout V,C, M.C., D.C.M., who is an old boy of the school.