PRISONER IN GERMANY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 102, 24 January 1919, Page 5

PRISONER IN GERMANY

AN AUSTRALIAN'S STORY. ■■■■- j Private Archie Goodworth, of Single- j ton, who was -.a ■■ prisoner of :war :in ;■; Germany for several'months,.''has Tβ- '■'; turned to SingletorijlNmrtSouth 'Wales" : ,He sailed from Australia on August' ! 22, 1916, and shortly after reaching ■■] England was sent across to France. rHe ! was fighting for about four or five j mouths, when Jie was taken prisoner, -i through being wounded by a.piece'of a j bomb in tho back of the neck, 'Hear • \ Bapaume. This was on March '2,1917, i and Priv.ato Goodworth was'taken'to ; Cambrai for eleven days, and 'then ; j transferred to tho Gorman camp 'at . .\j Dulmeu, in Westphalia.. Here he had 'H to live on a slice of brend and half'a -'J pound of biscuits daily for nine , weeks. | With the arrival of the , Red Cross par- j eels, which carno along at the , rate-of about six a month, matters improw3 : considerably. : For. any slight rnistlc-• ,' meanour on the part of a prisoner, ill j compatriots, as well as the culprit, j were punished. They were either \ knockedi dowivwitlrariflo .or 4baydnet. | or forced to carrj 7 sandbags -around '-a . i circle:for nine hotirs, a day. 'Tlie'lit- ■ ter form of punishment would'last for '\ a momth or less. 'After threo months j atiDulmen, Private Soodworth Avas re- ■.''■ : > moved to Parchim, in Mecklohtarg, ! whore he worked for 'nine weeks in'» ; ) forest, felling timber for mills and'the -' German furniture-making trade. There j were 38 in the forest party, Private j Goodworth being the , only Australian. ; The others were Frenchmen and Rus- ' J sians. .It was during this.ppriod that ! ho felt the worst 'effects of the wonnU ; in. the neck, , which'told vpon .; and the arms vSeemed to . he i paralysed at times ■At Parchim 'the { rations were potato soup and 71b. , 0f i bread per week, but the bread was-not ■ good. Although eleven moiitlis-an j this camp, Private Goodworth did not j work after August 14 owing to sick- ] ness. After the first four 'or- hve j months in Germany he says the-treat- '! menifc was fairly good. 'He'.was(billot- .-.{ ed at a big mansion in Meckleilburg, i and received : good "the | family. Private Goodworth state's j that the j-ounger population of Ger- ' ; many was filled with lhatred of the , .-, British, accostmg prisoners with cvies | of "You 'British swine," "English i dogs," and Swine ■England." They •. ,j spat at the and jumped -on ! their feet. NyhileafDulmen.tho.Gei'- ,| man under-ofh'eers brought t;lie .prison- ' j ers out regularly to see the Zeppelins, i which they said were going to "ktibo'k ! oilt London." Tlie prisoners invarinbly replied that- "the Zepps."would catch, cold before they got to. England, ■, and not cqmo back again." Sure .! enough, many of the Zoppolins were '.'.'.j downed. Private Goodworth was ax- | changed to Hollsnd on April 30.1918, and.spent four months in"thirt Country, j two of -which were in hospital. Ho'left , • j Holland on September-8,-for. j