GUARDING HUN PRISONERS.

Taihape Daily Times, 27 October 1917, Page 5

GUARDING HUN PRISONERS.

Not the least important of the duties performed by the R.D.C. is the guarding of the thousands of enemjr soldier s and civilians , interned in huge camps all over ' Britain It speaks well for their vigilance that but few escapes have been made—and these but temporarily success! —and their soldierly qualities are shown by the fact that the prisoners themselves have frankly expressed their surprise at the humane, though just, treatment they have received—the Prussian's favourite argument in similar circumstances being blows and curses. Indeed, at a certain camp recently a feld-webel (warrant officer) remarked to an no-commissioned offircer of the R.D.C. } who was making his rounds: "Don't wor.y, sergeant; we don't want to escape!" Of course, sometimes a prisoner deliberately refuses to conform to the regulations necessary for the main, tenance of discipline, but he soon finds that the guard are not disposed to put up with any nonsense. The British soldier is chivalrous almost to a fault, and his love of fairplay forbids him to kick a man when he is down, but he is not to be trifled with and not a few lusty Prussians have been sadly surprised to find that their grey-haired guards had not lost vigour and alertness with advanoW years.