ESCAPE FROM GERMANY.

Taihape Daily Times, 3 January 1918, Page 5

ESCAPE FROM GERMANY.

FLYING OFFICER’S EXPERIENCE. An account of his experiences in escaping from Germany was given recently by Lieutenant G. F. Knight, of the Royal Flying Corps, who on his return to England was received by the King at Buckingham Palace. Lieutenant Knight was on a bombing raid near Bapaume when his controls were shot away, and he had to land well behind the enemy’s front line. He was convoyed to Cambrai Citadel.

“I had not been there very long,” he said, “before I set about to escape. Opportunity came sooner than I expected. I got through the German lines at night in a suit of the BelgianI peasant sort and swam the Cambrai Canal. When I was almost over I spotted a German sentry on the opposite bank. He hoard me in the water and looked hard in my direction. It flashed through my mind that he might imagine the noise was made by a dog. I gave colour to this impression by paddling around in the manner of a retriever, and whining nicely, making, meantime for the bank from which I had plunged in. “I scrambled out again, cold and somewhat disappointed, and made for the railway bridge, with the idea of getting into our lines. I was making my course by the flashes of our own guns, which were plainly visible ahead I found, however, I was out of my rcci'oning «and .stumbled once vmofct into the Germans’ quarters. I hid when I could, posing as a workman, I came across a small straw-stack, well behind a German camp, and lay there for the night. Unfortunately my luck was out; a German transport man came to my nesting place for an armful of straw and collared my head in the armful. He was quite surprised. I knew it was no good trying to bluff him, so I surrendered, once more with as good a grace as possible.

“I was sent back to Cambrai. Afterwards they moved me by train —a very uncomfortable journey under close escort, to Osnabruck, and Tvlausthal, Harz and then to Strohen. Our food was obtained chiefly from the parcels from home, They invariably arrived safely, and more often than not untouched by pilfering fingers. Everyone German about the place seemed 'fed up’ with the war. The guards were tired of doing guard duty on little food, but the country folk did not seem so badly off. ” After getting away undetected from the Strohen camp with emergency rations of biscuits and chocolate—sent from his Devonshire home —Lieutenant Knight hid by day and travelled by night, successfully eluding in a tennight tramp all the soldiers hunting for him. and eventually reached safety in a neutral country.