FROM GERMAN PRISONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1919, Page 10

FROM GERMAN PRISONS.

„\IK\" OF THE WAIRCNA.

ARRIVAL IK AUCKLAND.

After an absence of over two years from New Zealand. Captain Saunders, master of the Wairuna, which was destroyed b,v the raider Wolf, the chief engineer, Mr. 0. McCaughey. and 12 members of the crew reached Auckland by the new Wairuna from San Francisco. They are all employed on the vessel in their original ratings. They spent l!l month* in captivity, ft months on board the raider and 10 months in a prison camp in Germany. During their stay on board the raider they were treated as well as could be expected, owing to the large number receiving food equal to that given to the crew of the vessel. They were captured on June 2, 1917, and the Wolf did not anchor at 'Kiel until the following February. % that time the prisoners numbered 500, all having been taken from captured vessels. After landing at four o'clock on a bitterly cold morning they received a taste of Prussianism. While waiting to entrain they were ridiculed by the German civilians, who spat at them. They spent 13 hours in the train and then had to walk four miles to the camp. The stations en route were guarded by women in semi-male attire. At each station the prisoners held out empty cans and pointed to the watertaps, but the women only spat at them and turned away. On arrival at the camp the prisoners were given a meal by the Red Cross people from food supplied bv the Allies. They stayed in camp 14 days and then were drafted out in squads of 20 to work on the repairing the lines. Their food consisted mostly of dried swede turnips, one small loaf every three days, and a soup mixture They were allowed a pay. equal to sixpence a day to buy tobacco or anything thev could get for the price. Some weeks after parcels of food arrived from England and the prisoners fared better. Captain Saunders and the chief engineer were interned at Carlsruhe camfp in southern fiermanv, but they did not have to work arid were given a larser allowance.