LIFE ON THE "WOLF"
Life on the _Wolf_ was very different from life on the _Hitachi_. To
begin with, all the single men of military age from the _Hitachi_ were
accommodated on the 'tween decks, and slept in hammocks which they had
to sling themselves. The elder men among them slept in bunks taken from
the _Hitachi_, but the quarters of all in the 'tween decks were very
restricted; there was no privacy, no convenience, and only a screen
divided the European and Japanese quarters. The condition of our
fellow-countrymen from the _Hitachi_ was now the reverse of enviable,
though it was a great deal better than that of the crews of the captured
ships, who were "accommodated" under the poop--where the Captains and
officers captured had quarters to themselves--and exercised on the poop
and well deck, the port side of which was reserved for the Japanese. The
Germans did not forbid us to enter the quarters where our
fellow-passengers were confined, but it was obvious that they did not
like our doing so, after the lies they had told us concerning the
wonderful alterations made in these quarters for their prisoners'
"comfort." One day I managed to sneak unobserved into the prisoners'
quarters under the poop in the 'tween decks, where hundreds of men were
confined, but I had the misfortune to run up against the Lieutenant in
charge and was promptly ordered out before I could have a good look
round. But I had seen enough! Both the men under the poop and our
fellow-passengers had armed guards over them--those guarding the latter
were good fellows and quite friendly and helpful to their charges.
There were now more than four hundred prisoners on board, mostly
British, some of whom had been captured in the February previous, as the
_Wolf_ had left Germany in November 1916, the _Hitachi_ being the tenth
prize taken. The condition in which these prisoners lived cannot be too
strongly condemned. The heat in the tropics was insufferable, the
overcrowding abominable, and on the poop there was hardly room to move.
While anchored near Sunday Island in the Pacific some months earlier,
two of the British prisoners taken from the first prize captured
managed to escape. Their absence was not noticed by the Germans till a
fortnight later, as up to then there had been no daily roll-call, an
omission which was at once rectified directly these two men were noted
missing. As a punishment, the prisoners aft were no longer allowed to
exercise on the poop, but were kept below. The heat and stifling
atmosphere were inconceivable and cruel. The iron deck below presented
the appearance of having been hosed--in reality it was merely the
perspiration streaming off these poor persecuted captives that drenched
the deck. The attention of the ship's doctor was one day called to this,
and he at once forbade this inhuman confinement in future. From then
onwards, batches of the prisoners were allowed on the poop at a time, so
that every man could obtain at least a little fresh air a day--surely
the smallest concession that could possibly be made to men living under
such wretched conditions.
But notwithstanding these hardships the men seemed to be merry and
bright, and showed smiling faces to their captors. They had all
evidently made up their minds to keep their end up to the last, and were
not to be downed by any bad news or bad treatment the Germans might
give them.
The _Wolf_, of course, picked up wireless news every day, printed it,
and circulated it throughout the ship in German and English. We did not,
however, hear all the news that was picked up, but felt that what we did
hear kept us at least a little in touch with the outside world, and we
have since been able to verify that, and also to discover that we missed
a great deal too. The weekly returns of submarine sinkings were
regularly published, and these were followed with great interest both by
the Germans and ourselves. We heard, too, some of the speeches of Mr.
Lloyd George and the German Chancellors, debates in the Reichstag, and
general war news, especially what was favourable to the Germans.
The accommodation provided for the married couples on the _Wolf_ was
situated on the port side upper deck, which corresponded in position to
the promenade deck of a liner. Some "cabins" had been improvised when
the first women and civilian prisoners had been captured, some had been
vacated by the officers, and others had been carved out as the number of
these prisoners increased. The cabins were, of course, very small--there
was very little room to spare on the _Wolf_--and, at the best,
makeshift contrivances, but it must be admitted that our German captors
did all they could to make us as comfortable as possible under the
conditions prevailing. The cabin occupied by my wife and myself was
built on one of the hatches. The bunks were at different levels, and
were at right angles to each other, half of one being in a dark corner.
There was not much room in it even for light baggage, and not standing
room for two people. The walls and ceiling were made of white painted
canvas, and an electric light and fan were installed over the door. The
married couples, the Australian military officers, and a few elderly
civilians messed together in the officers' ward-room (presided over by a
war photograph of the All Highest), quite a tiny saloon, which was
placed at our disposal after the officers had finished their meals. We
had breakfast at 9.15, dinner at 1.15, and supper at 7.15. The Commander
of the _Wolf_ was a very lonely man--he messed alone in his quarters
near the bridge, and we saw very little of him, as he very rarely left
his quarters and came below among his men and the prisoners.
The food on the _Wolf_ was better cooked than it had been on the
_Hitachi_, but there was of course no fresh food of any kind. Two or
three horses had been taken from the S.S. _Matunga_--these had been shot
and eaten long before. Even the potatoes we had were dried, and had to
be soaked many hours before they were cooked, and even then they did not
much resemble the original article; the same remark applies to the other
vegetables we had. Occasionally our meals satisfied us as far as
quantity went, but in the main we left the table feeling we could with
ease dispose of a great deal more. This was especially the case after
breakfast, which consisted of bread and jam only; and once at tiffin all
we had to eat was boiled rice with cinnamon and sugar. Each cabin had a
German orderly to look after and wait on its occupants, two German
stewards waited on us at meals, and a Japanese steward had two or three
cabins to look after and clean. The water allowance, both for drinking
and washing, was very small. We had only one bottle of the former and
one can of the latter between two of us; so it was impossible to wash
any of our clothes.
The deck--we were only allowed the port side--was only about six feet
wide, and part of this was occupied by spare spars. There were no
awnings, and the sun and rain streamed right across the narrow space.
Sailors and officers, and prisoners to fetch their food, were passing
along this deck incessantly all day, so it can be easily imagined there
was not much room for sitting about on deck chairs. On this deck, too,
was the prisoners' cell, usually called the "calaboose," very rarely
without an occupant, with an armed sentry on guard outside. It was not a
cheerful abode, being very small and dark; and the prisoner, if his
sentence were a long one, served it in instalments of a few days at a
time.
We were allowed to go down to the well deck to see our friends and sit
on the hatch with them during the daytime. They had their meals in the
'tween decks at different times from us, but the food provided was
usually just the same. The evenings were the deadliest times of all on
the _Wolf_. At dusk the order "Schiff Abblenden" resounded all through
the ship, sailors came round to put tin plates over all the portholes,
and from thence onward throughout the night complete darkness prevailed
on deck, not a glint of light showing anywhere on the ship. It was very
nasty and uncanny.
When the _Wolf_ considered herself in dangerous waters, and when laying
mines, even smoking was forbidden on deck. All the cabins had a device
by which directly the door was open the light went out, only to be relit
directly the door closed. So it was impossible for any one to leave his
cabin with the door open and the light on. There was nothing to do in
the evenings after the last meal, which was over before eight o'clock.
We groped our way in darkness along the deck when we left the little
wardroom, and there was then nowhere to sit except on the dark deck or
in the dark cabins; it was so hot that the cabin doors had to be kept
open, and the evenings spent on the _Wolf_ were certainly very dreary.
Most of us agreed with Dr. Johnson that "the man in gaol has more room,
better food, and commonly better company than the man in the ship, and
is in safety," and felt we would rather be in gaol on shore, for then we
should be in no risk of being killed at any moment by our own people,
our cells would have been larger than our cabins, and our food possibly
not much worse, and our gaol would at least have been stationary and not
rolling about, though it must be confessed the _Wolf_ was a good sea
boat.
She had been one of the Hansa line before the war, called the
_Wachfels_, was about 6,000 tons, single screw, with a speed of about
ten knots at the outside. She had been thoroughly adapted for her work
as a raider, had four torpedo tubes and six guns (said to be 4.7), with
concrete emplacements, not to mention machine and smaller guns--to be
used against the prisoners if they should attempt escape, etc.--none of
which could be seen by a passing ship, to which the _Wolf_ looked, as
she was intended to look, exactly like an innocent neutral tramp painted
black. This was in itself a camouflage--she needed no other. When in
action her bulwarks dropped, giving free play to her guns and torpedoes.
There was telephonic communication between her bridge and every gun and
every part of the ship; she carried a huge searchlight, her masts and
funnel were telescopic, and she could rig an extra funnel. She carried
large supplies of bombs, hand grenades, rifles and small arms; had
hospitals with two doctors on board; the officers had the best and most
powerful binoculars; among her crew of more than three hundred were
representatives of every trade; she was thoroughly well equipped in
every way, and absolutely nothing seemed to have been forgotten. There
were, it was said, only three of the officers who were Imperial Navy
men; the Commander, the Artillery Officer, and the Lieutenant in charge
of the prisoners. All the other officers and a great many of the crew
were from the German mercantile marine, who had travelled with, mixed
with, and lived with Englishmen in many parts of the world. To this we
undoubtedly owed the kindly treatment we received on board, treatment
which was infinitely better than we expected to receive. The majority of
the officers and men were certainly kindly disposed towards us. There is
no doubt, however, that the fear we might be taken by a British cruiser
also had something to do with this treatment, for if we had been treated
badly the Germans knew they would have had cause to regret it had they
been captured.
In a conversation with the Lieutenant in charge of the prisoners--who,
by the way, had a Scottish mother--I remarked that it was very hard on
our relations and friends not knowing what had become of us. He agreed
that it was, but added it was no worse for my relations than it was for
his! They did not know where he was either! "No," I replied, "but you
are out doing your duty and serving your country, and when you left home
your people knew they would have no news of you for many months. It is
quite different with us. We are not out to be ingloriously taken
prisoner, we were simply travelling on business, being compelled to do
so. We are not serving our country by being caught and kept in this way,
and our relatives did not expect us to disappear and send them no news
of ourselves for a long time." However, he affected not to see the
difference between our case and his; just as the sailors often told the
prisoners aft that in case of the _Wolf_ going into action it would be
no worse for the prisoners than it was for the fighting crew!
We were forbidden to talk to the crew, but under cover of the darkness
some of them, a great number of whom spoke English, were only too glad
to speak to us. We learnt from them that the _Wolf_ had been out a year;
they were all very "fed up" with it all, tired of the life, tired of the
sea, tired of the food, longing to get home, and longing for the war to
end. They had, too, no doubts as to how it would end, and were certain
that the _Wolf_ would get back to Germany whenever she wished to do so.
Of course we assured them that they were utterly mistaken, and that it
would be absolutely impossible for the _Wolf_ ever to get through the
British blockade or see Germany again.
They were certain three things would bring them victory: their
submarines, the defection of Russia, who would soon be made to conclude
peace with Germany, and the fact that in their opinion America had
entered the war too late. The submarines, too, would not allow a single
transport to reach European waters!
While on the _Wolf_ we heard of the great reverse to the Italian arms.
We were told that half a million prisoners and thousands of guns were
taken, and that there was no longer an Italian army! Germany had strafed
one more country and knocked her out of the war. This made their early
victory still more certain! Their spirits may be imagined when this news
of Italy's disaster was received.
The interests of the _Wolf_ were now, to a certain extent, identical
with our own--that we should not meet an Allied cruiser. A notice was
posted in some of our cabins saying that in that event the women with
their husbands, and some other prisoners, would be put into boats with a
white flag, "if weather and other conditions permitted." We often
wondered whether they _would_ permit! The other prisoners, however,
viz. those under the poop and on the 'tween decks, would have had no
chance of being saved. They would all have been battened down under
hatches (this, indeed, was done whenever the _Wolf_ sighted or captured
a ship, when mines were being sown, and when gun and other drill was
carried on) and armed guards with hand grenades sent among them. It made
us furious to see, as we did many times, our friends being driven below
by armed guards. Their fate, if the _Wolf_ had gone into action, would
have been too terrible to contemplate. For the lifeboats on the _Wolf_
could not possibly have accommodated more than 350 souls, and it is
certain no prisoners would have been among this number.
The Captain and officers of the _Wolf_ must have had some very anxious
moments on many occasions. When passing close to other ships, as she had
done in the comparatively narrow waters of the Java Sea, all the
prisoners were sent below, and we were told that the few officers and
crew visible to a passing ship discarded their naval uniform and
appeared in kit suitable for the officers and crew of a tramp. We also
heard that on one occasion in narrow waters in the Far East the _Wolf_
passed quite close to a Japanese cruiser at night. Both ships were in
darkness, every man on the _Wolf_ was at his station, and at the
slightest sign from the cruiser the _Wolf's_ guns and torpedoes would
have immediately come into action. But the _Wolf's_ good luck did not
desert her, and the Japanese cruiser passed away into the night without
having given any sign that she had seen the raider.
The _Wolf_, with a company of over seven hundred on board, sailed away
on a south-westerly course for the next two days, and the usual routine
of the ship went on, but no further gun or other drills took place. Soon
after daybreak on November 10th a sailor came along and locked us all in
our cabins, armed guards patrolled the deck, and a short time after an
officer came to each cabin and informed us there was a steamer on the
starboard side which the _Wolf_ intended to capture. He told us the
_Wolf_ would fire on her to stop, and provided all of us with
cotton-wool to insert in our ears while the guns were being fired! The
Germans had had no scruples about firing on the _Hitachi_, though they
could have seen there were women on board, but on this occasion they
were so considerate as to give us cotton-wool for our ears, that our
nerves might not be shaken--a truly German touch! We waited for the
sound of the guns, but nothing happened, and in about half an hour the
same officer came along and said to us, "Don't be fearful; the other
ship has stopped, and there will be no firing!" Our cabin doors were
unlocked, the men on the upper deck were allowed out, the ladies were
requested not to show themselves on deck, and another officer ran along
the deck saying "We've catched her, we've catched her; a neutral this
time!"
The "catched" vessel had stopped and was lying very near the _Wolf_. The
name on her stern proclaimed her to be the _Igotz Mendi_, of Bilbao, and
she was flying the Spanish flag. In a short time a prize crew, with
Lieutenant Rose in command, left the _Wolf_ in her motor launch, and
proceeded to the other ship. After they had been aboard her a few
minutes, a message came back that the Spanish ship was from Delagoa Bay
to Colombo with a cargo of 5,800 tons of coal for the British Admiralty
authorities in Ceylon. So the Germans would not after all have to intern
the _Wolf_ and her prize in a neutral country--if she could reach
one--at any rate from lack of coal, as we fondly imagined might have
been the case. Here was just the cargo our captors wanted to annex, but
the chagrin of the Germans may be imagined when they realized that they
had captured this ship just three days too late to save the _Hitachi_.
Here was a ship with ample coal which, had it been captured a few days
before, would have enabled the Germans to save the _Hitachi_ and take
her as a prize to Germany, with all of us on board as prisoners, as they
had always desired to do. Other German raiders had occasionally been
able to do so with one or two of their prizes. Had the _Hitachi_ arrived
in Germany, she would have been rechristened the _Luchs_, the name of a
former German war vessel with which the Prize Captain had had
associations.
The _Igotz Mendi_ had left Lourenço Marques on November 5th, and was due
at Colombo on the 22nd. Before 9 a.m. on the morning of the capture both
ships had turned about, the prize now being in command of the Germans,
and were going back on the course the _Wolf_ had followed since the
destruction of the _Hitachi_. Discussion was rife among the prisoners as
to what would be done with the new capture, and whether the Commander of
the _Wolf_ would redeem his promise to transfer the married couples to
the "next ship caught."