CHAPTER XI_Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, Ruhleben

THE REIGN OF TERROR

Major Bach, in common with the average Prussian officer, who has

suddenly become invested with a certain degree of authority, evinced a

weird delight in emphasising his power at every opportunity. He was an

unbending apostle of steel-bound discipline, such as is practised in

Germany.

Until his arrival we were in the habit of parading once a day--at 6

a.m.--with evening parades, twelve hours later, upon occasion. But Major

Bach introduced the third mid-day parade. A little later he suddenly

thought that a fourth parade was necessary, the respective hours being

six, twelve, two, and six. Even this programme did not satisfy his love

of power and arrogance, because at frequent intervals he would suddenly

summon two additional parades and for no ostensible reason, except to

harass us.

Parade was probably the most irksome duty we had to fulfil inasmuch as

we were then treated to insults of every description. The Commandant was

a martinet of the worst type. We were supposed to trim ourselves up and

to look as spick and span as we could under the circumstances. This was

more particularly demanded when a notable visitor--visitors were few and

far between--came to the camp to perform a perfunctory inspection to

satisfy the authorities in Berlin that the prisoners of war were being

well and kindly tended. But some of us were not disposed to bow meekly

to the tyrant's despotic orders. Instead of parading upon such occasions

in the white convict-like suits, which by the way we were supposed and

indeed asked to purchase, so that we might present a smart uniform

appearance, we preferred to don our own clothes, although they were now

showing sad signs of wear and tear. Naturally the immaculate Major

resented our refusal to fulfil his bidding, thus producing vivid

blemishes upon the prim appearance of the lines, but we always succeeded

in producing an excuse which was so ostensibly reasonable as to escape

his wrath and consignment to some punishment.

The most irritating feature of these parades was the length of time we

were kept waiting in the scorching sun upon the convenience of his

"Excellency." To him it was nothing that we should be kept standing at

attention for an hour or more, while the guards, steeped in discipline

as they were, took a fiendish pleasure in keeping us up to the mark. I

recall one parade very vividly. The heat was intense: the thermometer

must have been at least 110 degrees in the sun. We paraded at two

o'clock as usual and were brought to attention. Major Bach was

momentarily expected, but he did not come upon the scene until 4.45. For

2¾ hours we were kept in the broiling sun, and none of us being in the

pink of condition owing to the wretched and inadequate food, we soon

commenced to betray signs of fatigue. On this occasion, even the German

guards could not adhere to the disciplinary rule. When we abandoned the

rigid attention attitude for others more or less comfortable they

followed our example, although they maintained a discreet alertness for

the coming of the Commandant so that we might be brought to attention

before he appeared upon the scene.

One of the prisoners had been a Japanese trapezist and juggler. He was

very old. He said, and we agreed, he was about 75 years of age. But the

German authorities arbitrarily assessed his age at 54 years, and such it

had to be so long as it suited their purpose. He had toured the

vaudeville theatres and music halls in Germany for over 20 years, but he

was rounded up, and despite all his protestations concerning his age

was interned at Sennelager.

The age of the poor old fellow was perfectly obvious. He was very weak,

and indeed, quite incapable of performing the most simple duties set by

our Lord and Master. K----, the captain of our barrack--the Jap formed

one of our party--recognising the old man's incapacity and infirmities,

eased his unfortunate position as much as he dared. One man had to be

detached from each party when it went out to work, to serve as orderly

for the day, and his responsibility was to keep the barrack clean and

tidy during our absence. At every available opportunity, especially when

confronted with a severe day's work, K---- told off the old man as

orderly, the light work pertaining to which was within his capacity.

Upon the day of this particular parade the old man, enfeebled with age,

weak from want of food, and debilitated, could not resist the merciless

blazing sun. From sheer fatigue he sank to the ground. We in our pity

left him there, although we closed around him to shield him from the

eagle eyes of the vigilant guard. When Major Bach appeared suddenly we

all sprang hurriedly to attention. But our aged Japanese friend was not

so quick. The Commandant saw him sitting on the ground at the same

moment as the guard, also catching sight of him, rushed forward. The old

fellow was unmercifully hustled to his feet, although it was with only

an extreme effort that he could rise. Then he was treated to an outburst

of bullying and cursing from the Commandant such as we had never heard

before. He was threatened with this, that, and some other frightful

punishment if he dared to disobey any order in future. The old man, his

legs bent and quaking beneath him, listened with a pathetically helpless

demeanour. The tears coursed down his face as he shivered beneath the

string of oaths, curses, and imprecations that were rained upon him.

Many of us feared that he would be condemned for four hours to the tying

post, so infuriated was the despot of the camp, but he escaped this

terrible ordeal.

About four weeks after we had entered Sennelager permission was extended

to those who felt so disposed to enjoy the luxury of an open-air bath.

Seeing that we never had the chance of more than a wash in the bucket at

the pump, and were in urgent need of a dip, we accepted the offer with

alacrity. We were escorted under strong guard to a stream some distance

from the barracks and were given a quarter of an hour for our pleasure.

We hurriedly tore off our clothes and took advantage of every minute to

have a roaring joyous time in the water. Thoroughly refreshed we were

marched back to camp and told off to our various duties.

By this time every man in the camp had been assigned to some particular

task. Major Bach did not encourage idleness; it only fomented brooding

and moping over our position, was his argument. But he was also a

staunch believer in forced labour, which was quite a different thing.

Consequently we found ourselves condemned to some of the most filthy

tasks conceivable. Incidentally, however, these duties only served to

reveal still more convincingly the hollowness of Germany's preachings

concerning the principles of health and hygiene to the whole world while

herself practising the diametrically opposite. We were commanded to

clean out the military hospital.

Now, if there is one building among others in which one would expect to

discover scrupulous cleanliness it is a hospital, but this accommodation

provided for the German recruits was in an indescribably filthy

condition. The conveniences for the patients were in a deplorable state.

They had neither been disinfected nor cleaned for months. Fæcal matter

and other filth had been left to dry, harden and adhere with the

tenacity of glue to the surfaces. Its removal not only taxed our

strength to the supreme degree, but our endurance as well. The stench

was suffocating and nauseating. Even the foul aroma of the strong cheap

German tobacco which we were able to purchase at the canteen and to

smoke while at this task, if our sentry were genial, failed to smother

the more powerful and penetrating foul vapours which arose directly

water was applied.

We were also assigned to the repugnant duty of cleaning out the

latrines, which were of the most primitive character, and which

coincided with the facilities which one might anticipate among savages

but not in such a boasting civilised country as Germany. Both these

duties were loathsome, but I am afraid no one engaged on the tasks would

be able to express a conclusive opinion as to which was the worse.

The duties being so varied, operations often took us a little way from

the camp. The chance to get away even for a brief period from our

depressing and monotonous surroundings was seized with avidity.

Unfortunately, we feared that this system of forced labour would

culminate in our being assigned to the work of tending the crops. But we

made up our minds irrevocably to do no such thing no matter how we might

be punished. The Germans had failed to nourish us in an adequate manner,

and we were certainly not going to enable them to secure a sufficiency

of food at our expense. Indeed, the one or two attempts which were made

to impress us to toil on the land, proved highly disastrous because

considerable damage was inflicted from our ignorance of agriculture and

gardening.

Some of us were given the garden which belonged to the old General who

had been in charge at Sennelager when we first arrived, to keep in

condition. This official was an enthusiastic amateur gardener and

cherished a great love for flowers. Seeing that during his régime we had

received considerate treatment within limitations, we cherished no

grudge against him. Again, the fact that his garden was to be kept going

led us to hope that the duration of Major Bach's reign over us was

merely temporary and that our former guardian would soon be returning.

We knew that in such an event our lot would be rendered far easier, so

we nursed his little plot of ground with every care and displayed just

as much interest in its welfare as if it had been our own. But the old

General never came back to Sennelager, at least not during my period of

imprisonment there.

There was one party of British prisoners whom Major Bach singled out for

especially harsh and brutal treatment. The invincible High Seas Fleet

upon one of its sporadic ventures into salt water during the very

earliest days of the war, stumbled across a fleet of Grimsby trawlers

unconcernedly pursuing their usual peaceful occupation. The whole of the

fishermen were made prisoners and were dispatched to Sennelager.

But Major Bach stedfastly refused to believe that they were simple

fishermen pursuing their ordinary tasks. To his narrow and distorted

mind a man on a trawler was only toiling in the sea for one or both of

two purposes. The one was laying mines; the other was mine-sweeping.

Consequently he decided to mark these unfortunate hardened sea-salts in

a distinguishing manner which was peculiarly his own, thereby rendering

them conspicuous and possible of instant recognition, while in the event

of an escape being attempted, no difficulty would be experienced in

identifying and catching the runaways. Each man was submitted to the

indignity of having one half of his head shaved clean, one half of his

moustache removed, or one half of his beard cut away. The men branded in

this manner presented a strange spectacle, and one which afforded Major

Bach endless amusement. In addition a flaming big "Z" was printed boldly

upon the back of the coat of each man. This letter comprises the initial

of the German word "zivil," and means that the wearer is neither a

criminal nor a military prisoner. It will be observed, however, that

the Commandant declined to recognise these fishermen as being naval

prisoners, which somewhat contradicted his assertion concerning their

alleged crime. At a subsequent date, I might mention, every civilian

prisoner was branded with the "Z" in a similar manner.

These fishermen were watched very closely, were hunted and harassed at

every turn without mercy, and all things considered, experienced an

abnormally hard time. Up to the day of my release from Ruhleben on

December 6, 1915, but one of those old salts had been released, and had

been returned to his country. We were informed at Sennelager that the

authorities were determined, at all hazards, to keep these "diabolical

fiends" as they were termed, in durance vile, until the termination of

the war. However, one of them fell seriously ill after his transference

from Sennelager to Ruhleben. His condition became so serious as to bring

about his hurried exchange, the authorities dreading that he would die

while in their charge, and thus adversely affect the low death-rate

reputation of a German prison camp!

Our hair was growing long, owing to the absence of cutting facilities.

Mine had almost reached my shoulders, but I was extremely careful to

submit it to a thorough wash every morning because I shared the fear of

many of my companions that, owing to the congestion of the camp, we

should be overrun with vermin. Undoubtedly Major Bach also anticipated

such a state of affairs, because one morning he appeared upon parade

with a pair of clippers which he had unearthed from somewhere and curtly

commanded every man to submit to a hair-cut.

The position of official barber to the camp was assigned to an

Englishman named L----, who I think might be accurately described as our

official humorist. Armed with this weapon, and although absolutely

ignorant of the new calling thrust upon him, delighted to secure some

change to the monotonous round of toil, L---- entered upon his work

with commendable zest. But he construed the duty into a form of

amusement, and played sorry tricks with the heads which came into his

hands. Some he shaved so clean as to present the appearance of a

billiard ball, but others he evidently considered to be worthy of French

poodle treatment. He took a humorous delight in executing some of the

most fantastic and weird designs it is possible to imagine, much to the

discomfort and chagrin of his unwilling clients. Still his quaint

expression of craftmanship and artistry contributed somewhat to the

restricted hilarity and mirth of the camp.

I, myself, sternly refused to entrust my head to L----'s hands. I

naturally thought that I should receive a smart punishment for thus

flying in the face of the autocratic order which had gone forth, but

strange to say I found Major Bach somewhat reasonable on this point.

This is about the only redeeming feature I can offer concerning Major

Bach's rule over us. I think, however, that he was somewhat more closely

observant than was generally supposed to be the case, because those of

us who escaped the hair-cutting precaution happened to be the very

prisoners who were unremitting in their efforts to preserve unassailable

personal cleanliness. No doubt L---- was disappointed to be deprived of

a few possible heads upon which to demonstrate his quaint skill, but we

succeeded in escaping from his clutches.

Although vermin did overrun the camps, not only of Sennelager, but of

other prisons of whose interiors I made the acquaintance, I can assert

truthfully that I was never troubled with the unsolicited company of

body lice, and only once or twice discovered one or two unwelcome

strangers in my hair. The coarse and harsh German soap effectively

rendered my hair untenantable. But some of the prisoners were

overwhelmed and presented terrifying spectacles. It was here that the

superiority of the Britisher in matters pertaining to personal hygiene

towered over all the varying races by which he was surrounded, not even

excepting the Germans. From our own experience and observation it was

only too palpable that the Teuton soldiers are quite as careless in this

connection as the less enlightened peoples of south-eastern Europe,

because they were as severely infested--if not more so--with vermin.

One of the jobs set to us was making hay in an adjoining field and for

the purpose of getting away from the camp for a few hours many of us

volunteered for this toil. The hay had to be laden upon huge waggons,

the load thus easily exceeding that incidental to British hay-making

operations, and this had to be hauled to Paderborn for storage in lofts.

Although I was on the sick list at the time I could not resist the

chance to secure a glimpse of new surroundings and a few strange faces.

It was on this occasion that I made my first, but abortive, attempt to

escape. The sentry was dozing in the hot afternoon sun, having found a

soft couch on a haycock. I slunk off towards the trees which surround

the camp. Presently I spotted a sentry. I passed him safely and still

keeping to the trees pushed forward, only to be surprised to discover

another sentry standing on watch with his loaded rifle. Him, too, I

eluded, and was congratulating myself upon my success when I was

disturbed by the clattering of approaching horses. I peered through the

trees and saw a squadron of cavalry trotting towards me. I slipped into

the undergrowth to throw myself prone under a sheltering bush. The

soldiers passed within twelve feet of me. I held my breath half-dreading

that perhaps one of the horses, scenting something unusual, might give a

warning. I kept to my cover until the soldiers had disappeared from

sight. Then I stole out to wander stealthily forward. But I speedily

discovered that the further I got away from the camp the greater the

number of cavalry I encountered. Moreover it was easy to see that

manoeuvres and training were proceeding upon an extensive scale.

I realised the hopelessness of attempting to break through such a

cordon, so with extreme regret I decided to make my way back to the

hayfield. But the return was more difficult than the outward journey. I

had to slip the guards, who seemed to be uncannily alert and who, if

they had caught the slightest glimpse of me, would have blazed away with

their rifles without first yelling a challenge. But I dodged them all

and regaining the field sauntered up towards my guard with perfect

composure. He had missed me and had been looking round to see if I were

at a remote part of the field. As I approached he eyed me quizzically

and subjected me to a searching cross-examination to discover where I

had been. But he secured no satisfaction, beyond the sly hint that he

had not noticed me for the simple reason that he had been stealing a

snooze. I know he did not believe the answers I vouchsafed, but I was on

safe ground. Had he hauled me before the Commandant for attempting to

escape he knew very well that I should have retorted with the

countercharge that he had been sleeping at his post, in which assertion

I should have been supported by my friends. I held the trump card and he

was wise enough to realise the fact. Consequently, beyond telling me to

get on with my work he never ventured another word, nor did his attitude

towards me change in any way.

Afterwards I congratulated myself upon having responded to second

thoughts to return to the camp. I learned that the chances of escaping

from Sennelager were most slender. Not only were we interned in the

centre of a big military centre, somewhat comparable to our Aldershot,

but special precautions had been observed to frustrate escape. Sentries

were thrown out at distances of a few hundred yards while the system of

overlapping these guardians was of the most elaborate character. Such a

gauntlet was far too precarious and tight to be run with any chances of

success. The hue and cry would have been raised, and have been

transmitted to the outer rings of sentries before one had covered a

fourth of the danger zone.

We had to bale the hay on the waggon and when a full load had been

stowed aboard it was hauled away to the lofts. But we had no horses or

traction engines to drag the vehicles; every available beast and machine

had been requisitioned for the army. Still this factor did not perturb

our captors. British muscle could be used as a substitute for animals

and engines. Accordingly, about 30 of the imprisoned British tourists

were harnessed up to tug the weighty and cumbersome load over the heavy

three miles of road, badgered and baited by the guards. When we slowed

down under the effort, which was pretty exhausting upon a basin of

cabbage soup, we were spurred into the normal pace by the imprecations

of the soldiers.

In addition to the men tugging at the shafts two had to ride on top of

the load to keep it in order. The road led through a long avenue, the

lower branches of the trees lining which swept the top of the hay. It

taxed all our ingenuity and agility to avoid a mishap. Indeed, my

companion was swept off and thrown into the road with considerable

violence, sustaining severe bruises. It was rather by luck than judgment

that I did not share his fate.

When we reached the outskirts of Paderborn the guards called a halt, in

order to secure refreshment. We were also permitted, within limits, to

purchase eatables from the shops, for which, needless to say, we had to

pay exorbitantly.

[*large gap] we were able to secure a highly appreciated relief to our

monotonous and insufficient fare.

While the guards were enjoying themselves my companion and I, perched on

the top of the load, became the target for the jokes and gibes of the

curious crowd which had collected round the vehicle. One fellow in the

crowd was particularly impertinent and offensive with the result that we

soon became riled. He came close to the side of the wagon to shout some

particularly insulting epithet. With a dexterous movement my friend and

I, who had been watching patiently, severed the band holding a bale and

as it flew apart we gave the bale a smart push. It toppled over the side

to fall upon the head of our tormentor with a crash, felling him to the

ground and burying him completely. The guard, whom it missed narrowly,

gave a savage curse, but the fall appeared to be so obviously accidental

that he never for a moment considered the incident to have been

premeditated. The bullying, raw-boned young Prussian was extricated with

great difficulty and somewhat battered. His mouth, eyes, nostrils and

ears were choked with the hayseeds and he spluttered, coughed and yelled

in a terrifying manner. But he who a minute before had been so ready

with gibes at our expense was now jeered at by his comrades, in which

our guards joined boisterously. We, on the top had to give way to mirth.

Although we were compelled to gather the hay, remake the bale, and

reload it upon the vehicle we were so satisfied with our complete

revenge as to perform the task with a light heart.

Whenever we visited Paderborn, or the village of Sennelager, we never

omitted to load ourselves up with whatever food we could purchase. Those

who did not accompany us invariably gave us the wherewithal to secure

victuals for them.

[*large gap]

At first the shop-keepers were not disposed to deal with us, no doubt

fearing that they would be charged with complicity in these

transactions. [*gap]

As our visits became more frequent all hesitation upon the part of the

tradesmen vanished, and they accepted our money without the slightest

demur. We speedily discovered that the most rabid anti-British and

wildly patriotic German shopkeeper always succumbs to business. When

patriotism is pitted against pounds, shillings and pence, patriotism can

go hang.

[*large gap]

One of Major Bach's most diabolical acts of savagery was the closing of

the canteens in the camp to prisoners. This was the last straw, because

now we were compelled to subsist upon the slender and disgusting fare

served from the official cook-house. This doubtless was the express

reason which influenced the Commandant in his action. But we were not

disposed to allow him to have things all his own way. He promulgated the

order but it had to be enforced by his myrmidons. We found that the

canteen was still available to the guards, so forthwith we resorted to

corruption to evade Major Bach's decree. The guards having us in their

mercy, bled us unmercifully, the most trivial articles being procurable

only at an extravagant price. I paid a shilling for a loaf which I could

always obtain before the closing order came into force for twopence!