HOW I MADE MONEY IN RUHLEBEN CAMP
The aimless life, such as it was generally pursued in Ruhleben Camp,
became exceedingly distasteful to me. It conduced to brooding and moping
over things at home, to fretting and becoming anxious as to how one's
wife and family were faring? While recreation offered a certain amount
of distraction, it speedily lost its novelty and began to pall. There
were many of us who were by no means sufficiently flush in pocket to
indulge wildly in amusements, and yet money was absolutely
indispensable, because with the sinews of war we were able to secure
supplementary food from the canteen.
Some of the methods which were practised to improve the shining hour
were distinctly novel. There was a young Cockney who, upon his return
home, will undoubtedly blossom into a money-making genius, that is if
his achievements in Ruhleben offer any reliable index to his
proclivities. He would gather a party of seventy or eighty prisoners
round him. Then, producing a five-mark piece, he would offer to raffle
it at ten pfennigs--one penny--apiece. The possibility of picking up
five shillings for a penny made an irresistibly fascinating appeal. It
struck the traditional sporting chord of the British character and a
shower of pennies burst forth. The deal was soon completed, and everyone
was content with the result. Someone bought the five-shilling piece for
the nimble penny, while the Cockney chuckled with delight because he had
raked in some seven shillings or so for his five mark piece!
When I decided to experiment in commerce I was in some doubt as to what
would offer the most promising line. After due reflection I decided to
start as a launderer, specialising in washing shirts at ten pfennigs, or
one penny, apiece. A shirt dresser was certainly in request because the
majority of the prisoners, possessing only a severely limited stock,
were compelled to wear the one garment continuously for several weeks.
At the end of that time it was generally discarded once and for all. But
the shirts I found to be extremely soiled, and demanded such hard and
prolonged scrubbing, in which operation an unconscionably large amount
of soap was consumed, that I found the enterprise to be absolutely
unprofitable, while I received little else than a stiff, sore back and
soft hands. So this first venture, after bringing in a few hard-earned
shillings, was abandoned.
Then I undertook to wash up the table utensils, charging a party
twopence per meal. This would have brought me greater reward had I
adhered to my original intention. But one day the member of a party
genially suggested, "We'll toss for it! Twopence or nothing!" I accepted
the offer good-humouredly and--lost! By accepting this sporting
recommendation I unfortunately established a ruinous precedent. The
practice became general, and I, having a wretched run of bad luck, found
that, all things considered, it would be better for my hands and pocket
if I were to look farther afield for some other enterprise.
My third attempt to woo Fortune was to set myself up as a dealer in
cast-off boots and shoes, my idea being to buy, sell and exchange. To my
chagrin I speedily discovered that this calling demanded unlimited
capital, because it was easier to buy than to sell or to exchange.
Seeing that the average price I was prepared to pay was one shilling per
pair, and the state of excruciating depression which prevailed in this
field, I conjured visions of immense stocks of second-hand boots,
representing a heavy investment of capital, which would lie idle for an
indefinite period. So I retired discreetly from the second-hand boot and
shoe trade to seek more promising pastures.
While pondering over the situation a happy idea struck me. In my younger
days I had practised engraving, intending to adopt it as a trade. I
devoted some six years to the craft and had achieved a measure of
success and dexterity. Thereupon I decided to launch out in this
direction. Although I felt that my hand had lost some of its cunning
through lack of practice--I had not touched an engraving tool for about
thirteen years--I decided to take the risk, feeling sure that it would
soon return when I settled down to the fascinating work in grim earnest.
I confided my intention to one or two of my friends, but the majority,
except my bosom chum K----, who is a far-seeing business man, with their
innate shrewdness, wanted to know where I was going to get any custom in
such a place as Ruhleben Camp. I explained that my idea was to engrave
watches, coins, studs links, indeed any article which the prisoners
possessed, thus converting them into interesting souvenirs of their
sojourn in a German prisoners' camp during the Great War. But with the
exception of K---- they declined to see eye to eye with me. Still I was
not to be dissuaded, and consequently decided to commence operations
upon my own initiative.
I was in a quandary. I had not sufficient capital to buy the necessary
tools. However, K----, as usual, came to my assistance by financing me
to the extent of seven-and-sixpence! This money I laid out upon tools,
[*gap] Now I was confronted with another problem. How was I to keep the
tools in the necessary sharpened condition. The only stone I could
borrow was quite useless for engraving tools, while cutting plays such
havoc with the edges of the tools as to demand frequent recourse to
sharpening operations. However this obstacle did not daunt me. I found
that with a sufficient expenditure of energy I could get a passably
sharp edge for my purpose by grinding the tools on the floor and
finishing them off upon a razor strop which I borrowed.
Now I had to seek for eligible premises. I sauntered round the camp to
alight upon a tiny vacant building. As it appeared to have no owner, and
was fulfilling no useful purpose I entered into possession. Directly I
had installed myself the authorities came along and unceremoniously
ejected me, bag and baggage. As soon as their backs were turned I
re-entered into occupation. I was thrown out a second time, but still as
resolutely determined as ever to continue my project I cast around and
ultimately found an empty kiosk, standing forlorn and neglected, a
silent memory of the brisk racing days at Ruhleben in pre-war times. I
installed myself therein, not caring two straws whether the authorities
endeavoured to turn me out or not. They would have to smash the place
over my head before they evicted me this time, but they were scarcely
likely to proceed to such extreme measures seeing that they would have
had to break up their own property.
Numerous jealous individuals attempted to eject me time after time but I
sat tight. I remember one tender and amiable official who endeavoured to
convince me that the kiosk and other similar buildings were under his
charge, and that he was responsible for them. As he narrated the
situation I observed that he kept the open palm of his hand extended
before me. When he found this broad hint to be of no avail he ordered me
out of the building. Turning to him I suggested, in as suave a voice as
I could command, that he should accompany me to the "Wachter" to
ascertain the extent of his responsibilities and to have the matter
thrashed out once and for all. Needless to say he declined this
invitation, protesting that it was unnecessary. He invited me to retain
occupation of the kiosk. My bluff completely outwitted the official in
question, while I achieved my end for once without recourse to bribery
and corruption of the official Teuton mind.
Several subsequent attempts were made to coax me out of my tenancy, but
I may say that in sticking to the building I played the Germans at their
own game. When the guard came up and authoritatively demanded by what
manner of right or permission I had taken possession of the kiosk I
politely referred him to a certain officer in the camp. When the latter,
upon receiving the complaint, interrogated me in a similar vein, I
referred him to another official. When this third individual appeared
upon the scene I switched him off to another officer. By playing off the
officials one against the other in this manner I precipitated such a
tangle among them that no single official could say whether he had or
had not given me permission. While these tactics were being pursued I
was gaining the valuable time I desired, and took the opportunity to
entrench myself firmly in my position. The outcome was that when finally
the matter had been trotted through the Ruhleben German Circumlocution
Office, and my eviction was officially sealed, I warded off the fate by
announcing that I was overwhelmed with engraving orders for the military
officers of the camp. It was a desperate bluff, but it succeeded.
Officialdom apparently decided that I was better left alone, so I
suffered no further molestation.
The whole of the night before opening my engraving business I sat up
writing flaring signs and tickets to advertise my intentions far and
wide, and soliciting the favour of orders which under my hand would
convert this or that object into a priceless souvenir of our novel
experience. I also canvassed the camp to explain my ideas, and, as I
expected, orders commenced to flow in. The souvenir idea caught on to
such a degree as to compel me to take in two fellow-prisoners, who
evinced an aptitude for the work, as apprentices, and they speedily
blossomed into craftsmen. My first week told me I had struck the correct
money-making line at last. I found I had scooped in 200 marks--£10!
This was not bad for the first week's trading and I entertained no
apprehensions concerning the future. Out of this sum I was able to repay
many little debts I had incurred.
The business developed so rapidly that an extension of premises became
urgent. I rigged up an addition to the kiosk, but it had to be of a
portable character, so that it could be taken down every evening. As I
found my time was so occupied I reluctantly decided to keep only to the
kiosk. I dressed its interior with shelves and further improved my
premises by contriving show cases for attachment outside.
When I felt my feet I blossomed out in various directions. I bought a
small stock of odds and ends in the cheap jewellery line, which were
suitably engraved. Button decorations was one line I took up and these
sold like wildfire. There was plenty of money in the camp, some of the
prisoners being extremely wealthy, and this explains why my trade
flourished so amazingly. Indeed, the results exceeded even my most
sanguine anticipations.
One branch of my fertility nearly landed me into serious trouble. I
fashioned souvenirs out of German coins. I erased the Imperial head and
in its place engraved a suitable inscription. When the defacement of the
money was discovered there was a fearful uproar, but as usual I
contrived to escape the terrible punishment which was threatened.
Naturally one will wonder how it was I secured my supplies, seeing that
purchases outside the camp were forbidden except through the officially
approved channels. While it is inadvisable for me to relate how I did
secure my varied stocks I may state that I never experienced any
disappointment or even a hitch in this connection. Time after time I was
taxed by military individuals, eager to secure incriminating evidence,
but although they cajoled, coaxed and threatened I could not be induced
to betray my secret. Indeed, at last, I point-blank refused to furnish
any information upon this matter whatever, and with this adamantine
decision they were forced to remain content. Doubtless they had their
suspicions but it was impossible to bring anything home to me and so I
was left in peace.
From cheap jewellery I advanced to more costly articles. I purchased a
job lot of silver wrist watches from a Jew who had gone "broke," and
these I cleared out within a very short time. I always paid spot cash
and that was an overwhelming factor in my favour. Indeed, my trading
operations became so striking that my name and business proceeded far
beyond the confines of the camp. Within a few weeks of opening my shop I
was receiving calls from men in the camp who were acting as
representatives for some of the foremost Jewish wholesale houses in
Germany, and they were almost fighting among themselves to secure my
patronage. My biggest individual purchasing deal was a single lot of
jewellery for which I paid nearly 1,000 marks--£50! From this, bearing
in mind the difficulties which I had to overcome in securing delivery,
it is possible to gain some idea of the brisk trade I was doing.
Everything and anything capable of being converted into a souvenir by
the dexterous use of the engraving tool was handled by me
indiscriminately. I bought a large consignment of briar pipes. Upon the
bowls of these I cut a suitable inscription and filled the incisions
with enamel. These caught the fancy of the smokers and I soon found my
stock exhausted. As things developed I became more ambitious, although
not reckless, until at last I had articles ranging up to £30 in price
upon my shelves, in the disposal of which I experienced very little
difficulty.
My shop became my one absorbing hobby although it boasted no
pretensions. I contrived attractive show cases, some from egg-boxes,
emblazoning the exterior with striking show cards and signs which I
executed in the confines of my horse-box in the barracks after my
comrades had gone to sleep. Not satisfied with this development I
lighted the building brilliantly by means of electric lamps and a large
flame acetylene lamp.
I did not confine myself to any one line of goods, but handled any thing
capable of being turned into money quickly. In some instances I had to
resort to extreme subterfuge to outwit the authorities. On one occasion
I purchased a consignment of silk Union Jacks for wearing in the lapel
of the coat. I knew full well that if I placed these on sale in my shop
the stern hand of authority would swoop down swiftly and confiscate the
hated emblem without the slightest compunction. So I evolved a special
means of clearing them out and that within a very few minutes.
I went round to each barrack and button-holed a capable man to undertake
to sell a certain number of the flags among the prisoners domiciled in
his building. On the offer of a good commission the man was ready to
incur great risks, although there was no risk in my plan. Each man thus
received a territorial right as it were, and was protected against
competition. The price was fixed and the arrangements for effecting the
sale carefully drawn up. After the morning parade, the custom was to
dismiss us to our barracks a few minutes before nine o'clock. We were
compelled to stay within doors for some twenty minutes or so. This I
decided to be the opportune occasion to unload my stock. I enjoined
every vendor, when I handed him his stock overnight, to be on the alert
in the morning, and as the clock struck nine to pass swiftly from man to
man with his flags. The favour was a distinct novelty and I was positive
they would sell like hot cakes.
The scheme proved a howling success. Within five minutes after the
appointed hour every man had been cleared out. The flags were
triumphantly pinned to the lapels of the coats. When the prisoners
re-emerged from the barracks the guards were astounded by the brilliant
display of Union Jacks. The array was so imposing that the authorities
even realised the futility of stopping each prisoner in turn to rob him
of his prize. In this manner I got rid of several hundreds of the little
trophies in one swoop.
As may be imagined there was an enquiry to ascertain how these flags had
been introduced into the camp. The prisoners were interrogated, but no
prisoner appeared to know anything about the matter. He invariably
retorted that he had purchased it from "some fellow or other" and had
stuck it in his button-hole. Never for a moment did the authorities
suspect that I had anything to do with the transaction. It was out of my
ostensible line, so that I escaped suspicion. The chortling which took
place at the complete discomfiture of the authorities and the manner in
which they had been outwitted is recalled vividly to this day. It was
one of many incidents which served to vary the monotony of camp life.
[*large gap]
On August Bank Holiday, 1915, the authorities considerately permitted us
to have a day's junketting. We were to be at liberty to do exactly as we
pleased. Indeed, we were urged to enjoy ourselves thoroughly and we did
not require a second urging. The football ground was converted into a
fair. No restrictions whatever were imposed upon us. The authorities
themselves were so enthused with this concession to us as to give us
several days' notice of their intentions to enable us to make any
preparations we considered fit, while we were not faced with any
obstacles in the rigging up of side-shows, gambling halls and what not.
The concession was particularly attractive to me, as I recalled that it
was upon the previous August Bank Holiday I had been arrested on the
charge of espionage and consigned to Wesel Prison. The rivalry amongst
us was astonishing, while there were many wonderful manifestations of
fertility and ingenuity. One prisoner spent 1,000 marks--£50--in rigging
up his booth, which was somewhat reminiscent of an Aunt Sally at home.
My two friends, K---- and F----, contrived a golfing game which proved
a huge financial success. I myself rigged up a billiard table on which
was played a very unorthodox game of billiards, and which, because of
its departure from conventionality, created a sensation. It was really a
revival of a game or wheeze which I had learned many years before.
The billiard table was contrived from the wooden sides to my bed. I
secured them side by side to give a flat surface 6 feet long by 5 feet
wide. Over the upper surface I stretched and tacked down a sheet to form
the cloth. I bought a broomstick and with the assistance of the camp
carpenter shaved it down to form a passable cue, tipping the end with a
small piece of leather cut from my boot. The table was rigged up in the
open air, boxes and barrels serving as the legs, while it was levelled
as far as practicable. There was only one ball. At the opposite end--on
the spot--I placed two match-boxes set at an angle to one another and
just sufficiently far apart to prevent the ball passing between them.
The unusual game was to play the ball at the boxes in such a manner as
to knock both of them over together. It seems a simple thing to do, but
I would merely advise the reader to try it. Probably he will learn
something to his advantage.
I assumed fancy dress. I secured a big top hat, a pair of trousers much
too baggy and big for me, a swallow-tail coat with tails formed of white
and red strips--a regular Uncle Sam's costume--had a big flaming bow
about twelve inches in width and a ridiculous monocle. I think my
rig-out transformed me into a hybrid of Brother Jonathan, Charlie
Chaplin and an English dude. My dress was completed by a biscuit tin
suspended by a band from my shoulder and in which I rattled my money. On
the face of the tin I wrote--
Come along! Come along!! Come along!!!
Always open to make. Always open to lose.
Come along B'hoys!
I then stood on a box and told the tale characteristic of a man at the
fair for the first time in my life.
Seeing that I was the only man attired in fancy dress I became the
centre of attraction as I desired and as much among the guards who mixed
and joked with us freely on this Great Day, as among my
fellow-prisoners. It also served as a striking advertisement for my game
of unconventional billiards, which was my intention. My terms were ten
pfennigs--one penny--a shot and round my table the fun grew fast and
furious. It seemed so absurdly easy to knock the two boxes down at once,
but when the billiard experts settled down to the game they found that
only about one shot in fifty proved successful. Indeed the ability to
knock the two boxes over simultaneously was found to be so difficult as
to be exasperatingly fascinating, and as a result of their repeated and
abortive efforts I made money quickly. The table was kept going hard the
whole day, by the end of which I found I had raked in several pounds in
nimble pennies.
The other side-shows also did excellent business, especially the
gambling tables where roulette was in full swing. At the end of the day
all the roulette boards and other gambling impedimenta were confiscated.
This was the arrangement. But between sunrise and sunset we did not
suffer the slightest interference with our enjoyment and merriment. This
unexpected spell of free action revived the spirits of the prisoners to
a remarkable degree, and we were all warmly grateful to the German
authorities for allowing us to do and to enjoy ourselves exactly as we
pleased for even one brief day. It was a Bank Holiday according to the
British interpretation of the term, and I, in common with all my
fellow-prisoners, must certainly admit that it was the jolliest day I
remember during the whole period of my incarceration, and the _only_ day
on which we were allowed to indulge in sport _ad lib._ and according to
the dictates of our fancies. I mention this concession because I am
anxious to give credit to the Germans where it is due.
[*large gap]
I was not only making sufficient money out of my various commercial
transactions to keep myself in clover within the camp, but I was
successful in finding means to remit some of my income, earned in
Ruhleben, to England "To keep the Home Fires Burning." This I considered
to be a distinct achievement, especially as I was making it at the
expense of my captors.
Only once did I have an acute shock. It was at the time when the Germans
were making such frantic efforts to rake in all the gold upon which they
could place their hands. In my stock was a certain gold article which
had cost me £30, as well as another item also of this metal which I had
secured at the low price of £20. An officer swooped down upon my kiosk
and went through my stock. I trembled as to what would happen when he
alighted upon the two valuable articles. He picked up the first named
article, examined the metal critically, and then asked me how much I
wanted for it.
"Three marks!" I ventured nonchalantly, with a view to taking him off
his guard.
"But it's gold," he persisted, staggered at the idea of being able to
buy such an adornment for the trivial sum of three shillings.
My heart thumped as he held the article hesitatingly. If he offered me
three shillings for it I should be bound to accept it in which event I
should be a heavy loser over the deal. So I went on desperately:
"Well, if you think it's gold why don't you buy it for three marks? I
will give no guarantee, so don't come back and say it's only metal!"
Then assuming a deprecating tone I continued: "It is got up only for
show. It looks very pretty, but you couldn't give it to a lady!"
He appeared to be quite satisfied because he replaced it, while when he
picked up the other item I pitched a corresponding yarn. After he had
taken his departure I promptly transferred the two articles to a place
of safety in case he should take it into his head to make another
examination.
It was on June 1 when I embarked upon my engraving venture, and my two
apprentices and myself were kept hard at it the livelong day, the
pressure of business being so great. My own working hours, so long as
daylight permitted, were from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. About September I
concluded the moment to be ripe to consummate my one absorbing idea--to
get home. I was now in a position financially to complete the plans I
had laid long since. I had to tread warily, but by the end of October I
was secure in my position. Still, although confident of success, I did
not relax my interest in business, because my plans were just as likely
to go wrong as to succeed at the last minute. Moreover at the end of
November I had the intense satisfaction of learning that my profit as a
result of five months' trading was £150! I considered this to be
extremely satisfactory. An average profit of £7 10s. per week exceeded
my rosiest anticipations, and it now seems additionally remarkable when
I recall the limited confines and the restricted clientèle of Ruhleben
Camp. But the greatest satisfaction I have is knowing that I completely
outwitted my oppressors, because I was not supposed to trade as I did.
It was a telling example of stolen fruits being the sweetest.