STRÖHEN
Previous to our departure Wolfe personally searched our belongings.
Although a long journey lay in front of us, he only allowed each
individual to carry two small tins of food. In reply to our protests
he said that, as things were always well arranged in Germany, our
luggage would therefore arrive at the same time as ourselves. This
was, of course, absolutely untrue, but we had to submit. During the
great search Wolfe, seeing that I was wearing a belt made of plaited
string (Yes, Mr. Wolfe, the belt in question was made of blind cord
cut from the _kurhaus_ windows!), and noting that it was something
unusual, ordered me to leave it behind. Taking it off, I politely
handed it to him, and expressed my hope that he would keep it as a
souvenir! With a charming smile he replied, "Three days _stuben_
arrest," which I acknowledged with a bow.
Outside the camp, on our way to the station we looked back and saw the
roll call was in progress. Thereupon we gave three cheers for the
many friends we were leaving behind us, in spite of the fact that
Wolfe and the commandant were on parade. We travelled second class and
at one station were even allowed to buy beer; our guards were quite
reasonable, and things in general went off pleasantly. We stayed some
time at an out-of-the-way station east of Osnabrück, where quite a
crowd of children collected. They scrambled excitedly for the sweets
and cigarettes which we threw them. Arriving at a little station
called Ströhen, which seemed to be on a large moor, we got out and
started for the camp, the German officer bringing up the rear in a
victoria. After ten minutes' walking down a lonely road we made out a
group of low wooden huts surrounded by high arc lamps and wire, on a
desolate moorland. Surely this could not be our destination, the good
camp we had been led to expect.
But after inquiring our guards told us it was, although they were
nearly as much surprised at its appearance as we were. At all events
we were determined to hide our feelings and look cheery. Quickening
our pace we approached the camp singing the almost forgotten song,
"Tipperary," were marched through the gates, and halted in front of a
small group of German officers, in the centre of the camp. We at once
distinguished the commandant, a major, with a first class iron cross
hanging from his collar. He was rather short and stout with a square
face; his grey whiskers terminated in a small double-pointed beard;
this completed his "Hunnish" appearance! With his hands behind his
back he welcomed us with a sullen stare, all the while puffing
stolidly at his cigar. Had the Huns rehearsed this scene for a week
they could not have given us a more heathen reception. No one even
made a show at politeness by a nod or a salute. A stout and ugly
sergeant-major (named Muller), wearing a gaudy blue and red uniform
and sword, bawled at us to dress by the right, as if he were
addressing a squad of recruits. He very nearly exploded when we
ignored his insolent words of command. A rather common little
interpreter commenced calling the roll, beginning with a captain, but
only shouting his surname, to which there was no response. When his
voice gradually rose to a shriek the Englishman stepped out and said,
"I suppose you mean Captain so-and-so." The interpreter explained
matters to the commandant, who must have realised that they were in
the wrong, for in future we were addressed by our proper rank.
(Victory No. 1.) We were each given a disc, on which was stamped our
camp number (mine is now residing at home), and shown into our rooms.
Late that night about two hundred fellows arrived from Crefeld, and
Muller, finding he could not intimidate them, made such a noise that
he was "choked off" by the commandant. We learnt that this place had
been built as a Russian reprisal camp, but that lately Roumanian
officers had been confined there. We were the first British these
people had ever had to deal with. Hence their very bad manners!
Now in a camp of this sort it is very necessary to stand up for one's
rights when treated unfairly, otherwise the Germans soon forget that
you have any rights; at the same time, if the treatment is fair, one
does one's best to avoid friction. The best instance of a result of
the former treatment occurred the next afternoon. When some of the
Crefeld party, who had been allowed to bring provisions with them,
found that it was not possible to obtain hot water for making tea,
some inventive person at once started a little fire of sticks outside
my room. Almost immediately a N.C.O. leading half a dozen armed men
appeared on the scene and told the offender in a dreadful voice to put
the fire out at once. Instead of complying the culprit dodged into a
barrack and out of a window on the opposite side and disappeared.
When the Huns were able to comprehend the audacity of this move they
had to put the fire out themselves. Half an hour later a sentry,
seeing three fires burning in the same place, strolled over and
quietly informed those concerned that fires were not allowed, and that
unless they were put out he would have to make a report to the
commandant. The result was that they were at once extinguished with
the aid of sand. Our baggage did not arrive for nearly a week; then,
instead of being given out, it was locked up for another five days
before we received it all. During this time we had to live on the
German food as best we could.
ACCOMMODATION.--Our quarters consisted of three long and two smaller
badly made huts, divided into rooms containing, mostly, two or six
officers. The mattresses were mostly dirty and hard, being stuffed
with paper and cardboard, which formed sharp edges and lumps. The
first week about ten of us found "creepy crawlies," and shortly before
our departure I succeeded in attracting some while in the camp
hospital! The Huns provided us with the German equivalent for
"Keating's" after much agitation, after making us pay for it. The
doctor said that the newly captured prisoners must have brought the
creatures into the camp. That may have been true in a few cases, but
even so they are to blame for not making adequate arrangements to
prevent it. We each received a tin basin, but the washing was all done
at three pumps outside. All the drinking water was derived from this
source, and had a strong and disagreeable taste. A few feet away from
each pump was a stagnant pool into which the waste water flowed. I
think it is reasonable to suppose that a good proportion of it, after
filtering through the sand, was pumped up again. In spite of these
trifles we were told that the water had been analysed and passed by
the medical authorities. I suppose both the colour and flavour were
only due to the presence of iron, in which case I have no doubt it was
an excellent tonic. I should have liked to have seen the doctor's face
had he been made to swallow a glassful. I am thinking of forming a
company for the purpose of building a hydro on the site of the old
camp, so that every one may have an opportunity of enjoying perfect
health by taking the Ströhen waters. I hope the reader will assist me
by buying shares in this excellent concern. (A large cemetery will, of
course, be necessary, but grave-digging should not prove to be
expensive, the soil being very light!)
The safest and most comfortable place in the camp was the small
hospital, which was under the care of a very decent corporal in a
Brandenburg regiment. The dining and common rooms were in one long
barrack, divided into two sections. At one end of the latter was a
canteen of sorts, which ultimately improved considerably. The sanitary
arrangements were most primitive, the breezes constantly reminding one
of their inefficiency. For the first month the weather was glorious,
and during the evening stroll round it was maddening to watch the red
sun slowly sinking behind the distant woods to the westward, showing
us the way to Holland and freedom. The journey by train would have
been accomplished in a few hours under ordinary circumstances. It was
almost incredible to think, though it was only too true, that a few
strands of wire and some grey-clad sentries could keep us confined in
this desert-like camp, containing neither grass nor trees, isolated
from all the pleasures of summer. Whenever there was a wind we enjoyed
a whirling sandstorm. Often I have seen it so thick as to temporarily
obscure the further camp buildings. If we had only been allowed camels
and facilities for exercising, we should soon have looked upon a
journey across the Sahara as mere child's play. After a victory (real
or imaginary), or an anniversary, it was with very rebellious feelings
that we watched the German flag fluttering in the breezes. I did not
mind the coloured one quite so much, but it was almost more than I
could stand to see the pale yellow flag, framing the treacherous
scraggy black eagle, flying over my head. In one part of the camp
there was just room for a game of tennis. Several classes were formed
for learning languages, and indulging in "physical jerks" (culture),
though I'm sorry to say I much preferred watching and jeering with the
ever increasing majority.
Occasionally sports days were organised, which went off in style, the
chief items being short races, jumping, cock-fighting, also a
competition which necessitated each individual eating a sticky bun
dangling from a tightly stretched string without using his hands. This
may not sound much of a feat, but when one realises that the bun
consists of a chunk of stale black bread exuding coarse treacle, the
difficulty will be better understood. Several canaries had been
brought along from the former camp. In one instance a man in the
Flying Corps, possessing a sitting bird, carried her so carefully that
she never left the eggs and eventually reared her young at Ströhen.
Latterly chip carving became the fashion, as it was then possible to
obtain the necessary articles from a German firm through the canteen.
Concerts were frequently held, and as the camp contained very
considerable talent, we had some really first class performances,
after being allowed to hire a piano from the nearest town. One day a
new lot of orderlies arrived and took up their quarters in a barrack
separated from our part of the camp by some wire. Among their number
was a private called Cheeseman, a born comedian, who used to get up
sing-songs and sketches; the star turn, however, was a selection from
his orchestra, which he used to conduct with a broomstick from an
inverted bucket. The instruments were two mandolines, one banjo, one
mandola, a tin whistle, an accordion, a rattle, a comb, and a lump of
iron. Somehow the performers played in tune, but they always sent us
into fits of laughter, and even amused the watching Huns. Although
Cheeseman often disappeared into cells for several days, he was never
really squashed and always reappeared with a new joke. I was lucky
enough to receive a good assortment of flower seeds from home,
including sunflowers, sweet peas, nasturtiums, etc.; these I
immediately planted in a tiny museum-like garden, and tended
carefully, in the hope that some day the plants would assume large
enough proportions to enable me to believe temporarily on special
occasions that I was actually amid the flowers of good old England. In
my case the deception was fortunately not necessary, as I was
destined to enjoy the real thing, though unfortunately in hospital.
TREATMENT.--The first roll calls, though unnecessarily long, were
quite entertaining. They were conducted by a guards lieutenant with a
pronounced limp, who went by the name of "Cork-leg." Even when
speaking of a matter of no importance his voice would become louder
and louder until it threatened to reach a shrill scream. On one
occasion when the interpreter was not present, some unoffending person
asked the Hun a question in English. Cork-leg replied, with a dreadful
roar, that we must understand that the language of the camp was
German, and German only. Things were going a little too far, so every
time the gentleman gave expression to his thoughts in too vehement a
manner most of us whispered a long-drawn "Hush." The parade being in
square formation, when he turned suddenly to arrest the offender, he
found those facing him wearing an air of injured innocence, while
those in his rear continued the good work. This had the desired
effect, and although it meant "_stuben_ arrest" for several fellows,
the officer soon realised what an ass he was making of himself and
became almost normal, with the result that things went smoothly for a
while.
Soon after our arrival, a fortnight, to be correct, the newly
captured infantry officers, numbering about fifty, were ordered to
give up their steel helmets at a given roll call. This naturally went
against the grain. The owners mostly destroyed the rubber padding and
hid the helmets, resolving that at least they should not benefit the
Hun. At the appointed time eight instead of fifty were surrendered to
the officer on duty. On the morning of the twelfth of June a number of
German soldiers set to work with poles and hooks to drag the pools for
submerged helmets. By and by they succeeded in picking out quite a
number of those steel fish, every additional one landed calling forth
a subdued cheer from the onlookers. In the afternoon, having nothing
to do but kill time, I strolled out of a barrack, my hands in my
pockets, with no immediate objective in view. Outside a few Germans
were still fishing for helmets, while half a dozen Britishers were
lazily watching operations. After joining them for a minute or two I
turned to walk over to another building. True, there were some
sentries with fixed bayonets lounging about, but that was nothing
unusual, for they might well be in charge of the orderlies who were
working near by. I had not gone ten yards when a tall, unshaven
_Landsturmer_ swung round and barred my way. He told me with a snarl
that I was not allowed there and motioned me back with his hand. I
told him that I was not aware of any new order and only wished to go
to the neighbouring building. Whereupon he repeated his words in a
still more offensive tone, and brought his rifle to the ready. (Even a
German sentry is supposed to be reasonably polite when addressing an
officer prisoner for the first time, but this man was purposely rude.)
I replied that if he addressed me as a British officer and not as a
dog I should obey him at once, otherwise I should remain where I was.
After a few more unintelligible threats he advanced, brandishing his
weapon, at which I turned sideways to call to a German N.C.O. and
protest against such treatment. The kindly sentry aimed a smashing
blow at my left foot, which I was luckily able to partially deflect by
a slight movement of my knee. Things were certainly quite disturbing,
for the next instant he stuck the bayonet almost through my right
thigh. The proceeding was not particularly pleasant, feeling very like
a sharp burn, but I was almost too surprised to realise fully what had
happened, so consequently remained standing where I was. Vaguely I
realised that the sentry had withdrawn his bayonet for another thrust,
this time evidently intended to enter my body. Glancing down I saw
that my trouser leg was saturated and streaming with blood, which was
even welling out of my shoe on to the ground, showing that an artery
had been severed. Not being particularly partial to bayonet thrusts, I
decided that I could now abandon my argument without loss of prestige.
I succeeded in hobbling a few yards to the rear, at the same time
holding the artery above the wound in an endeavour to check the flow
of blood. This, however, did not prove very successful, the sand
continuing to turn red behind me. Just as I was in the act of falling,
a number of our fellows, seeing what had happened, rushed up and
carried me hastily into the camp hospital, where a tourniquet was
applied and the doctor sent for. The time was then a quarter-past
three, and the doctor did not arrive till after seven o'clock. I
rather fancy if an accident of that sort had occurred in an English
prison camp containing over four hundred German officers, it would not
be necessary to wait almost four hours before the arrival of a
qualified doctor.
At the best of times a very tight tourniquet is distinctly
uncomfortable. The medical orderly thinking that I should lose
consciousness and seeing the commandant enter the room, explained the
circumstances and asked if he might give me a little brandy. After
due consideration and much chewing at the ragged end of his eternal
cigar, he replied that as water would be given to a wounded German
soldier, it was good enough for me. Though I pretended not to hear,
these remarks impressed me considerably. The N.C.O. looked after me
very well, and early next morning took me to the station in an
ambulance on my way to Hanover Hospital. Two private soldiers acted as
stretcher-bearers, with the N.C.O. in charge. When the train arrived
it was found that the stretcher was too broad to go into a carriage,
so I travelled in the luggage van, among trunks, bicycles and baskets
of fish. The Germans were quite jolly and sang a few songs, while I,
in a half dead condition, endeavoured to accompany them on my beloved
mandoline. At Hanover I was dumped down at a Red Cross centre below
the station to await the ambulance. Soon quite a pretty nurse (for a
wonder) came up and inquired if I was English. I could not resist
replying in German: "Yes, sister, I am one of those _Schweinhund
Englanders_!" To my surprise she seemed quite embarrassed, and hastily
answered me that they did not say that _now_. (Emphasis on the _now_.)
In the conveyance I lay beside a wounded German private, also bound
for hospital. When my curiosity had broken the ice, he told me that
he had just returned from the Messines Ridge, where he had acquired a
great respect for British artillery and mines (though he himself was a
sapper). The Hanover hospitals which usually take in prisoners are
Nos. 1 and 7; to my relief I was taken to No. 1, which is recognised
as the best. I received practically the same treatment as the German
patients, and occupied a room with three other British officers. Some
of the food we received was quite good, a little fresh milk and
butter, and one or two whitish rolls of bread, and, of course, the
usual doubtful soups. Immediately outside the window was a large
flowering acacia tree, looking delightfully shady and cool after
Ströhen desert. Another luxury we sometimes enjoyed was strawberries,
which the German orderly bought in large quantities, afterwards
selling them to some of the doctors and nurses as well as ourselves.
At frequent intervals a band outside played a very ordinary
uninteresting dead march, announcing each time a German (usually a
patient) had gone "West." Soon after my arrival I saw a Zeppelin
flying very low over the town. I was delighted and remarked to a Bosch
that it was the first Zeppelin I had ever seen. He was quite indignant
and told me that I ought to know that it was a Schutte-Lanz, a new
type of airship. My education must have been sadly neglected!
Bayonet wounds are, for several reasons, liable to become septic;
mine, however, healed up remarkably quickly, saving me endless bother.
In a fortnight I started back to the camp, accompanied by a N.C.O. and
a private, who helped me slowly along. We went by train, without
causing much interest. This was a good thing, for it is very hard to
look dignified when feeling like nothing on earth, and looking as
white as a sheet. Many of the small boys were dressed up as soldiers
in one way or another, and I twice saw a small ragamuffin band with
tins for kettle-drums. Just wouldn't there be a fine scrap if a
similar band of London children had suddenly rounded the corner!
Personally, I would back the cockney spirit against any other. This
was my second visit to Hanover, and on no occasion had I seen a motor
other than the one ambulance car, though I heard two in the distance.
Owing to the scarcity of rubber I was surprised at the number of
bicycles present in the streets, but closer inspection proved that
that difficulty had been overcome by a clever invention, by which the
shock is lessened by an outer wooden rim held in position by strong
springs, which are compressed as they take the weight. During the
train journey my escort, as usual, drew my attention to the splendid
way in which the Germans treated their prisoners by allowing them to
travel second class. They simply would not believe that German
officers in England always travelled first. The private, who owned a
cigar factory in Hanover, became quite chatty and seemed very anxious
to know if I thought the trade relationships between England and
Germany would be the same as ever after the war. He was very surprised
and, indeed, quite distressed when I told him that I thought there
would be a considerable change--it seemed that the idea had never
occurred to him before.
I was not sorry when the camp was reached and I entered the little
camp hospital to remain there for another two weeks. Several fellows
having escaped from the camp temporarily, the commandant got the sack.
Many speculations concerning his probable successor were indulged in,
and I think the general opinion of the camp was that the newcomer
might be better, though he could not be worse. We soon discovered our
mistake. His first appearance was not exactly promising. Two fellows
while walking round the camp suddenly heard a stream of abuse
violently directed at them, and looking up, they saw the commandant
coming towards them through a gate in the wire, fairly bursting with
rage. His unreasonable complaint was that he had not been saluted
while entering his office outside the wire! The offenders were at once
packed off to cells for two or three days. The next day a few
Britishers arrived from another camp, and while they were waiting
outside to be admitted, a small and orderly crowd collected on the
inside to see if they could recognise any one, or exchange a few
remarks. Being unable to walk much I watched the proceedings from the
window of my room and was able to see everything that took place.
Without any warning the mad commandant rushed out of a building and up
to the wire, where he screamed at the little gathering like a madman,
making violent motions to show that they were to go back. It is
perfectly legitimate to stand in a group as long as every one behaves
and no one touches the neutral zone wire. One must stand somewhere. In
this case he had absolutely no right to order a move. The interpreter,
who happened to be near, walked up and said that the commandant
desired us to go away, whereupon the officers began to disperse,
wishing to humour him. I was startled to see two soldiers come through
the gate with fixed bayonets in a quick business-like way, to drive
the fellows back faster, evidently by the commandant's express orders.
The younger of the two guards went straight up to an unoffending
medical student, a Lieutenant Downes (S. Staffs.), who was then
turning round, and pricked him in the stomach with his bayonet. To
prevent the steady pressure making the slight wound worse, Downes
seized the end of the rifle and, jerking the point out, swung it to
the right, and then turning round walked quickly back. The sentry,
after running past several other officers, overtook him and, to my
horror, stuck the bayonet into his back. After continuing his walk for
a few steps Downes collapsed and was at once carried into hospital,
the next day being taken to Hanover. The wound was very serious,
however; we received a message from the hospital a few days later
stating that the bayonet had penetrated into one lung, but that he was
getting on well and would probably soon recover.
The same sentry, in his eagerness to obey orders, tried to bayonet a
Captain Woodhouse, but as his prey jumped back just in time, only
succeeded in cutting the skin. By this time a large crowd had
collected, which the sentries continued slowly forcing back, although
they were then fifty yards from the wire. As the news spread the crowd
became larger, but remained ominously quiet, the two Germans not
seeming to realise the danger of their position. It is the worst
feeling I know to watch a cowardly display of this sort and yet be
able to do absolutely nothing. It only needed a spark to set
everything in a blaze, which must have ended in the guard being turned
out for machine-gun practice. Meanwhile, the news reached some
Britishers who were half-way through a concert. By mutual consent it
was at once broken up by the singing of the National Anthem. Every one
outside at once stood to attention and heartily joined in the last few
bars. It was the most impressive scene one could possibly imagine. I
am sure that no one who had witnessed it would in after years, without
feeling murder in his heart, watch a man belonging to the mongrel
breed, which is not infrequently seen sitting down while everybody
else is standing for the National Anthem, only being forced grudgingly
to his feet by public opinion, even then not removing his hat unless
it is knocked off. I am convinced that if Ramsay Macdonald and a few
of his colleagues could have spent a week in a bad German prison camp
they would be only too willing to instruct their misguided followers
in singing "God Save the King," in the spirit and way in which it
should be and was sung at Ströhen on July 15th, 1917. The situation
was saved.
Our senior officer took advantage of the pause at the end while we
were still under control, standing at attention, and told us to
separate at once, as he would do everything that was possible. At this
Israel departed every man to his own tent. The major asked for an
immediate interview with the commandant, but the German captain who
had entered replied that that was unfortunately impossible as that
officer had gone out at lunch time and would not return till late. It
was a most "kolossal" lie, but I do not think that the captain should
be saddled with it, as he was, doubtless, acting under instructions.
Most of those present, including myself, would have sworn on oath that
we had seen the commandant a few minutes before and that he had caused
all the trouble. But then what is one to do? Of course the usual
complaints went (or rather were supposed to go) to higher authority
(ambassadors and the like), but no satisfaction was obtained. It seems
not unlikely that they all found their way into the office waste-paper
basket by the most direct route.
Again, a few days later about a dozen fellows were watching a party of
Germans, under a _Feldwebel_ Pohlman, digging up an old tunnel which
had fallen in near the wire. Everything was quiet and Pohlman was
even talking naturally with one of our number, when I noticed him turn
and speak a few words to the sergeant of the guard, who turned and
entered the guardroom, evidently in a hurry. Knowing that this
Pohlman, in spite of his oily manner and smug appearance, was a Hun in
every sense of the word, I kept my weather eye open, warned the others
and strolled off. A few seconds later four of the worst sentries in
the place, having entered the camp unobserved, came running round the
corner of a shed, their bayonets drawn back for thrusting, obviously
having received orders that the next victim had to be finished off,
the object, I suppose, being either to teach us a lesson or cause a
mutiny. Some one shouted a warning to three fellows who were standing
talking to each other unconscious of their danger, but before they had
time to realise their predicament the sentries were on them. The Huns
singled out a Captain Wilson (R.F.C.), and before he could get away,
surrounded him, while one villainous-looking little Hun lunged
straight at him. By a quick movement Wilson avoided the thrust and
succeeded in breaking away, the bayonet passing through his clothes.
The guard continued to press every one back into the centre of the
camp, very serious trouble again only just being avoided.
Another incident of this sort happened a few days later, when to our
surprise some strong sherry arrived at the canteen, and was soon
bought up by the thirsty prisoners. I think there was another object
in view, as well as a desire to make money. Towards evening some
Englishmen were sitting near the wire, close to where the sentry who
had assaulted Downes was stationed. One of the fellows, feeling a
little cheerful, amused himself by alluding to the bravery of the act.
At the worst this was only a case calling for a little solitary
confinement. I suppose the sentry passed the word along to the
guardroom, for soon three sentries passed through the camp,
metaphorically whetting their bayonets, going towards the scene of the
disturbance. Before reaching it they unslung their rifles and fixed
their bayonets, doubled round the corner of the building, expecting to
surprise the unfortunate Englander. But to their disgust they only
found empty chairs and returned very dejected.
After this episode we had a dance in the dining-room, several fellows
making up into the most charming girls, and did our best to forget our
unpleasant surroundings. At ten o'clock, when we had gone to our
barracks, according to the rules, Pohlman conducted an armed party of
half a dozen Huns with fixed bayonets round the huts and every part
of the camp, but failed to find the excuse he was longing for. Now
what about the Cambrai officer's question, "Why do you call us Huns?"
_Why, indeed?_
The German captain nearly always took roll call. Though fairly
harmless, he was quite mad. He seldom brought an interpreter on parade
and made long speeches and read orders to us, all in German, the great
majority, of course, not understanding a single word! One day we heard
the new commandant was coming on parade for the first time that
evening, so therefore looked forward to some fun. When the time for
the roll call arrived we were inspected as usual, and were standing
waiting, when the little captain suddenly drew himself up to his full
height, and screamed out: "_Augen Rechts--Augen Links--Gerade Aus_."
As we were standing in three sides of a square it was an order to make
every one face the commandant with a martial air. The net result of
this "Double Dutch" was that everyone broke into an amused smile,
which increased almost to hysterics when we caught sight of the
recipient of this honour. The commandant was a tall, doddery,
antediluvian Prussian colonel, with long grey moustaches, the very
image of the Monkey Brand advertisement, only perhaps not quite so
good looking. Why he did not fall over his trailing scabbard in every
step remains a mystery to this day.
There was another curious little trick the captain sometimes indulged
in. In the middle of delivering a tirade he would suddenly point to
heaven with a dramatic gesture, as if to prove the truth of a recent
statement by invoking the Kaiser's God. Perhaps some day he will learn
that the popular spirit of Germany lives not above but very far below.
Soon after our arrival the prison was enlarged, as it always has to be
when the camp becomes British. Fellows were often sent there for an
offence about which they had never heard, without being able to say
one word in self defence. In about two months I believe nearly half
the camp had been in "clink." Until latterly it was forbidden to open
windows at night, but being English we took the law into our own hands
and continued opening the windows, refusing to be deprived of fresh
air in the stifling heat. This naturally resulted in more prison,
which at first relieved and then increased the monotony. Though it is
hardly credible, our colonel had to carry out a sentence of three days
"_stuben_ arrest" for losing his poker! About this time an Australian
was put into prison for a trivial offence which had been committed by
some one else, and did not even receive his sentence for three whole
weeks!
While in "jug" in this camp we were not allowed parcels, writing
materials, books or smokes. We complained about this to a general who
inspected the camp later; he expressed surprise at this state of
affairs and had things partially rectified. For about two months all
cigars and cigarettes received in parcels were stopped, the only
reason given being that in some cases they had contained poison for
destroying cattle. Not only were chances of destroying cattle
exceedingly small, but we offered to smoke any cigarette they chose to
give us from our parcels to prove the falsity of the charge.
By an agreement between the Governments those serving terms of
imprisonment for offences committed before the 4th of August, 1917,
were released, a great number of the gaol-birds being sent to Ströhen.
Residing in prison was a captain who made a hobby of being
court-martialled. Under this new ruling he was taken out of cells for
a few days, only to be put back to await trial for the trumped-up
charge of having poison tablets on his person when recaptured after
his last escape. I believe the only tablets he carried were either for
purifying water, or Horlick's malted milk. Every one recaptured when
trying to escape in the late winter of 1916 or the following spring
received a sentence of five months' imprisonment, a fortnight the
original punishment, and the remainder as a supposed reprisal for the
sentence given to escaping Germans in England.
The food given us was very bad indeed, though the list must have
looked quite nice on paper. Apart from the eternal and loathsome
gherkins, of which no mention was made, it asserted that we received
fish twice a week! The Tuesday fish was of a dried variety, and had
such a delicious smell when cooked that it was impossible to enter the
dining-room when it was on the prowl! While that on Friday consisted
of heaps of old mussels containing quantities of sand and young
pebbles, known amongst ourselves as those ---- barnacles, scraped from
the ships at Kiel. The whole time I was there I never once had an
opportunity of buying any fresh fruit, though it was summer time and
we could have paid good prices. The only result of my bayoneting
episode was that the sentry was congratulated, and I was warned for a
court-martial! When a staff captain arrived from Hanover to collect
the evidence for the approaching trials, quite a cheery little crowd
of accused officers were awaiting him. Several of them were to appear
on two or three charges, and three R.F.C. officers were to be tried
for dropping leaflets in the German lines. I believe it came to
nothing in the end, as there was not enough evidence to convict them.
Captain Scholtz and Lieutenant Wookey do not seem to have been so
lucky. When my turn came, several German witnesses were produced who
swore that after being struck on the foot with the butt, I had jumped
forward to seize the rifle, asserting that the sentry had only acted
in self-defence. (Such a truthful race!) When the captain was taking
down my statement, we frequently got off the subject altogether. All
of a sudden he would assert that the English had started the war and
ask me the reason for their doing so. Thoroughly roused, I would reply
that it was nonsense and he must know it. Then ensued an amusing but
fiery argument about the neutrality of Belgium, the use of native
troops, and frightfulness in general. His plea was that poor little
unoffending Germany was only standing up for herself against a set of
blood-thirsty enemies who wished to crush her. Needless to say, I did
not feel much like sympathising. When we finally got back to business,
all particulars were taken as a matter of form, my slaughterer's name
and address being taken down. Before my departure I managed to get a
glimpse of it when the captain was out of the room. I do not suffer
from loss of memory!
The all-absorbing problem of camp life is escaping. Up to this time
half a dozen fellows had succeeded in getting away from the camp, but
were afterwards recaptured. I will endeavour to give an outline of the
several attempts and the difficulties to be overcome, which must of
necessity be very curtailed, this book not being originally written
for the benefit of the "Bosch." The most usual way is to cut the wire,
but where sentries are numerous the undertaking is both difficult and
dangerous. It is most natural to try stunts of the sort under cover of
darkness. At this camp, however, the paraffin arc lamps were
particularly brilliant, and when star-gazing on several occasions I
have seen rats and mice scuttle across the white sand some distance
away. Though storms often raged during the day, the wind almost
invariably blew itself out towards night, leaving a dead calm, broken
only by the tramp of sentries or the distant rattling hum of a
nightjar. It is a brave man who, having determined this mode of exit,
leaves his hut when others are sleeping, and vanishes. Presently, if
he gets safely across the intervening ground, the faint yet feverish
snipping of wire-cutters is heard, each time being followed perhaps
by a slight "ping" as the strained wire separates. The ensuing silence
is almost heart-breaking, for in contrast something else may at any
instant be increasing its tension, a sentry's trigger-finger. One
stormy night, when in hospital, I had reason to believe that an
officer would make an attempt in that part of the camp at a given
hour, so had an excellent chance of watching operations, which was not
wasted. I went to the window and settled down for a long wait. Outside
it was still raining, the sentries being in their boxes. A little
before the time I caught sight of a dark figure which clambered out of
the orderlies' hut and crawled into the neutral zone up to the outside
wire, which he lay parallel to and commenced to cut. To my surprise,
another figure joined him from the hut and lay there waiting; this was
an orderly who had decided to join at the last instant. In about one
and a half minutes a large enough gap had been cut, and the
adventurers crawled through it, and were preparing to make a dash into
the darkness when a sentry spotted them and stepped out of his box.
Having burned their boats, off they went. The sentry ran a few steps,
then, stopping abruptly, raised his rifle and fired. It was an anxious
moment for the onlookers; the fugitives already knew the result,
while, as yet, we did not. However, to our relief, the ghost-like
figures continued their flight until they were swallowed up in the
darkness, and the reflection of the artificial light on their wet
rain-coats became too weak to give away their position. In their
anxiety to leave the camp behind they tended to separate, but both
fell headlong into a deep ditch, where they met again. In their first
dash one of them dropped most of the provisions, which the Germans
discovered and brought back to the camp in triumph. Six days
afterwards they were recaptured, thirty kilometres from the border.
Two officers cut the wire in broad daylight, when the nearest sentry
was busy opening a gate admitting some orderlies. They left the camp
by way of a ditch without being seen, crawling as they had never
crawled before, their heads showing above the level of the fields,
like two wobbling cabbages going for a hurried evening stroll. Their
success was short-lived, for, only an hour afterwards, they were
spotted and chased by some farmers, being finally brought to a stop by
a man with a shot-gun. Another couple left the camp by the following
ingenious method. A captain, who spoke German like a native, dressed
up in the clothes of a Hun private (somehow acquired). Some of the
essential things were missing, and had been manufactured in secret,
such as a cap and a painted wooden bayonet, with a lovely coloured
tassel. When everything was ready, about ten o'clock one morning, a
perfectly good German private marched an R.F.C. lieutenant, disguised
as an orderly, who carried two buckets (containing their kit), up to a
gate in the wire, which he rattled to signify that it must be unlocked
immediately. The sentry came along, unlocked the gate, and let him
out. They proceeded to the road, which they followed for a short
distance. That afternoon, while crossing a wild bit of country, they
had the misfortune to be recaptured by a shooting party, being first
completely surrounded by the beaters. Two other officers got out
separately in an ingenious way, the first being recaptured crossing a
bridge over the Ems, quite near Holland; the second lost direction,
and was retaken four days after, having got thoroughly lost. One
unlucky person was collared just outside the wire, dressed as an
orderly, and was taken straight to prison to enjoy a period of perfect
rest!
I worked in several tunnels at different times, fitted with air pumps
and perhaps even electric light--who knows? Digging oneself out is, at
the best of times, a slow and difficult proposition, which is almost
invariably discovered sooner or later. The humorous side of tunnelling
is so pronounced that, could "Bairnsfather" view one such episode,
our bookstalls would shortly be surrounded by eager crowds, clamouring
for the first edition of "Fragments from Germany," depicting
mud-bespattered "Old Bills" crawling for their very lives down narrow
tunnels, closely pursued by the wily Hun!
About this time I made my second attempt to escape, and succeeded in
getting outside the wire for the time being, early one afternoon
during bathing hours, only to discover that my proposed hiding-place
was occupied by Germans. After sitting solemnly beside my kit for an
hour, expecting discovery every second, I was lucky enough to return,
unmolested, with a party of bathers. During this period of anxious
waiting I was surprised to find that the thought of losing my
carefully prepared outfit was considerably more distressing than the
actual prospect of imprisonment.