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MY GERMAN PRISONS

MY GERMAN
PRISONS THE STORY OF MY TWO AND A
HALF YEARS OF CAPTIVITY IN
GERMANY AND MY FINAL ESCAPE
NOVEMBER 14, 1914 — APRIL 8, 1917
BY HORACE GRAY GILLILAND
CAPTAIN IN THE LOYAL LANCASHIRE REGIMENT
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
AMBASSADOR JAMES W. GERARD

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
tCbe WSutiSbt $re«« ConArttgt
1919

COPYRIGHT. I919, BY HORACE GRAY GILLILAND
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PREFACE
The writer was appealed to, so constantly and so ear
nestly, to write his experiences, and was so weary re
counting them, that at last he decided to put into print
a short account of the happenings within his own per
sonal knowledge during his two and a half years' im
prisonment in Germany. He was also encouraged to do
so from other and more important reasons.
There are countless people throughout the world
who have been so unfortunate as to have intimate
friends and relatives in captivity in Germany. In the
opinion of the writer, these people ought to know, from
one who has had a bitter experience, to which these
pages will testify, the true conditions under which the
wretched prisoners existed. These pages are entirely
uncensored and aim at a true record of events, in which
there is no word of hearsay, or stories borrowed from
others. As such they must stand. To those who may be
inclined to be skeptical towards the newspaper reports
of German brutality, it is hoped that this narrative will
come as a revelation.
The first edition of this book was published in the
summer of 1918, by Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton, of
London, receiving a tremendous ovation from the

vi PREFACE
critics of the London press. The present volume is the
original book, rewritten and enlarged by the addition
of facts which could not possibly have been published
before the cessation of hostilities, for fear of giving val
uable information to the enemy, and of calling down
the wrath of the Germans on the defenceless heads of
the poor prisoners who still remained in bondage.
If the facts disclosed therein bring home to the reader
a knowledge of the infamous, relentless, and savage
character of the Hun, deliberately dehumanized by
the State for the purposes of the State, the writer will
feel that his labors have not been in vain.

CONTENTS
Introduction ix
I. Captured by the Boches i
II. By Cattle-Truck to Munden 19
III. The Dreariness of Camp Life 31
IV. Our Removal to Bischofswerda 43
V. My Journey to Clausthal 56
VI. Court-Martialled and Insulted 79
VII. In Hospital at Dresden 95
VIII. The Hell-Hole of Ingolstadt 114
LX. A "Blond Beast" Commandant 134
X. Bound for Crefeld 155
XI. We Jump from the Train 174
XII. Escapes by Night and Day 189
XIII. We Hide in a Drain 203
XIV. Making for the Frontier 215
XV. Eluding the Sentries 229
XVI. Liberty and Blighty! 249

INTRODUCTION
I visited the camp of Hanover-Munden, where Cap
tain Gilliland was confined, in the spring of 1915. About
nine hundred officers, mostly Russians and French, were
collected in an old factory building on the banks of the
river below the town. There Was but little room for ex
ercise, only a space where a few might stand together
in a group. The sanitary arrangements were filthy be
yond all description and the whole place did not then
resemble a decent penitentiary, still less a camp for
the confinement of officers. When I spoke to the camp
commander, I found him in a semi-intoxicated state.
Captain Gilliland, as I remember, although ill, had
attempted to escape, weighing, at this time, only one
hundred and three pounds. I secured the transfer of the
fourteen British officers who were in this camp to the
camp or prison of Bischofswerda, in the Kingdom of
Saxony, where, according to the accounts of my in
spectors, the treatment, lodging, and food were much
better than at Hanover-Munden.
Captain Gilliland, as a result of his numerous at
tempts to escape, was transferred to many officers' de
tention places in Germany and on one occasion was
sent to the camp for enlisted men at Gottingen. This

x INTRODUCTION
was also one of the camps visited by me, and was per
haps the best camp for enlisted men which came under
my observation in Germany — but that is saying very-
little. The camp commander, Colonel Bogen, showed
more initiative and skill in the management than
did the other camp commanders. Some of the profes
sors in the University at Gottingen took an interest in
the camp and in the establishment of a library for the
prisoners. In one of the books which I wrote after returning
from Germany, I referred to this interest of the college
professors and particularly to the work of Professor
Stange, praising him for his humanitarian interest in
the prisoners. It is hard to be disillusioned concerning
the only evidence of humane feeling observed by me
in Germany with reference to the prisoners of war, but
I have since learned that Professor Stange and the other
poisonous snakes from the University of Gottingen had
only taken an interest in the affairs of this prison camp
for the purpose of doing propaganda work amongst the
Belgian soldiers and endeavoring to set those Belgians
who spoke Flemish against those speaking French.
I happened to visit another of the camps where Cap
tain Gilliland was confined — Fort number 9, one of
the ring forts surrounding the town of Ingolstadt, in
Bavaria. My visit was on a bitterly cold winter's day
in January, I think in 1916. Captain Gilliland was not

INTRODUCTION xi
at the time confined to this fort. The officers there suf
fered very much from the cold and damp. Their quar
ters, as I remember, were in the casemates or bomb-
proofs of this old-fashioned fort, with Httle or no heat
and a continuous ooze of damp from the stone walls.
There was no exercise-ground, a few of the British offi
cers at the time of my visit endeavoring to get a little
exercise by coasting down the ramparts.
I have never been able to understand why the Ger
mans treated their prisoners of war so badly, unless
it was that they hoped to make these poor prisoners
fear for all time the very name of German.
The officers were not, of course, in such evil position
as the men, who were leased out like slaves to the own
ers of factories, farms, and mines and compelled to do
slaves' work on rations hardly sufficient to keep a man
alive, brutally punished if they failed, and shot like
dogs, as were the Irish prisoners in Limburg, when the
liquor given to them by their guards excited them to
opposition. I have always believed that the guards de
liberately gave liquor to the Irish in Limburg for the
purpose of inducing them to show some fight and
thereby furnish an excuse for murder.
The civilized world cannot permit that these crimes
against civilization and humanity and the laws of
war shall go unpunished.
The control of the prisoners of war was entirely in

xii INTRODUCTION
the hands of the representing corps commanders, who
in the absence of the fighting army corps, and on the
first day of the declaration of war, were clothed with
despotic power superseding the civil officers and re
porting, not to the General Staff or the Ministry of
War, but to the Emperor direct.
i The Ministry of War, in endeavoring to exercise
a general supervision, was in continual conflict with
the corps commander. Colonel Friederich, afterwards
General, who, in the Ministry of War, had charge
of the prisoners' department, was a particularly com
mon, pig-headed, and disagreeable Prussian. I re
gret that by his death from heart disease within the
last year he cheated the gallows.
i He is not the only one. There are others alive of
those responsible for the frightful conditions in the
prison camps, and these brutal cowards must be made
to pay for their cruelty with their own skins.
Captain Gilliland's book is most interesting and
gives a true picture of life in German war prisons.
I recommend it to those who are inclined to for
give an unrepentant Germany.
James W. Gerard

MY GERMAN PRISONS

MY GERMAN PRISONS
CHAPTER I
CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES
Although the reading public, by this time, must be
surfeited with tales of the trenches, and the desperate,
bloody encounters on the old fields of 1914, a brief ac
count of the engagement in which I was taken pris
oner of war is more or less necessary.
I had the honor of belonging to Field Marshal Lord
French's "contemptible little army." Those of us who
served under him in these early days feel that they
participated in the most critical moments of the cam
paign; that whatever of honor or misfortune the fu
ture might hold, the honor of being just one in the
ranks of that army of 1914 was more cherished than a
breast full of decorations awarded later. Looking back
at the accomplishments of that first army it seems
nothing short of superhuman effort when one takes
into consideration the stupendous odds against them
— never less than six to one, and that of six fresh men
against one tired and weary one, with artillery in some
sectors limited to six shells per day per battery. We
were either entirely without or short of machine guns;

2 MY GERMAN PRISONS
there were no hand grenades or bombs or trench mor
tars, while the enemy were pouring over their thou
sands per hour, and we had practically no picks and
shovels or sandbags with which to make or build
trenches. Doctors and stretcher-bearers were a luxury
not always to be found. Rifles and ammunition were
limited according to the necessity of the locality, and
even uniforms and equipment were none too plentiful.
What wonder is it, then, that the thin British line was
forever breaking before the enemy's onslaught? The
marvel is how these breaks in the lines of trenches
were always somehow mended, however thin the
patch. It was in retaking after this fashion three lines of
trenches recently wrested from our gallant Indians
that I became a prisoner. During the first battle of
Ypres, in December, 1914, our division, which was in
reserve, was called up, at a moment's notice, to a posi
tion in front of a line of our trenches which had been
lost to the enemy a few hours before in their attempted
advance on Calais. These trenches had been held by
Indian regiments, and small blame to them for losing
them. Judging from what we saw, they must have had
a pretty rough time. I think the position was known
as La Bassee Canal position. Our brigade formed up
in the dusk about 4.30 p.m. opposite the trenches we
were about to attack. Here we were under desultory

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 3
shell-fire, but casualties from this were very few. As
far as we could make out and from information re
ceived, we were within about eighty yards of the
Boches. Whilst we were waiting the order to advance,
the rain, which had begun to fall, developed into a
downpour, accompanied by terrific bursts of thunder.
Before the storm abated the expected order arrived.
Immediately I rushed up to inform my company com
mander, but what with the darkness, the crashing
thunder, the roar of both our own artillery and that
of the Boches, and the villainous tat-tat of the enemy
machine guns, I failed to find him. ,
Recognizing the immediate necessity for action,
and the danger of leaving the flank of the unit on our
left exposed, I was compelled to act on my own initia
tive, being the only other officer in the company. The
difficulties of commanding a full company in action,
without any other officers in the company, are great;
but when that action takes place in the dark, over
unknown ground, it becomes mere luck if things go
well. When we had taken the first line of trenches with
the bayonet and consolidated the position, not hear
ing from the scouts sent out to reconnoitre, I went over
to have a look at the Boches' second line. On my way
back I was hit with a bullet in the ankle joint, which
felt exactly like a blow from a hammer. Strange to

4 MY GERMAN PRISONS
say, I felt no pain, and found I could manage to get
along by using the foot as a sort of stump. The sensa
tion was very similar to what is experienced when' one's
foot goes to sleep. Shortly after this my orderly in
formed me that the company on my right was prepar
ing to advance. Immediately a cheer informed me that
they had done so, and we swept onward again.
How I was able to lead the men I do not know, but
somehow my ankle did the work all right. It was about
a hundred yards to the Boche line, and rather too far
to attack in one rush. Consequently we got down to
establish superiority of fire, when to my alarm I found
we were being fired at in flank. A reconnaissance dis
covered this to be a half-company of men without
an officer, belonging to another regiment on my left.
Immediately I organized them as my supports, and
shortly afterwards took the second Boche line by as
sault. I use the term f' assault" for want of a better,
since the Boches had vacated their trenches, leaving
only the wounded. We hardly had a minute's breath
ing-space in this trench when information again came
from the right that our men there were advancing,
and so on again. Here, however, the Boche really
fought it out; but our men, having been properly
worked up, would stop at nothing. We gave a good ac
count of ourselves in this last trench, but the men were
over and on again; fortunately a deep ditch checked

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 5
their further advance, and we stopped again to con
solidate. In front of us, to our right, not more than sixty yards
away, stood the ruins of what had evidently been a
large farmhouse, only one outhouse of which still re
mained standing. We had penetrated and searched this
shed during our last attack and had found nothing of a
suspicious character.
Shortly after we had settled down in our newly cap
tured trench, however, we began to lose a considerable
number of men from some unseen sniper. Try as we
would, it was impossible to locate him. Reserving for
myself the job of again searching the shed in front of
us, I hobbled over, but without result. Of course, it
must be remembered that it was pitch-dark and one
does not see much with a flash-lamp among ruins, es
pecially when the enemy is within a few yards of one.
Although I could find nothing, I had the uncomfortable
feeling that all was not quite what it appeared. On my
return to the trenches, I sent a message to my CO. in
the rear, asking if the artillery might not be allowed to
open up on this farm and clear the obstacle away, since
it acted as good cover for the enemy and harbored
snipers. Unfortunately, however, our artillery did not
open up on this spot until nearly twelve hours after
wards; in fact, just after I was taken prisoner late the
next afternoon.

6 MY GERMAN PRISONS
About eight o'clock in the evening the officer in
charge of our headquarters company came up to the
front line and did most excellent work, helping to send
back a good many of the men, since we were too crowded.
Here it was that, after the excitement was over, I be
came conscious of my wound, which was paining me
exceedingly. However, there was too much to be done
for me to lie up with it. All night long we waited for a
counter-attack, but nothing happened except desul
tory shelling and sniping. Towards four o'clock the
next morning the enemy's artillery began to get busy,
and when the dawn broke we discovered that the enemy
had sapped up to us during the night to within easy
grenade-throwing distance. Their artillery grew more
and more intense. I noted a few fifteen-inch shells, one
of which scored a direct hit, but did not explode. We
made two or three raids on the sap-heads, but our suc
cess was only of a temporary nature.
Towards 8 a.m. the officer commanding the front
line paid me a visit, and informed me that he found it
impossible to deal with the bombs, having nothing to
reply with, and also that the ammunition was running
short. He thought the position would very shortly be
come untenable, in which case he would retire, and if
he thought fit would send me orders to do likewise. I
never got those orders; and although I had taken every
possible precaution to keep in touch with the units on

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 7
my right and left, the company of my own battalion
on my right managed to carry out their retirement be
fore I was aware of it. Owing to the formation of the
ground, it was impossible for us to see anything that
was going on on our flanks; we were therefore entirely
dependent on our scouts for all information.
About 9.30 a.m. the unit on my left unexpectedly re
tired, without sending me any explanation as to their
reasons. Suddenly the enemy opened up. There was the dev
il's own artillery fire which practically made a clean
sweep of all the men left in our httle bit of trench. I
felt a concussion in my right side as if a battering ram
had hit me, and I knew that I had been hit in the
lungs. I felt myself lifted, and the next moment was
gasping for breath under a heap of ddbris. My lungs
were almost bursting when I was pulled out by some of
my men. For a few minutes everything was blank, and
then the first thing I knew, the Boches were in our
trench, both right and left. Immediately I tried to get
my remaining men out and retire, only to discover
that the Boches had retaken the second line of trenches
behind us, which had hitherto acted as our support
trenches. We had no communication trenches between
the first and second lines, owing to the fact that we
had no tools with which to construct them. Thus we
had the enemy on four sides of us. The only thing to do

8 MY GERMAN PRISONS
was to make them pay heavily for it. Every moment I
expected to hear a British cheer, telling us that our re
serves were again attacking, but, alas! none came.
I am not certain what time the Boches surrounded
us — I think about 10.30 a.m. Our strength was then
roughly about two hundred men; butwe held the trench
for five and a half hours, after which there were not
thirty of us left. Then suddenly the Boches showered
us with bombs. The result was final. Personally, I lay
at the bottom of the trench, quite incapable of doing
or understanding anything. I was only conscious that
since the enemy were enraged at our defence, and at
the resistance which had caused them so many casual
ties, we had therefore nothing to hope for from them.
It never dawned on me that I might actually be
taken prisoner alive, for I had accepted it as a cer
tainty that I should be finished where I lay. Uncon
sciously I wondered what it would be like to have one's
brains dashed out with the butt-end of a rifle. Would
it be very painful? Anyhow, it would be quicker. And
then I remember some one jerking me to my feet, where
I remained propped up against the side of the trench,
whilst the hands of some Hun with the most stinking
breath searched my pockets and ripped off my buttons.
I don't remember what he looked like — only the re
volting odor of his breath. Gradually I began to recover
my normal senses, enough to look about me, and found

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 9
that three of my men had been gathered up, all of
whom looked pretty well done for. The day before I
had had three hundred and seventy men under my
command, and now these three wounded men were all
that was left to tell the tale. Then came a brutal order
to move off (Auf stehen), of which none of us took the
slightest notice, until the order was enforced with the
aid of the bayonet and we were driven with bayonets
into the enemy's communication trenches, which were
at that time up to the waist in mud.
In crossing over No Man's Land I was horrified to
see Germans finishing off our wounded with their bay
onets. As we were hurried on through the muddy Ger
man trenches, regardless of our wounds, we could hear
squeals and cries, showing that the Boches were still
carrying on with the shameful murdering of our help
less wounded. About three hundred yards back we
were handed over to a German officer, who inspected
our personal effects, in order to gather any possible
information as to our positions. This officer was insult
ing, but not brutal. In the course of a few minutes we
were handed over by him to the charge of a Bavarian
non-commissioned officer, to be transported to the
divisional base, which was at that time at La Bassee.
This N.C.O. first herded us to the dug-out of some
friends of his, where we were brutally attacked, knocked
down and kicked, and all our personal effects wrested

10 MY GERMAN PRISONS
from us. Regimental buttons and badges were torn
off. My cigarette-case, fieldglasses, prismatic com
pass, money, signet-ring — in fact all my personal ef
fects — were filched. Only the fact that I had been
wounded in the ankle through my boot, so that the
top of the boot was destroyed, saved me from going
into Germany barefoot. As it was, they had wrenched
my left boot off before they discovered the condition
of the right one.
This was the first real taste we had had of the in
tense animal ferocity of our captors, — a taste with
which we were about to become only too familiar. The
vile savagery of this assault on four helpless, bleeding
men produced an extraordinary revulsion of feeling —
fear and sullen bewilderment combined with pity. Fear
of any moment suffering another such assault as we
had just gone through — for the flesh is weak and pain
is always pain; sullen bewilderment because we had
suddenly come into contact with a new savagery and a
new evil the like of which we had never even suspected
the existence; pity that these men could have become
so diseased of mind as to have lost all self-respect and
chivalrous instinct. Later on, as we learned to know
the Boches better, unconsciously we began to set apart
the German frame of mind from that of the rest of the
civilized world. We reserved one law of right and wrong,
manliness and honorable Christianity for ourselves,

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 11
and conceded a different set of laws for them. There
was something snake-like and terribly sinister about
this trait of cruelty in the Boches — a thing concealed
and unsuspected, but always coiled, ready to spring.
Stripped of our possessions, we were driven on. One
of the three men with me was shot through the eyes
and was totally blind; anotherwas shot through the ab
domen and crawled along, holding his bowels in place
with his hands; the third had been shot through the
jaw and was rapidly losing strength from loss of blood.
I had a shattered ankle and a hole torn in my chest by
a bullet. It would be quite impossible to imagine the
agony of being forced to walk in our badly wounded
condition, sometimes up to our waists in the mud of the
trenches. Yet such is the composition of the much-
vaunted German "Kultur" that although we passed
a dressing-station on our way through the enemy's
trenches, to which I immediately forced my way re
gardless of the threats of our guard and appealed for
medical aid for my poor men, it was refused with taunts
and jeers by the Medical Officer in charge. In a fury,
he spat in my face, and yelled out, in bad French, that
no sort of Red Cross aid would be given to the English
swine. Such callousness is very difficult to understand,
but it is evidently part and parcel of the Boche com
position. One piece of trench through which we had to make

12 MY GERMAN PRISONS
our way showed the effects of our magnificent artillery
work, as it was literally choked with German dead, over
whose bodieswewere forced to walk. One of our guards,
who was leading, deliberately tramped his way on the
bodies of his comrades, numbers of whom were not
dead, pushing them into the slimy mud, and when I
showed my disgust I was laughed at. A little farther on
we came to a trench on which our artillery was ranging,
near the ruined shed which, twelve hours earlier, I had
asked our batteries to shell. This seemed a good oppor
tunity for our guards to take a httle rest, and in order
that things might not be too dull we were ordered out
of the trench, to stand on the parapet. I cannot ex
plain why none of us were hit, but fate evidently denied
the Boches the amusement they craved.
Moving on again, we encountered small parties of
reinforcements going up to the front fine. In each case
we were brutally banged, struck, and joggled, either
with the point of a bayonet or with the heavy butt-end
of a rifle, and eventually shoved out of the trench to
stand under our own fire to the great amusement of
our captors. There was plenty of room for these parties
to pass without disturbing us at all so that there was
no excuse whatsoever for this kind of treatment.
As far as I can remember, when we had covered
about a mile, one of my men, mentioned before as hav
ing been shot through the jaw, collapsed from loss of

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 13
blood. The guard allowed him two or three minutes'
grace, then pricked him up again with the point of his
bayonet. Again he staggered on, and again collapsed.
The same thing happened. I urged him to try to keep
up, telling him that his only chance lay in the fact that,
since I was an officer, I might be able to do something
for him if we ever reached the town. He managed to
cover a few more feet, and then sank down, helpless.
Without a word, the guard plunged his bayonet through
the prostrate man's chest, killing him on the spot.
For a moment we stood, sickened, at the deliberate
and cold-blooded murder. Then the blood rushed to
my head and the strength of ten seemed to be mine.
I turned, raging in ungovernable fury, upon the mur
derer, only to find myself confronted by a rifle and
bayonet, pressed to my stomach. At the other end of
the rifle leered an evil face, inviting me to give him the
excuse to do the same by me. Like a flash it came to
me — "No, by God ! I won't give you the chance you 're
hoping for. In the end, I'll beat you and your kind."
My hate was so intense at that moment that I was
even able to smile before turning to continue our way
through the trenches.
Somehow, we managed to crawl through the mud,
and finally reached the main road. The two men and
myself continued that awful journey, arm in arm, along
the road to La Bassee, the blind man supporting my

14 MY GERMAN PRISONS
right side, but taking directions from me, my left arm
supporting the man hit in the abdomen, who was by
this time delirious.
At last, after what appeared to be an interminable
journey, we stumbled into La Bassee, where our guard
handed us over to another N.C.O. at the outskirts of
the town, who conducted us to brigade headquarters.
This man seemed more or less kindly, even offering me
a cigarette. Almost immediately I was ushered before
an interrogating officer, with whom I refused to speak
before my two men were taken to hospital. He imme
diately agreed, apparently surprised at our not having
received attention at the front line. When I had per
sonally seen my men enter the Red Cross dressing-
station, I was again conducted to brigade headquarters.
I reported to the interrogating officer the deliberate
murder of one of my men and the entire absence of
Red Cross aid. This officer smiled scornfully, and re
marked that he thought I must be exaggerating, but
would make inquiries. Whether he ever did so or not,
of course I cannot say. Up to the time of writing I have
not been able to trace what happened to the two men
I left at La Bass6e.
With regard to the interrogation, needless to say
very Httle information was gathered from me. On ask
ing for medical attention for myself, I was informed
that I should receive everything I required at the

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 15
station, and accordingly I set out, under escort of an
other guard. One incident of that terrible day stands
out as an indication of the depth of intense animal
ferocity of which the German mind is capable.
Two German Red Cross N.C.O.'s passed us pushing
along a badly wounded British Tommy in a wheel
barrow of sorts. Both his legs had been blown off by a
shell or bomb, so that one could see the gleaming ends
of the fractured bones. He seemed to be in a half-de-
Hrious state, but not so far gone as to be insensible to
the agony caused by the bumping of the wheelbarrow
over the rough cobblestones which paved the streets.
EspeciaUy deHghted were his two persecutors when
they discovered that by rushing their victim up on to
the curb and off again, they could actuaUy make the
hated Englander groan. The last I saw of the poor
feUow he seemed to be more or less mercifuUy insen
sible. I appealed to my guard to intervene, but he only
mumbled something about "Unter Offiziers" and hur
ried me along. This man, however, turned out to be
quite kindly, as on arrival at the station, not finding
any evidence of the Red Cross, he helped me to take
off my puttees and breeches, whilst I cleansed my
ankle and abdominal wounds under a pump. The
guard washed from my puttees and trousers the thick,
slimy mud with which they were caked, and helped
me to dress again in the clean though wet clothes.

16 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Shortly after this I was taken to a waiting-room in the
station, where I found three other officers, one of whom
was from my own regiment, who had been taken pris
oner early on the same day.
By this time it was nearly dark, probably about
five o'clock in the morning. An hour afterwards two or
three German officers came in. They made themselves
as unpleasant and insulting as possible, producing
several Dum-Dum bullets, which they accused us of
using, and discussed among themselves the advisabil
ity of taking us out and shooting us immediately for
breaking the rules of civilized warfare, a decidedly hu
morous remark from the lips of a Hun. One of the Brit
ish officers who spoke German argued the foolishness
of such an accusation, but to no effect.
About eight o'clock the same evening we were re
moved with a few men in fourth-class carriages under
a strong guard to a station on the way to Lille, where
we spent the night in an outhouse which had a smaU
stove in it and a Httle straw. Here we endeavored to
dry some of our clothes, one of our own officers dressing
my ankle with his field dressing. Here also some hot
soup was brought to us by a German N.C.O., with
black bread. During the night, when the stove had
gone out, one of our guards noticing some of the sleep
ers shivering with cold, tried to cover them with some
straw. This was a smaU act of kindness which I shall al-

CAPTURED BY THE BOCHES 17
ways remember. We noticed that any Httle act of kind
ness such as this was never done by a German soldier
when one of his officers or N.C.O.'s was present or
near at hand. In fact later on we found out, beyond
question, that almost invariably a German N.C.O. was
only an N.C.O. because he was prepared to buUy and
grind underfoot his feUow men. There are to be found
in the German rank and file many superior men, who
remain privates because they cannot bring themselves
to kick, abuse, and buUy their brothers in arms.
Towards early morning we were ordered to dress
again in our half-dry clothes, and about six or seven
o'clock we entrained in fourth-class carriages and were
taken to Line station. During the journey numbers of
trains crammed with German soldiers rushed past us
on their way to the front line, with their engines and
carriages decorated with flowers as if for a gala occa
sion. At LiUe an excited and jeering crowd gathered round
us, hurling every sort of abusive insult they could think
of. Meanwhile our guards formed us into fours and
marched us along the platform into the main station,
closely foUowed by the yelling crowd. Thinking that
they intended to march us some distance, which after
wards proved to be the case, I asked the German officer
in charge of our party for some sort of conveyance,
indicating my wounds, and calling the wounded men to

18 MY GERMAN PRISONS
his attention. My request was coldly refused, however,
and we were marched from the station to the old for
tress of LiUe.
On the way we received many signs of deep sym
pathy from the Belgian populace; most of the women
seemed to be crying, and I noticed that the men bared
their heads in token -of respect. On two or three occa
sions some women tried to press chocolate into the
men's hands. In one case, where one of the German
guards saw a woman doing this, he beat her down with
the butt-end of his rifle. Many Germans yeHed insults
at us, but the guard next to me remarked that we must
take no notice of such people, as they were only soldiers
employed on lines of communication, and had there
fore never been in the front line, so did not know what
fighting was. I mention this because it is so rare to find
a spirit of chivalry amongst the Boches, and in an ac
count of this kind it is only fair to write of both the
good and the bad sides of their characters.

CHAPTER II
BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN
When we arrived at the fortress we were separated
from the men, the officers undergoing another interro
gation. On asking for immediate medical attention,
we were assured it would be forthcoming directly.
When we entered the room auotted to us, we found three
other British officers, who had been taken prisoners
some days previously, and who at once set about pre
paring a meal for us out of their own scanty provisions.
There was only one proper bed in the place, which was
given up to me at once; the rest were dirty palHasses
thrown on the ground. A Belgian orderly was provided
to look after us and bring us the daily ration. He also
had the privilege of going into the town of LiUe and
buying little extras, though at a very costly price, as
we soon found out.
Later we learned that the ground-floor quarters of the
fortress were occupied by a number of native troops.
On the following day one of my brother officers paid
them a visit, and found them Hving in very unhealthy
conditions, suffering greatly from the cold, owing to
the fact that the Germans had reHeved them of their
greatcoats. These poor fellows were clad, therefore,

20 MY GERMAN PRISONS
as for their own climate, and were suffering acutely.
However, they had been treated fairly weU in other
respects, and had plenty to eat. In the afternoon of the
same day there was a great hubbub amongst them,
owing to the fact that a Baboo (a professional agita
tor) was haranguing them in the fortress close. One of
their subahdar majors expressed to us his extreme dis
gust at the German attempt to tamper with their loy
alty. The gist of the agitation was to induce the native
troops to throw off their aUegiance to the British Crown
and fight against the Russians on the Eastern Front.
Throughout the day I continuaUy asked for medical
attention, but was always put off by the reply that the
doctor was expected every minute. This farce of med
ical attention continued during the whole period of our
stay in LiUe, but no doctor ever arrived. A Red Cross
dresser did visit me, but on examination declared that
he was not competent to deal with the case and must
leave it to the doctor.
On the night of the 25th of December we were re
moved with a lot of men, consisting of British, French,
Belgian, and a few native troops, from the fortress to
the main station at LiUe. When we arrived there, the
whole place was found to be brilliantly iUuminated
with decorated Christmas trees, exactly as one sees at
a children's party, the whole German populace being
in holiday attire. On this occasion we were fortunately

BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN 21
kept well away both from the civiHans and others, so
that the chances of being insulted were greatly reduced.
Almost immediately we were marshalled down a long
platform and halted opposite a line of filthy-looking
cattle-trucks, with the usual sliding-doors in the centre
and two small trap-doors high up on the side. I mention
the latter, because it was through these that we were
stoned later on in the journey by some of the chivalrous
enemy. The interior of the trucks was disgustingly
dirty, and not even provided with straw.
Into these trucks we were bundled. Although forty
men cannot be put into a cattle-truck without becom
ing so cramped that they are unable to move, fifty-one
of us, including officers, British Tommies, some French,
and a few Zouaves, were crowded into one truck. Most
of us were wounded, and no matter where your wound
might be, some other fellow's head, or arm, or foot
leaned against it.
Of course it was not possible for all to He or sit.
The wounded did, but the others mostly stood. Per-
sonaUy I do not remember very much of that terrible
journey. My wounds were giving me so much pain
that, with the jolting of the truck, the extreme cold,
and the want of food, I became mostly and mercifully
oblivious to my general surroundings. A few incidents
remain in my memory, however. Although it was bit
terly cold, whenever the train pulled up at small sta-

22 MY GERMAN PRISONS
tions, the big sliding-doors of the truck were opened,
and the German populace scrambled in and robbed
both officers and men of any sort of warm outer cloth
ing that they might have saved from the clutches of
the Hun on the field, Burberrys being their particu
lar aim. Since we could not move a muscle, the Germans
dragged us to our feet, stripped us of any garment they
might fancy, and then threw us back again. We suf
fered very much from hunger and the cold. Personally I
did not suffer so much from the former, probably ow
ing to the condition of my wounds; but I know that
my companions were ravenous, as we had had very
Httle whilst in Lflle, nothing in the trucks aU the first
night, and nothing aU the next day. During this pe
riod no sanitary arrangements of any kind were made
for us.
Early in the morning of the second day two German
guards were put in with us, and also a small bench for
them to sit on. These two feUows turned out to be ex
tremely kind, insisted on standing and letting some of
the wounded sit on their bench, and divided some of
their rations with a few of us. Unfortunately, however,
they were only with us for a few hours. Several times
during that terrible day we were stoned by the popu
lace through the smaU trap-doors, some of the men be
ing severely hurt. By "stones" I do not mean small
pebbles; I mean large stones, heavy enough to knock

BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN 23
a man senseless. Although we had had nothing to eat
for two days, the only food we received were a few
bits of sour black bread which were thrown in upon
us through the small trap-doors, just as one might
throw scraps to a caged jackal. We had no water to
drink. Late that afternoon our train drew up at a station,
and the doors were opened. We were all burning up
with fever, since every one knows that a wounded man
develops a very high fever. We were mad with thirst,
and were shrieking for water. Then it was that the
German civilians, gathered to gaze at their captives,
thought of a capital joke to play on the " Schweinhunde
Englander." Several of them hurried away " for water."
They soon returned, bringing smaU jam and fish tins,
filled with a yellowish-brown liquid, which they gave
to the men. The tins were madly scrambled for — and
found to contain urine. This to wounded men, burning
up with fever and nearly dying of thirst!
Later, I often wondered what are these creatures,
who so torture helpless captives, some of them wounded
— all of them friendless, sick at heart, and helpless.
These fiends walk, on two feet as we; they have the out
ward semblance of men; they have inteUectual minds,
as proved by the great men they have produced. They
pretend to worship the same Christian God. Yet they
stoop to this cruelty and to worse than this — far

24 MY GERMAN PRISONS
worse; to acts which indicate the depths of moral
depravity. What, then, is wrong? Where is the kink in their
mental structure? The nation's innermost soul seems
sodden with a craving for the vicious, obscene, and the
savage. I say "nation's," advisedly, for it must be
clearly understood that these frightfulnesses are not
to be blamed to the military authorities alone. From
what, then, does this national savagery spring? What
vitriolic chemical has been poured upon their souls?
It springs from the insidious and incessant teach
ings of years; from the school-teacher, from the pulpit,
from the press, and from the theologians. The nation
has been saturated, from earliest childhood, in the dis
torted belief that God and Christ had gloriously pre
destined the German people to force their doctrine of
"Kultur" and "might is right" upon the world. This,
naturally, could only be brought about by war, and
consequently the practice of arms was the most god
like and most soul-inspiring profession.
That war was of God and out of God, that war was
the noble regeneration of the soul, was the doctrine
preached by one of the most famous German doctors
of divinity. German soldiers were likened by him to
Christ, being, as they were, crucified humanity for the
good of Kultur and the Fatherland. The duty of the
divine German, he said, is therefore to crucify man-

BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN 25
kind; to kill, burn, slay, desolate, and destroy. There
should be no haff-measures, since God did not approve
of haff-measures in war.
Towards the end of the second day we reached Co
logne, and spent the night on a siding. On the main
platform of Cologne we saw some members of the Ger
man Red Cross, from whom we demanded food, and
who immediately went away to fetch it. On their re
turn the German sentries placed at the truck door
would not allow any of it to be passed to the "Schwein-
hunde Englander." A Httle was, however, distributed
to the French, who very Hberally shared it with us. My
particular portion consisted of about two inches of a
smaU raw sausage.
I forgot to mention that on this last day on two occa
sions, when the men were bustled out to a latrine, such
was the depraved cruelty of our guards that they al
lowed no time for the men to complete these necessi
ties, and in one case exposed a man in view of a crowd
of jeering civilians whilst in an undressed condition.
Towards the afternoon of the third day we reached
Munden, Hanover, where we were detrained, taken
to a waiting-room, and suppHed by the Red Cross with
a much-needed ration of hot soup and bread. After this
we were paraded, divided from the men, and marched
to the camp of Munden, which is situated on the
banks of the river Weser, at a distance of about a

26 MY GERMAN PRISONS
mile and a half from the station. Here I again pointed
out my condition to the officer in charge of our party,
but gained nothing, not even a conveyance to the
camp. The officer said that a conveyance was coming
for the wounded. I replied, "So is Christmas," but
evidently he did not see it. Anyhow, the outcome of it
was we had to walk. We arrived at the camp some time
during the evening, and were immediately segregated
in a room by ourselves, where we found some palH
asses thrown on the ground, filled with straw. Some
coarse sheets and blankets were also provided, also a
washing-stand and a bootjack. I mention the latter
because the German orderly told off to look after us
kept on picking up this beastly bootjack, gesticulating
that everything was provided, even a bootjack. The
foUowing day we were again interrogated, and personal
effects, such as letters, notebooks, and money, some of
which my brother officers still had in their possession,
were temporarily confiscated. The equivalent of the
money, however, was returned in German coinage.
After this we were aUotted rooms, and found, to our
dismay, that we were to be separated. The Germans,
having found out that the British were very much hap
pier when by themselves, arranged that one British
officer always occupied a room filled with officers of
any other nationaHty but his own. It was in little
ways such as this that the Boches showed a marked

BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN 27
hostility to British officers in comparison with that
shown to the Russian or French. In the room to which
I was sent there were already fifteen Russians.
Shortly after being allotted rooms I was conducted to
hospital, where on the ground floor of the bunding the
wound in my ankle was satisfactorily dressed; but they
did not seem to know what to do with the body wound.
Finding that three of the ribs were broken on the right
side, they made some sort of an attempt to set and
bind them. The doctor in attendance was a bumptious
Httle beast of about nineteen or twenty years of age,
and did not seem to know very much about his job.
After this I returned to my room full of Russians and
took to my bed.
The camp at Munden was an old oil factory, which
had been hastily turned into a camp for prisoners of
war. There were about eight hundred prisoners there
at the time of our arrival, but more came after we had
been there a month or two. The sleeping-room had
practically no furniture of any kind. A shelf, on which
tin basins were placed, served as a wash-stand, and
there were a couple of pails for water. Two small tables
and about a dozen chairs, with a small shelf about five
inches wide passing over the head of each bed, com
pleted the furnishing of the rooms.
The ground floor was divided up into an eating-haU
about fifty yards long, a canteen, and Krankenstahe (or

28 MY GERMAN PRISONS
lavatory). The second, third, and fourth floors had
been partitioned off into wooden cubicles about thirty
feet square to be utilized for sleeping accommodations.
Into these rooms sixteen Russians and one British offi
cer were crammed, which made seventeen men sleep
ing in one smaU room, with one small ventilator pane
about seventeen inches wide for the entire ventilation
of the room.
Here we were herded at night, and during the ear
liest period of our imprisonment we were not allowed
to come out to perform the natural functions of the
body. The only sanitary arrangements which were
made were two pails placed in each room. If these over
flowed, as constantly happened, there was no remedy
but to endure it. Diseased men were put in with men
who were fit, so that contagion and infection were in
evitable. During the day we descended to the eating-hall, and
although it was impossible to find any comfort in this
filthy place we were only too glad to get away from the
overladen atmosphere of the sleeping-room.
At meal-times an orderly was supplied to each group
of officers. As no proper utensils were furnished for the
orderHes to fetch the rations of rotten fish and pota
toes, which were the usual food, these orderlies had to
fetch the food in the same pails which had been used
for other purposes, and when these arrived, one was

BY CATTLE-TRUCK TO MUNDEN 29
forced to dip one's hand into the pail, take out some of
the frightful food, or go without and starve.
The reader must remember that these frightful and
disgusting details were not the result of chance — the
whole atmosphere was deliberately contrived to break
down the spirit, endurance, and health of the pris
oners. The best part of the camp were the baths, which
were quite good, hot and cold water being obtainable
up to midday, Sunday excepted. The space set apart
for an exercise-ground was a muddy stretch of about
ninety yards square, surrounded by two lines of wire.
Into this yard, protruding from the ground floor of the
factory, ran a long wooden latrine, which was the most
dreadful place imaginable, merely a series of holes
cut in the ground, with no form of drainage. The only
attempt at draining them was made by our own order
Hes, who pumped them out, and disposed of the con
tents in another large hole just outside the wire. On
a warmish day, with the wind blowing towards the
camp, it became impossible to take exercise outside
at aH; and towards February, 1915, in order to visit
these same latrines, it became absolutely necessary to
cover over one's mouth and nose. In this same yard
the general rubbish-heap of the camp was pUed with
every kind of rotting refuse, on which flies swarmed.
Indoors the camp was infested with lice, especiaUy the

30 MY GERMAN PRISONS
hospital-room. The Russian officers had been suffering
from this pestilence for a long time before the arrival
of the British, and no attempt had been made on the
part of the Germans to rid the camp of this vermin,
either by fumigating or in any other manner.
Towards the end of March, when I had been re
moved from my room to a bed in the hospital situated
on the ground floor, I asked one of our officers, who,
owing to a great farmly name, seemed to have more
influence with the Boches, to complain to the com
mandant of the appalling state of filth reigning in the
hospital, some of the beds being Hterally aHve with
many thousands of Hce. The outcome of this complaint
resulted in the importation of incinerators to the camp,
after which things became distinctly better.

CHAPTER III
THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE
During the period of our captivity at Munden the
time passed more heavUy, I think, than at any later
period, owing to the fact that we had practicaUy no
reading matter. Parcels and letters from home were
very scarce. No dafly papers nor periodicals of any
sort were aHowed, not even German, only a rag called
"The Continental Times: A Journal for Americans in
Germany" — probably the most scandalous paper
ever produced, copies of which should certainly be
printed after the declaration of peace, and would be
worth a guinea a copy, I can assure you. There were
only about a dozen EngHsh novels in the camp, and no
means of obtaining more; consequently, to keep one's

32 MY GERMAN PRISONS
fourpence apiece, for a very low-class cigarette made
of German tobacco, being an average price. Even then
one could only manage to buy a limited number. Often
enough a cigarette would be divided in half and shared
with one's pal, so that one seldom got more than a few
whiffs. Cigarettes arriving in parcels from home were,
of course, not deHvered to us.
My parcels from home began to come fairly regu
larly towards the end of February, 1915, having been
a very long time on the way. Occasionally books were
included, which the Huns would take months to censor.
Even then one was not always certain of receiving
these, even though written years before the outbreak
of war, lest they should contain information on any
subject which might prove useful to prisoners.
The name of the German commandant at Munden
in 1914 was "Hauptmann Albrecht," a Prussian of
the Prussians, arrogant beyond words. It is one of the
names which should be known to the civilized world, as
it was by his orders that the attempted demoralization
of prisoners was carried out. I beHeve that he systemat
ically worked to destroy the moral vitaHty of his pris
oners, aiming to degrade them into apathetic blocks
denuded of moral pluck, and trying by every means to
make their captivity as painful as possible.
Perhaps the commandant received orders from Head
quarters to carry on this system of petty vexation and

THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE 33
numberless pin-pricks, so much harder to bear than
deeper wounds. If so, he can pride himself on having
carried out his orders to the letter and even beyond that.
The close proximity of the sentries placed inside the
camp who often insulted and spat on us, and who, occa
sionally, even handled us with their bayonets; the being
forbidden to smoke; the long, wearing waits standing
on parade in the cold and rain and snow of the win
ter of 1914, while the commandant held his Appell
(roU-call) which the sick and wounded alike were forced
to attend; the terrible unsanitary condition of the la
trines; the crowding of the improperly ventilated
rooms, when there were empty rooms in the camp, —
these, and numberless others, were the persecutions
of the "Herr Hauptmann Albrecht" alone, as they did
not exist in any other camp in that district at that time.
On one occasion all officers of Irish nationaHty were
ordered to attend on the commandant. At that time
there were only two of us, but we managed to extract
a little amusement from the interview. For instance,
he could not be brought to understand how it was pos
sible that Irishmen, either from the north or south,
could serve in EngHsh regiments, since the greatest
animosity existed between the Irish and their Eng
lish oppressors. We were informed that, since we were
Irish, arrangements were being made to transfer us
to another camp, where conditions would be very

34 MY GERMAN PRISONS
much better. We thanked the commandant, but in the
end we never heard any more about it. Obviously this
was an attempt to tamper with our loyalty.
Soon after our interview with the commandant the
whole camp received orders for inoculation for typhus,
which was immediately carried out by the visiting
doctor — the same Httle upstart before described, who
took great joy in jabbing the needle as roughly and
deeply as possible, so that most of us were quite sore
for some time afterwards.
The majority of the officers tried to pass the time
acquiring languages, several studying Russian, and
nearly all learning French or perfecting themselves in
that language. A few took up German, taking lessons in
the latter from French officers, some of whom spoke
German perfectly. People atihome might think that
those officers who did not avafl themselves of appar
ently so good an opportunity of learning foreign lan
guages, and in so doing passing many of the weary
hours, were extremely foolish; but, beHeve me, it is
quite a different matter to study at home or at college,
where one can be more or less quiet, to studying as a
prisoner in Germany, where it is extremely difficult, if
not almost impossible, to get a moment's peace. Let
the reader imagine, if he can, trying to learn a foreign
tongue with the whole of the rest of the people in his
room babbling aloud other languages. Officers and

THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE 35
their instructors were usually to be seen seated on their
beds, for lack of other places, in a close and stuffy at
mosphere, with a continuous babble going on on all
sides. Say, for instance, you were learning German,
when on the next bed, not three feet away, somebody
else would be repeating French aloud. On the bed on
your other side a Russian lesson would be in progress,
and perhaps over in the far corner of the room a lot of
Frenchmen of the Foreign Legion would be endeavor
ing to keep up their Arabic, whflst grouped around the
hot-water pipes a heated discussion, either in French or
EngHsh, as to the probable duration of the war, peace
terms, etc., would be going on.
Talk about the Tower of Babel; it could not have
been in it. To add to the general distraction, it must be
explained that the doors of the sleeping-rooms were aU
pierced by a smaU glass window-lattice, through which
the sentries placed inside the building were continu
ally watching us. You would look up suddenly from
whatever you might be doing, either studying, reading,
or performing your toUet, to find a grimy face pressed
against the lattice, furtively watching your every move
ment. Naturally the very sight of their ugly faces in
such close proximity made one's internals seethe in a
hopeless longing to get at them.
I have already stated that the camp at Munden was
situated directly on the banks of the river Weser, on

36 MY GERMAN PRISONS
the other side of which ran a raUway line, along which
troops both going and coming could often be seen. On
one occasion some of these troops, thinking they would
indulge in a Httle sport, began firing at the camp from
the train, which ran at that spot up a very steep gra
dient, and a buUet actually passed through a window
of one of the rooms and lodged itself in the plaster of
the wall opposite. Fortunately for the prisoners, no one
was hit; but that was not the fault of the Boches. Fir
ing at prison camps containing helpless prisoners would
certainly appeal to the humor of the German mind.
Of course complaints were made to the commandant,
but, as usual, nothing came of them.
Continual smaU drafts of prisoners were always ar
riving at the camp, accompanied by a German officer
and guard. One of these officers, seeing a group of British
seated in the eating-hall, came up very poHtely and ex
pressed his sorrow at seeing them there, but told them
to cheer up, as the war would soon be over. As a mat
ter of fact he said, "We shall be in London by six weeks
from now." Note that this remark was made in Febru
ary, 191 5! He also went on to say that London was
already partially destroyed. He was not bragging, and
seemed quite a decent sort of chap; but he really
thought that what he said was true. It is the most ex
traordinary thing how the German Government, in con
junction with their press, have been able to make their

THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE 37
people beHeve any He, even to the extent that London
was in flames and the populace Hving on rats, and that
seaports such as Southampton and Portsmouth were
destroyed by gun-fire from their fleet. This latter was
told to me in aU faith at the fortress of Ingolstadt
in 1916. .
Great excitement was one day caused amongst us
at Munden owing to the fact that a Russian orderly
had been seen carrying from the canteen a plate on
which two fried eggs sat in state. He had not proceeded
fifty yards before he was surrounded by officers, quite
off their heads at the sight of two eggs, inquiring as to
where he got them, if there were any more, and how
much he would take for them, officers bidding twenty
or thirty marks for the eggs. But, unfortunately, the
orderly was true to his trust. It appeared that they
had been procured as a special mark of favor from the
commandant to a Russian general who was suffering
from stomach trouble, and who had not been able to
eat anything soHd for a very long time. Of course every
one rushed to the canteen to order eggs, but there was
nothing doing, the sight of the eggs lingering in our
memories as a beautiful dream.
It is a very difficult task to write any sort of inter
esting account of life in general at this camp, since
every day was more or less the same as the preceding
one. Few things came to vary the dreary monotony.

38 MY GERMAN PRISONS
One plucky attempt at escape from Munden is, how
ever, worth recording. The occupant of the next bed to
mine in the hospital was a British subaltern who later
made a successful escape from Germany, so I have no
hesitation in recording his first courageous effort, hav
ing obtained his permission to do so.
At the time of which I write this officer was suffer
ing from an awful skin disease, probably caused by
eating the bad pork already described. His lower limbs
were practicaUy a running sore, yet he made a success
ful escape from the camp swathed in bandages. Un-
luckUy he and some three or four Russian officers who
escaped with him were caught, after being out some
five or six days, and within seventy mUes or so of the
Dutch frontier, having failed principaUy from exhaus
tion. The means of escape was engineered through an
old disused air-vent, which led from the factory to
some outbuUdings, passing over the heads of the sen
tries and the two fences of wire which surrounded the
camp. The Russians planned to pierce the waU of the factory
opposite this air-vent, and if possible use it as a means
of passing the sentries unseen. It appears that one of
the Russian senior officers had obtained leave to hire
a piano and use one of the rooms as a general music-
room. The piano was placed against the waU of the
factory directly opposite the spot calculated to strike

THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE 39
the disused air-vent, and left in that position for some
time, in order to divert attention. Then, when a number
of musicians were playing aU kinds of instruments and
tunes, the wall behind the piano was graduaUy picked
away, and although the Boches were continually in
and out of the room they never suspected anything.
The picking of the wall was carried out with the only
instrument avaUable, that is, an ordinary small pocket-
knife. When they had pierced into the air-vent, which
must have taken a great deal of labor, a nice dark
night was chosen for the attempt. Having been pre
viously warned as to when this was to take place, I
helped Lieutenant  in every way I could. I got
up from my bed and put on a greatcoat over my pyja
mas. Hidden under the greatcoat was a complete mufti
outfit, procured mostly from the Russians, which I
conveyed past the sentries to the above-mentioned
music-room, depositing the bundle in hiding. On my
return the Heutenant left the hospital and proceeded
to the music-room, after which I did not see him tiU
some three weeks later — on the day, in fact, when
all the British officers were removed to another camp
in Saxony.
Immediately Lieutenant  left the hospital I
busied myself in stuffing aU the avaUable piUows into
the semblance of a man's form, placing it in his bed,

40 MY GERMAN PRISONS
and covering the whole with sheets and blankets weU
puUed up around the head, so that when the Boche hos
pital orderly came on his round with the medicines the
last thing at night, he might, with a bit of luck, be de
ceived, and imagine the Heutenant to be in bed asleep
in his usual attitude, with his head almost completely
enveloped by the bed-clothes. This ruse was a complete
success. I explained to the orderly, when he arrived,
that Lieutenant  had a very bad headache and
had just dropped off to sleep, and that, as it would be
a great pity to disturb him, if he liked, I would give
him the medicine immediately he awoke. The orderly,
being only too keen to get his job finished, agreed with
alacrity. The places of the other Russians who had also
escaped were taken by their pals, who had remained
behind, in the foUowing manner. As each sleeping-
room was divided by a wooden partition, it was quite
easy to cut a passage which a man might creep through.
When the call-over came at night, the Russians first
answered their names in their own room, then quietly
sHpped through the prepared passage and answered
the names of their pals in the next room.
On the foUowing morning the Boche N.C.O. came to
the hospital, demanding Lieutenant  's signature
to a draft of money just arrived from home. Again I
put him off, and told the orderly he would take a se
rious responsibiHty if he roused the lieutenant in his

THE DREARINESS OF CAMP LIFE 41
present condition, pointing to his apparently sleeping
form in the bed as I did so. The ruse again succeeded,
but I must say I thought it was all up that time.
That evening there were about thirty Russians as
sembled in the music-room, also trying their luck, but
they went about the whole thing in such a foolish man
ner that they attracted the attention of the guards
inside the building, and before a dozen of them had
been able to pass through the hole the suspicions of the
Boches were aroused. A raid was made on the room,
and of course everything was discovered. However, as
I have said, a few of them had already got away. A
hasty and flurried search was made by the Boches in
the immediate vicinity of the camp. My fellow prison
ers described what they were able to see of it from the
top story of the factory — of how the sentries dashed
from one bush to another, carrying large oU lanterns in
a ridiculous attempt to find prisoners concealed under
bushes about two feet high, when thick cover in the
shape of woods stretching for mUes encircled the whole
camp. The Boches also had a whole brigade of dogs
tethered on leading-chains to help them, but they
seemed as useless as their masters.
However, aU those who did get away were even
tually captured. As a matter of fact it is very doubt
ful if the first lot, of which Lieutenant  was one,
would have been recaptured at all if the other lot had

42 MY GERMAN PRISONS
waited, say a week, before trying the same thing; but
as they took the same route as the others, they only
led the Boches straight on the track of the first lot,
which was hardly playing the game. Each officer as he
was recaptured was brought back to the camp, but was
not allowed to be present at any of his brother officers'
court-martials. Sentences of various periods were
passed on them, and they were all confined to ceUs in
the civilian prison in the town of Munden.

CHAPTER IV
OUR REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA
About three weeks after the happenings just described,
aU the British officers were removed from Munden.
We were enabled to bring our condition to the notice
of the American Ambassador, Mr. Gerard, to whom aU
British prisoners wiU always owe a debt of gratitude.
How this was brought about may interest the reader.
It so happened that in my school days I belonged to
one of those youthful fraternities which delight in
code words, secret writings, and the like. Many a time
since have I blessed that boyish idiosyncrasy, as by
this means I was able to estabHsh a new code between
my mother at home and myself, which eventually
helped to bring about many changes for our good.
In this way we were able to write home and repre
sent the true state of the awful camp in which we were,
our letters passing through the bureau of the ever-
watchful German censors, without raising the least
suspicion. In my letters home I asked the authorities
to procure a visit of inspection from the American Am
bassador. It took about three months to accompHsh
this, owing to the time our letters were hung up in the
German Censor Office. We were visited by Mr. Gerard

44 MY GERMAN PRISONS
in person about the middle of April, 1915, when he
was conducted over the camp by the senior British
officer and saw for himself all the disgusting details.
The outcome of his representation to the German au
thorities in BerHn was our removal from that pesti
lential place on the 28th of April. Before we left, the
weather, seeing that we were weU into spring, was
becoming warmer every day, and in consequence the
sanitation was rapidly getting into a shocking state.
For some weeks past Russians had been suddenly
taken UI, and were always removed very quietly on
covered stretchers. As they did not He in the hospital-
room of the camp, we inquired of the hospital orderly
what was the matter; he said, "I don't know, but
they have gone to the typhus hospital."
I shaU always remember the journey to our new
camp at Bischofswerda and with what bright hopes we
received the order to pack up our goods and clothes on
the night of the 27th of April, in order to be ready to
start at 4.30 the next morning. Packing did not take
very long, as our sole possessions were our clothes, some
precious tins of food, and a few equaUy precious books.
When we assembled in the yard the following morning,
we found there were to be about two hundred of us —
fourteen British, and the rest made up of French,
Russians, and a few Belgians.
The journey to Bischofswerda was more or less un-

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 45
eventful, except that instead of cattle-trucks we were
in fourth-class compartments, which was extreme lux
ury after our last experience — also that on two occa
sions on the way we left the train and received a ra
tion of food, which was not too bad. We were decently
treated by the officer in charge, the second in command
of the camp at Munden, who had always behaved to
wards the prisoners with courtesy. Unfortunately he
was only second in command. Had he been comman
dant, Hfe there would have been very much easier.
We arrived at the station of Bischofswerda about
eleven at night, and marched to the camp, situated
a mUe and a half away on the outskirts of the town.
On our arrival there we were very roughly greeted by
our new commandant, but the place was so beauti
fully clean and airy that we took no notice of him. Our
change was certainly very much for the better. Bischofs
werda, with its long stone corridors, looked like para
dise to us. The German officer who had conveyed us
there took his leave immediately on handing over his
charge to the new commandant, and very kindly wished
us good luck in our new abode.
About two o'clock in the morning we were aU al
lotted our rooms, and on seeing these we again con
gratulated ourselves on our deliverance from Munden.
The camp was a brand-new cavalry barracks. The
quarters were well planned and beautifuUy clean. How

46 MY GERMAN PRISONS
we did appreciate the cleanliness after Munden! The
sanitary arrangements were exceUent — flush drains,
etc., also a good large stone tiled shower-bath, with
both hot and cold water. Naturally the hot was limited
to so many minutes. A good canteen, dining-haU, and
a large room turned into a chapel for the different re-
Hgious services, which was also used as a music-room;
also a smaU room set apart as a hospital and consult
ing-room, — all these were situated on the ground
floor, the sleeping accommodation being on the second,
third, and fourth floors. The sleeping-rooms were each
aUotted orderHes. This sounds rather nice, but when
you have only one orderly for each room containing
from eight to ten officers, and that orderly is on gen
eral fatigue for the Boches at the same time, it's not
so good as it sounds. Our orderHes were made to scrub
the corridors, passages, and stairs, peel potatoes, at
tend the eating-hall, and every other kind of work the
Boches might want done.
On inspection — or Appell, as the roll-caU was
named — we found we had been preceded the previ
ous day by about thirty Canadians recently captured,
from whom we greedUy lapped up the latest news from
the front and the old country, and were greatly over
joyed to find that things in general were not a thou
sandth p'art as bad as had been represented to us. Not
that the reader must believe that we swallowed every-

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 47
thing we were told; but when one hears no news from
home month after month as to the true conditions, it
is impossible to remain forever optimistic. Even in the
years that followed, as weeks foUowed weeks without
any perceptible advance on the part of the Entente, we
still remained optimistic, with but occasional lapses
of depression; the keynote with us was always on les
aura. The Canadians turned out to be a fine bunch
of fellows and most cheery withal. They had been pris
oners only a week, and had been quite weU treated on
the way from the front. When I say "well treated," I
mean that, according to their story, they were not
badly used. As far as I know, there was only one case
of neglected wounds among them. The one instance
was a weU-known young man from Vancouver, who
had been hit in the buttock, the buUet having lodged
in the spine. Although he was graduaUy getting worse,
up to the time I finally left Bischofswerda, in October,
1916, the wound was still unattended.
After hearing all the news we proceeded to the can
teen, and found, to our huge deHght, that we could
buy, amongst other things, a smaU roU of white bread,
and also eggs; in fact, almost everything could be got
at that time by ordering the day before -r eggs, meat,
butter, bread, lettuce, and many other small things. Of
course one paid preposterous prices; but we could buy
food, which was all we wanted — also the food was

48 MY GERMAN PRISONS
served from the kitchen on clean plates and in clean
cooking utensils. Indeed, we had fallen into the lap of
the gods. Quite a large proportion of the actual ration
was edible, though extremely monotonous, the bread
being of a light brown color and, although rather
sticky and spongy, a very great improvement on the
awful bread at Munden. At the dry canteen one could
buy almost anything, so long as one chose to pay for
it — quite good cigarettes, notebooks and writing ma
terials, toUet articles, deck-chairs, in fact most things
that a prisoner could require. Some little time after we
arrived the canteen even produced wine and brandy.
The wine at first was quite drinkable, but soon grew
worse and worse, until it became nothing more or less
than sweetened spirit, which had a very bad effect on
the stomach. The brandy soon gave out, after which
orders were given to seU no more. Towards August,
1915, we could buy occasionaUy some venison and
partridge, and for special occasions, such as Christmas,
1915, a goose, the price of which ran to about three
dollars a pound. It was worth it, however.
Outside the building, the parade ground and cavalry
school training-ground, wired in by two rows of wire
fences about eight feet high, served as an exercise-
ground for the prisoners. In between the two rows
of wire, sentries were placed about thirty-five yards
apart. Every fifty yards a powerful arc lamp, raised

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 49
on high standards, showed up the designs of a would-
be escaper. The parade ground was roughly about
ninety yards by sixty yards and the riding-school
ninety yards by forty-five yards. This latter was laid
with deep sand, and served as a football-ground for the
prisoners — very hard going for a fast game like
footer, but nevertheless much appreciated. At first the
parade ground was used only for walking, but after
a great deal of persuasion and expense the British
built two hard tennis courts. I forget how much the
cost was, though I acted as secretary to the club. It was
somewhere in the neighborhood of about three thou
sand marks apiece, or three hundred pounds for the
two, although almost aU the work was put in by the
officers themselves. Two very old men and a smaU boy
were the Boche contribution of labor, and these mostly
spent their time eating, or so it seemed to us. However,
we did get the courts, which was the main point.
About one hundred yards to the west from the
outside wire fence of the camp was a large area of
ploughed fields and stubble used by the Boches as a
training camp for their young troops, probably re
cruited from the districts around and about Bischofs
werda and Dresden.
Many an instructive afternoon have I spent in
watching the German methods of mUitary training
and thanked my stars I was not born a German. We

50 MY GERMAN PRISONS
were not close enough to see any actual brutality going
on, but little groups of men were constantly screamed
and cursed at, and they told their own tale, together
with the way in which the poor f eUows were worked to
death. One old German N.C.O. used to carry a stick
with a long piece of rope on the end of it which he used
as a whip.
For twelve hours a day, including Sundays, those
wretched recruits were on the driU ground, in aU
weathers, lying on their stomachs learning musketry.
The rain, snow, or sleet made no difference. They were
not aUowed overcoats, and it was whispered to us from
our own guards that they had no change of clothing.
For three and sometimes four nights a week they could
be seen or heard doing night operations as well on the
same ground. Sometimes these operations were lit up
by night flares or rockets. Many of the recruits went
off to the front after nine weeks of this intensive train
ing. The general routine for the day at Bischofswerda was
as follows: Appell (or roU-caU) 6.45 a.m., outside on
the parade ground; then breakfast at eight o'clock,
consisting of a cup of hot coffee, say third-rate, and a
smaU roU of white bread, which was quite good; fol
lowed by dinner, served between 11.30 and 12.30 in
three different parties, only twenty minutes being al
lowed for each sitting, including clearing away and pre-

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 51
paring for the next sitting. This was due to the limited
size of the dining-hall, which was only about forty by
thirty feet, too smaU to accommodate three hundred
and fifty officers. Dinner, as a rule, consisted of some
mince-meat wrapped up in boiled cabbage, served
with very nasty sauerkraut. The meat was good, but as
it was prepared in this manner nearly every day it be
came rather monotonous. Sometimes as dessert we got
some stewed fruit (it sounds quite nice, but it was n't),
or a Httle cheese, which was always good, also two
slices of German K bread, or black bread, quite whole
some, though personally I always disliked it. Supper
was at 7.30 or 8.30, consisting of some kind of cold sau
sages, two more thin sHces of the black bread, and a
small pat of margarine. Appell again at 9.30 completed
the day's round.
The reader may not think the rations given either
very good or very bad, according to his ideas on the
subject of what he thinks officer prisoners should get.
He should bear in mind, however, that the officer pays
for this ration at the rate of five pounds for a captain
and three pounds for a subaltern monthly. Neverthe
less, it was, I think, possible to Hve on the rations as
they consisted in 1915 at Bischofswerda. Anyhow,
whatever the food might be, the fact that it was served
up in a cleanly manner was half the battle. At the same
time it must be understood that the German rations did

52 MY GERMAN PRISONS
not remain like this after October, 1915, as the allow
ance for prisoners in meat, potatoes, and bread grad
ually declined, until the weekly meat' ration dropped
to seventy-five grammes or about two and two-thirds
ounces, potatoes dropping in proportion. The bread
remained the same weight, but was of an inferior
quaHty. The commandant, whose name was Ivenstein, both
' annoyed and amused us by turns, though on the whole
he might have been very much worse, and he was usu
ally fairly reasonable when sober, which I don't beHeve
he ever was during the week-end. When he attended
the early-morning parade, he would shout and scream
himself hoarse, calling us, "Schweinhunde, aUe die
Englander sind Schweinhunde, meine Herren" (AU
the EngHsh officers are dogs of swine). Latterly he
dropped this, since after a visit from the American
Commission, we complained of being insulted on pa
rade. He was rather heavUy "strafed" from Head
quarters. Taking it aU round, as I said before, we might have
had a very much worse commandant, his bark always
being worse than his bite. The man who acted as in
terpreter for the British officers did not help to make
our dealings with the commandant any easier, since
he was both a swine and an idiot, could hardly speak
EngHsh, and directly insulted us on every possible oc-

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 53
casion, though he was only a private. Although hun
dreds of complaints were sent to the commandant, no
notice was ever taken.
One day I received the magazine called "The Cap
tain" from home. According to the rules it had to be
censored by the interpreter before it could be received
by the officer to whom it was sent. After a week had
elapsed I naturaUy asked the interpreter for it. His re
ply was that I could not be aUowed to have it, since it
contained a story about war: which was quite true —
it dealt with the Napoleonic campaign! My answer to
this futile objection was "Damnation!" The next day
I was had up in front of the commandant and given
twenty-four hours in cells for saying " God damn the
German nation," which was the interpretation of my
"Damnation" given to the commandant by the inter
preter. Although one of the senior field officers, who
spoke German perfectly, went to the commandant on
my behalf and explained that "Damnation" did not
mean any such thing, he refused to doubt the word of
his interpreter, and I did my twenty-four hours! The
twenty-four hours was rather a quiet rest, as a matter
of fact, and I enjoyed it; but the gross injustice of the
thing was a typical case of what an officer had to put
up with.
However, we eventually got this interpreter re
moved, principaUy through the above case being

54 MY GERMAN PRISONS
brought under the notice of the American Commission
on their next visit. But we only jumped out of the
frying-pan into the fire, since we ^ot another inter
preter, this time in the shape of an officer, who turned
out to be very much worse. Sometimes I have it in my
heart to pity the latter, since there are two or three
French officers and half a dozen British who are waiting
for him after the war, and then I think he wiU have a
short shrift. About this time aU the officers were again
warned for inoculation, both for typhus and cholera,
but the operation was carried out in a very much
gentler manner than on the previous occasion.
I have explained that the baths at Bischofswerda
were situated on the ground floor, but not that the
bathroom windows looked out on the exercise-ground.
One day a Canadian officer taking his walk round the
wire, rather early, played a practical joke on an Eng
Hsh officer who was taking his bath rather late.
The Canadian, seeing the clothes and towel of some
feUow heaped on the window-ledge, stole up, puUed
them through into the exercise-square, and then re
tired to the opposite side of the square to watch the
fun. Soon the man in the bath discovered his loss, and lo
cated his towel and clothing outside. Without hesita
tion, he jumped through the window in his birthday
rig-out. Holy Moses! He jumped almost on top of the

REMOVAL TO BISCHOFSWERDA 55
pompous commandant who came suddenly around
the corner of the building!
It is necessary for the reader's enjoyment to ex
plain that across the exercise-square and outside the
wire were situated the German married quarters, on
a balcony of which could usually be seen the comman
dant's wife and famUy. For once, the commandant
treated the thing just as it deserved and certainly got
one over on the English officer.
The commandant did not yeU or storm or order him
to clamber back into the bathroom. Oh, no. He was
really humorous. He simply gave one significant look
at the married quarters, saw evidences of female flutter,
and then ordered the Englishman to walk right down
the exercise-ground, in full view of everybody, naked
as he was born, into the barracks, down the corridor
in front of the guards and into his own Bureau. There
he sent for the officer's clothes, and gave him twenty-
four hours in the cells.
When I was gleefuUy told the details I said, "WeU,
all I can say is, 'BuUy for the commandant!' He's
got a sense of humor anyway. Was he drunk or sober?
Must have been drunk. These fellows don't know the
meaning of real humor. But I say, I would have loved
to have seen old B  stalking along like that — he's
such a skinny brute."

CHAPTER V
MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL
In order to show up the general attitude of treatment
of British prisoners, I must, however reluctantly, be
come more personal and relate the manner in which
my wounds were treated. After aU, one judges people
by one's personal experience of them, and no one can
be responsible for the opinions of others. On my arrival
from Munden my ankle was practicaUy weU, but the
pain in my chest was growing worse daUy. To add to
this, I had broken out in abscesses and running sores,
having about eighteen on my body at one time. These
abscesses, since I had never had such a thing before,
were probably due to the bad food at Munden, and the
very low condition I was reduced to, owing to much
pain and very Httle sleep for some months. The run
ning sores, however, were caused by the Hce in the hos
pital-room at Munden. Yet, when we arrived at Bis
chofswerda, in so many ways such an exceUent camp in
comparison to others in Germany, there was no doctor
there. A doctor did appear once in about fourteen days,
and then he seldom had time to visit me, although I
was quite bedridden at the time. After I had been there
about six weeks I did get some attention from a French

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 57
doctor who had been taken prisoner; but as the medi
cines he could get hold of were very limited, he was not
able to do much.
I was stiU in bed at the end of June before the Ger
man doctor paid me a visit. I was then almost free
from the abscesses, owing to having Hved almost en
tirely on lettuce and green food, which I had been able
to buy from the canteen; but bis diagnosis as to the
pain in my right side, back, and chest was rheuma
tism, since the ribs which had been so badly smashed
were bound to be in a very deHcate condition. He could
not account for the amount of blood I brought up daUy
in my sputum, but said it was nothing, and that aU I
wanted was to get up and walk about. WeU, I'm not
a doctor, so I suppose he knew his job, and although
very weak I made the effort, and graduaUy went about
the camp like any one else. In July I started to play
tennis, but soon found that any sort of violent exer
cise caused me to bring up far greater quantities of
blood, besides giving great pain. AU this time I could
neither He nor sleep on the right side, or at times even
bear to have my tunic buttoned. Soon after the doc
tor advised me to get up and walk about, he gave me
some stuff for rheumatism — aspirin, I think.
At the end of July, 1915, this doctor left, and then a
permanent doctor was appointed, who visited the camp
daily between 10.30 and 12.30, Sundays excepted. To

58 MY GERMAN PRISONS
him I carried my aches and pains. Without examin
ing me he looked up the report of the last doctor, and
said, "Oh, yes — rheumatism and gout"; he said the
blood-spitting was nothing, and that I was not to take
too violent exercise; and although I visited him on and
off every few days I never got any change out of him.
About this time a traveller from a big firm of camera-
makers arrived at the camp, and with the comman
dant's permission several orders were given, so many of
the officers being not only rather keen on photography,
but wishing to be able to take and send home some
snaps of everyday scenes in our prison camp. Three
other feUows and myself bought a reaUy good reflex
camera, and a lot of very decent photos were taken
with it. Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, the
camera only arrived the day before I was ordered
away. On September 3, 1915, 1 was ordered to pack up my
trucks, as I was being removed to Clausthal in Hartz
for medical treatment, and on the following morning
off I went with my bag and baggage to Clausthal,
under the guard of an officer and a man. I had a very
pleasant journey up through Dresden, Leipzig, Mun
den, and HaUe to Clausthal, situated in the Hartz
Mountains, surrounded by very pretty country. We
spent the first night at Munden, and reached Claus
thal the foUowing day. At some station between Leip-

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 59
zig and Munden we changed on to another Hne. The
German officer took me to one of the men's waiting-
rooms, ordered some food, placed a guard over me, and
left us — probably to go and get a good fat dinner him
self somewhere. Shortly after he went a troop of about
twelve French Tommies came in under guard, looking
very bedraggled and miserable. They were made to sit
down on the floor in a corner, and looked so pinched
and thin that I determined, if possible, to help them
if I could, should they happen to be short of food for
the want of a Httle money; so I went over and spoke to
them, but was immediately stopped by the guard, who
explained that any sort of communication between
prisoners was verbolen.
Resuming my seat at the table, I began to puzzle
out the problem, and after some time I solved the
difficulty. Just before I left Bischofswerda a Russian
officer who was with me in the sick-room had given me
a box of Russian cigarettes, and by good luck I had
them in my pocket. Everybody knows that Russian
cigarettes have a hoUow mouthpiece about an inch and
a quarter long. Tearing a fifty-mark bUl in half, and
carefuUy rolling the two halves into the shape and
size of the mouthpiece, I inserted the pieces into the
mouthpiece of two cigarettes. It took some time to do
this, since my hands had to work underneath the
table, whilst I was apparently reading my book, which

60 MY GERMAN PRISONS
was lying open on the table. When the cigarettes were
complete, I fiUed my case with Russian cigarettes, and
offered one to each of the guards, keeping my thumb
caref uUy on the two prepared cigarettes. They were ac
cepted with gusto by the guard. When they had lit up,
I asked permission to give some to the French prison
ers, and having accepted them themselves they could
hardly refuse. I distributed two or three; then offered
the remaining two in the case to the most inteUigent-
looking, at the same time saying, "Cherchez." To my
disgust he looked absolutely blank. But when the Ger
man officer returned to take me away, he rose, saluted,
and said, "Au revoir, mon Heutenant, et merci beau-
coup." The officer fortunately could not speak French
and asked me what he said. I repHed, "Only a respect
ful greeting from a private to an officer."
Whilst waiting on the platform for the train which
was to take us to Munden, two German Red Cross
trains steamed slowly through the station, both of
which were distinctly marked on the top and sides with
the revered cross of the Geneva Convention. Yet both
trains carried six brand-new field guns apiece, with
ammunition-wagons attached. Both trains were also
decorated along their whole length with laurel and
other green boughs, and fiUed with a crowd of merry
soldiery, so that they were most certainly bound for
the front.

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 61
"Surely these guns must be some mistake?" I
thought. "Or is this the way Germany takes her guns
into action with safety?"
I must pause a minute to describe our arrival at
Munden, as it was a phenomenal sight to me. On
approaching our old prison it appeared much the same
as when we left it in April, but on entering a revela
tion was in store for me. To start with, the eating-hall
was considerably cleaned up, many new tables and
chairs provided, the tables covered with white oU-
cloth, and pictures executed by different artistic, Rus
sian officers, hung round the walls. Afterwards I visited
the British officers and found there were four new ones
lately captured. But the room! Wonder of wonders!
There were chests of drawers, a wardrobe, extra tables,
and chairs, only five or six beds in rooms that had held
nine in our time, and only nine in those that had held
seventeen! But it was in going out into the yard that
I nearly fainted with surprise. To start with, there was
a long wooden shed buUt out from the eating-haU,
erected by the American Y.M.C.A., and very comfort
ably furnished with tables and chairs. This room acted
as a sort of recreation-room on wet days. But the yard!
What had been a sloppy, sHding mess of mud and a
few trees was transformed into a ripping garden; grand
paths ran here and there, and I've seen many flower
beds at Hampton Court inferior to those at Munden,

62 MY GERMAN PRISONS
which were well kept and artistically laid out. To cap
it all, the yard had been enlarged by wiring in the
ground for two tennis courts laid at the Boche expense,
level cinder courts, with a good roUer and aU the rest
of the paraphernaHa necessary to a hard court. Also
a dry canteen and store had been erected, both under
the management of the officers, and things were run
ning smoothly and satisfactorily. I even saw some
eggs. My readers must forgive my divergence from my
story, but it was such an astounding revelation to me
to see what could be done with a reaUy bad camp like
Munden, and I desire particularly to draw attention
to it, since it was entirely brought about by the Amer
ican Ambassador, and so clearly pointed out the en
deavors in certain German quarters to produce a good
impression on the Americans. It was aU eyewash from
the beginning to end — eyewash for the Americans.
In so far as the latrines were concerned, they were no
better. No one could alter them, though even there the
difference was very marked, since Munden at that time
only held between five and six hundred instead of over
a thousand prisoners.
To continue the account of my travels to Clausthal,
the officer and man were exceedingly poHte and very
considerate, and heavUy strafed some civiHans who
jeered at me, calling the usual "Schweinhund!" There

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 63
was one humorous episode on the way up at Leipzig,
where we had lunch. On the table was a Worcester
sauce bottle, on the printed label of which had been
pasted the words "Gott strafe England." I nearly
cried with laughter — real Worcester sauce from Eng
land and "Gott strafe England"! It's one of the rich
est jokes I 've heard of. On pointing it out to the officer
he could not see the joke.
I wonder if the reader remembers that I started on
my journey in Germany, wounded, in a cattle-truck.
From cattle-trucks we were promoted to fourth-class
carriages, and now to second-class. Later I shall teU
of how we occasionally traveUed first class. This was in
keeping with everything else. Prisoners taken in the
spring of 1915 grumbled at their treatment. Had they
been taken in 1914 they would have had more to com
plain of. Throughout my imprisonment one thing was
absolutely clear — the longer the war went on, and the
farther the hopes of ultimate victory receded from the
German mind, the better treatment their prisoners re
ceived. I don't refer to food, as, though they aUowed
us to buy food in 191 5, they can't do that now, since
they have not got the food to seU. They cannot give
what they have not got; but when the Boches thought
they were going to break through at Verdun in Feb
ruary and March, 1916, things were very hard and un
comfortable for the prisoners. On the other hand, our

64 MY GERMAN PRISONS
victory on the Somme brought us all sorts of Httle
concessions. The Boche is before aU things a bully. If he 's win
ning, he buUies; if he's losing, he is poHte and oily. A
good idea of their pettiness is shown by the fact that,
having aUowed us to buy maps at Bischofswerda in
1915, showing the actual fighting fronts in both Europe
and the East, they were confiscated when the offensive
on the Somme looked as if it might be successful. This
was done in order that the prisoners might not have the
satisfaction of recording the British and French gains
on the maps, on which we had kept a record of the
struggle in the usual manner with wool and Httle flags
pinned through. Some months after the advance on
the Somme, when the news was no longer an exhila
rating tonic to the prisoners, these maps were re
turned, curiously enough at a time when the Boches
had made a small but successful counter-attack. This
confiscation of maps happened on more than one oc
casion, but, much to the disgust of the Boches, it
always bucked us up quite a lot, since we felt sure
that the cause must be that the AUies had made some
sort of a gain somewhere, although the German papers
might give no news of it.
On arrival at the station at Clausthal there was ac
tually a cab to drive us to the camp! This princely
treatment almost dumbfounded me. Of course I was

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 65
being sent to Clausthal as an invaHd for treatment, so
perhaps I should have taken it for granted; but our
previous experience did not allow us to look forward to
being treated in any sort of human manner. I had to
pay very heavily for the cab. The camp at Clausthal
turned out to be an old hotel, one of the examples of
German architecture so often to be seen in that part
of Germany, pretentious and jerry-built. A garden,
surrounded by the usual wire fences and sentry patrols,
enclosed a more or less square exercising-ground of
about one hundred yards in length. More than half the
hotel was taken up by a large court-room, with a smaU
stage. This was the Biergarten of the hotel, and was
utiHzed as the general eating-hall and canteen, where
all the meals were served, and where the prisoners
passed their time when indoors. The remaining portion
of the hotel was divided into bedrooms of varying size
and comfort.
On the whole Clausthal was perhaps one of the best
camps in Germany, though certainly not equal to Bis
chofswerda. At the same time the commandant and
staff invgeneral were always very polite and correct, and
not generaUy insulting and buUying, as at Bischofs
werda. Along one side of the eating-hall described above
ran a series of wooden screens, forming a number of
tea-rooms, evidently buUt for greater privacy. Curtains
hung on ropes divided these boxes from the vulgar gaze

66 MY GERMAN PRISONS
of the people in the centre of the haU. These boxes
served as sleeping-rooms for a number of officers, four
in each box. To one of these I was allotted, and a very
cold and horribly draughty spot it was. I found there
over twenty British officers, who immediately on my
arrival pounced on me for the latest news; but when
they found out that I was a 1914, like themselves, a
groan of despair went up. The next morning I saw the
commandant, who did not seem to know where I had
come from, so it was necessary to explain that I had
been sent to undergo a course of treatment for rheuma
tism and gout, affecting me in the region of my wound.
"What!" he said, "you've come here for treatment
for rheumatism!" and laughed sarcastically. "You
could not come to a worse place for it. We've no treat
ment here of any sort — never had. There is not even
a hospital here, only a sick-room, which a doctor from
the town visits for half an hour daUy; but you had
better see the doctor when he comes to-day."
When I saw the doctor and told him that the doctor
at Bischofswerda had diagnosed my case as rheuma
tism settled in the regions of the wound, he did not
seem to agree, but of course would not say so. The only
comment he made was that he thought I was in need
of an operation to extract whatever it was that might
be causing the trouble. I have not mentioned that at
the bottom of the exercise-ground, outside the wire,

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 67
extended both to the right and left two small lakes,
extremely picturesque, but of course the mist which
rose off them night and morning was not exactly the
best thing for any sort of lung trouble. The consequence
was that within a week of my arrival I was confined to
the sick-room with a sort of congestion, which grew
worse instead of better, untU one day the doctor ap-
pHed to the authorities in Berlin to have me removed
again to Bischofswerda, from where I had originally
come. The transfer took three months to get through,
but eventually, at the end of November, I again re
turned to Bischofswerda and my old friends.
The principal complaint at Clausthal was the lack
of baths. Fancy an hotel without bathrooms! What
dirty beasts the Boches must be. The officers had to
make their ablutions as best they could in large tin
pails, a most unsatisfactory way of washing. Also the
lavatory accommodation was not nearly adequate for
the two hundred odd officers there. The consequence
was it was continuaUy out of order. Last, but certainly
not least, the restricted area for exercise. After my
escape to England a gentleman once said to me, "Oh,
yes, Clausthal; I once read about it. A fine camp with
extensive grounds. You had a golf-course there, had
you not?" "Well, there was a golf-course," I repHed.
"But have you ever tried to play over a nine-hole
course contained within a boundary of one hundred

68 MY GERMAN PRISONS
yards square, and kid yourseff you are playing golf? "
Only prisoners are capable of such phUosophy. "Make
the best of it," is their motto; and so they did. There
was as much excitement over a morning's round of goff
there as if they were playing at Sunningdale; but, be
Heve me, a far better and more exciting course could
be made at Piccadilly Circus. There you have the first
tee, say, at the corner outside Swan & Edgar's, and a
really pretty mashie shot over the line of motor-buses
usually to be seen there. Probably you land in the foun
tain and lose a stroke, but eventuaUy, with varying
fortune, you make the first hole in the entrance to the
PaviHon! Possibly you hit the big commissionnaire or
the poHceman. They'd be very wroth, but not so angry
as a Russian or French general strolling round the
dilapidated flower-beds at Clausthal. They loathed
golf and the very name of it; but the Britishers played
on. Oh, yes, we had "some" golf-course at Clausthal!
The reader must not think I 'm trying to be funny.
I'm not, but I am endeavoring to bring home the fact
that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, when the
people at home hear of such luxuries as goH-courses,
etc., in prison camps in Germany, they are apt to re
mark that the prisoners are not so badly treated after
aU. "Why, they are even allowed to play golf!" which
immediately brings up a picture of feUows ranging
over the country, more or less having a good time.

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 69
Take, for example, the fact that I was removed from
Bischofswerda for special treatment for rheumatism
and gout. In October, 1915, it was officiaUy pubHshed
in England that I had been removed to the Hartz
Mountains for treatment. Eyewash, nothing more!
What else could it be, since we have seen that on arrival
at Clausthal it was a very bad place for people suffer
ing from rheumatism, and that they had no method of
treatment or ever had? Yet a Hst of officers was re
ported officially through Switzerland to England as
having been sent there for treatment. As I appeared
on that list, I know what I'm talking about. People
at home thought and said, "The kindly Germans are
even sending their prisoners to the Hartz Mountains,
the most beautiful part of Germany, in order to cure
them of their rheumatism, poor things!"
The feeding at Clausthal was in one way much bet
ter than at Bischofswerda; that is to say, the actual
rations were more plentiful, of better quaHty, and
better cooked; but, on the other hand, in so far as be
ing able to order and buy food one could get infinitely
more at the latter place. Drinks, however, were cheaper
and better at Clausthal. Of course I'm speaking of
1915, when we could get something to drink if the com
mandant aUowed. PersonaUy I did very weU in the
way of food at Clausthal, more especiaUy when I was
in the sick-room, since two British majors prepared

70 MY GERMAN PRISONS
and brought me aU my food. I got very uppish over
that, for it is not often a junior sub. has two regular
majors to wait on him hand and foot. Some day I
hope to be able to repay their great kindness.
Two or three days before leaving Clausthal I bought
from the canteen a large pannier basket to hold aU my
belongings, as on the way from Bischofswerda my box
had been rather badly smashed up. I mention the
basket here because it had a rather interesting future.
When the day arrived for me to return to Bischofs
werda, my baggage having been packed by one of our
officers, I took leave of some of the cheeriest and best
f eUows that it has ever been my lot to meet, and was
driven, at an early hour of the morning, to the station
at Clausthal. The cabman charged me seven marks for
a three-quarter-mUe drive; but still I did not have to
walk, so I suppose I should not grumble. Before leav
ing, my luggage was, as usual, very carefully searched,
though what awful weapon they thought I could pos
sibly have got hold of and secreted, goodness knows.
The journey back was more or less uneventful, ex
cept that this time I had as a guard one N.C.O. and
one man, both of whom were respectful enough, but
neither of whom gave me much chance of escape. Had
I been strong enough at that time, I certainly could
have kUled them both at one period of the journey and
made my escape through the guard's van, in which

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 71
was the guard. On this occasion we were travelling
fourth-class, probably because it was not an officer
who was conducting me, in which case it goes to prove
that prisoners are not sent first or second class because
they are officers, but for the comfort of the conducting
German officer. This fourth-class carriage was built on
the same coach as the guard's van, and I did not feel
that I was strong enough to cope with two of them
silently enough without disturbing the guard. It was
night and pitch-dark, the train only running about
fifteen mUes an hour, and I'd never had such a chance
before. However, after my long period in bed, I felt
I could not tackle the job satisfactorily, since failure
would have meant the end of me.
At Leipzig I was conducted to one of the German
private mess-rooms. It was evidently a sort of general
mess for any N.C.O. or private, as it was fiUed with
aU kinds of different regiments, Saxons, Prussians, and
Bavarians, each lounging at different tables. I spent
nearly two hours there, and had a very interesting time
— interesting from the point of view of German inte
rior dissensions. The Bavarians scowled at the Prus
sians and Saxons, and would not answer even if spoken
to by either of these. It chanced that there were three
long tables in the rooms, only two of them occupied by
the Saxons, and the other by the Bavarians. I was con
ducted to their table by my guard and some food

72 MY GERMAN PRISONS
ordered for me. A Httle later on several Prussians en
tered, looked at the table of the Saxons and Bavarians,
saw plenty of vacant places, but discussed openly that
they were not going to feed at the same table with
those feUows. Seeing me sitting at the third table, they
came over and saluted and asked permission to be
seated, which was of course cordiaUy given; one of
them even addressed me, asking when I had been taken
prisoner. One would have thought that, if they ob
jected to the sight of Bavarians and Saxons, they
would have fumed at seeing one of the hated Engend
ers in their own mess, but such was not the case.
The night before my return to Bischofswerda, one
of the Canadian officers, a major, escaped. I cannot
say how, since everybody in the camp seemed to have
a different story, and as I was not there at the time,
myself, it would only be supposition. One thing I do
know, however, and it is quite worth the telling. The
morning after the major's escape, when his absence at
call-over had been discovered by the Boches, the com
mandant, in a wild fury, sent up one of his officers to
the major's room. The officer hauled out an old and
dirty pair of socks belonging to the major. These were
formally presented in the courtyard to the comman
dant's bloodhound, who, after sniffing at the socks, died
in convulsions — at least, that is what I was told! As
a matter of fact, the dog was brought out with great

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 73
ceremony by the commandant and presented with the
socks to smell. Immediately he quietly subsided on
the ground and turned his head in the opposite direc
tion, absolutely refusing to have anything to do with
the socks or their departed owner. The commandant,
in great chagrin, had to bear the taunting smUes of his
prisoners. Some six weeks later, we had the splendid news that
the major had gotten over into Denmark in safety. He
was the second Britisher to escape since the beginning
of the war. Oh, what a night that was! My country
men, one and aU, lined up in the canteen. By a Httle
judicious "palm grease" we managed to get hold of
some filthy imitation beer in which to drink the health
of the gallant major, after which we had songs — " For
he's a jolly good fellow," and others — screamed at the
top of our lungs. At the end of the second song, the
German guard came in, and tried to haul us out, but
we did n't care — old P  had gotten over the bor
der! EventuaUy it took the commandant himseh to
come in and turn us out, and even then we shouted out
song after song in our rooms, untU well past midnight.
Of course we got a " strafe," but what did that matter?
Old P  had gotten over, and we did n't give a
damn! I arrived at Bischofswerda just after midnight. The
next day I found things much the same as before, ex-

74 MY GERMAN PRISONS
cept that the ration given by the Boches had greatly
diminished during my absence, also the amount and
variety of the food we had previously been able to buy.
Eggs had completely disappeared, and the bread had
deteriorated very much. "Ha, ha!" I thought, "the
Boches are feeling the pinch of the Mistress of the
Seas"; so we cheerfuUy did without the things we had
had. However, the parcels from home had been coming
in weU, in preparation for Christmas, so we did our
selves pretty weU on the whole.
Within a few days of my return to Bischofswerda
the cameras which we had purchased with the permis
sion of the commandant were confiscated again. This
was quite in keeping with everything else the Boches
did. We would be aUowed to buy things, and soon after
wards they would be taken away. In other words, as
soon as they had got the money out of you, an order
to confiscate would come from the commandant. He
was very sorry, but his orders came from higher up!
Such things as drawing-pens, fret-work, and small chip-
carving tools, maps, spirit-stoves, and last, but not
least, the camera. Of course the order never came from
higher up, as I have certain information that cameras
were aUowed in other camps up till 1917.
The confiscation of articles legitimately bought in
the canteen was only part of a system of petty meas
ures practised against the prisoners. They soon dis-

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 75
covered that, as far as the Britisher was concerned,
nothing upset him so much or made him more dis
heartened than cutting off his baths. So for every Httle
excuse possible, such as Russian, French, or British
officers failing to give a smart enough salute to a Ger
man second Heutenant, the baths would be cut off for
a day or two; or, failing that, footbaU would be pro
hibited, or any sort of game the officers might be trying
to amuse themselves with. Shorts — football breeches
— would be confiscated. To do the latter a general
search of the rooms was necessary. Of course, this
always caused a certain amount of excitement, since
everybody had something to hide — an electric torch,
pieces of rope, money, and whatever the Boches
might happen to be after at the time.
These searches took place periodicaUy, about every
six weeks, I should say. Sometimes everybody would
be suddenly herded out of the buUdings, and search
made whUe all the prisoners were in the courtyard, in
the hope of finding things forbidden carelessly left
about.i These periodical searches for forbidden articles were
exasperating. To be hauled from one's room, to be
made to line up in fours in the corridors untU such
time as one's rooms or person had been searched,
became very tedious. But looking back upon these
searches, there was nearly always some Httle humorous

76 MY GERMAN PRISONS
incident which lit up the event, and gave us something
to talk and laugh over.
One night we were suddenly hauled out into the
corridor, at about nine o'clock. Some of the officers had
already gone to bed, which necessitated their throwing
a coat over their pyjamas in order to attend the mus
ter. One Canadian wag, hearing that it was to be a
personal search, took his pyjamas off, and simply put
a coat on.
As it happened, on this particular occasion, the
search was being made by one of the German orderlj
officers. As he came down the Hne, we were made to
open our coats in order that he might go through our
pockets. When it came to the turn of the Canadian, he
just stepped forward one pace, threw his coat off, and
stood there as naked as when he came into the world.
A howl of joy went up from the prisoners. The German
officer went as red as a turkey cock, completely lost
his head, and it was some time before he, or his guard,
could quiet the deHghted prisoners.
More often, however, when early morning parades
came, the Boches would keep us outside and search the
rooms whUst we were on parade; and very successful
they were, but not generaUy with the British. Very
few British officers were discovered with forbidden
articles. A suit of mufti clothes or two was about all,
and a few newspaper cuttings; but the Russians and

MY JOURNEY TO CLAUSTHAL 77
sometimes the French would have whole escaping out
fits caught in a single haul. Probably this was due to
the fact that the camp was surrounded with spies, and
as the Russians were all together, and not mixed up
with the British as at Munden, the chances of betrayal
from outside the British community were nil. We very
often had French officers mixed in with us, but seldom
any Russians. There is absolutely no harm in my stat
ing here that the Russians were infested with spies,
and they knew it and talked about it quite openly.
One or two of them were marked out for destruction
after the war.
There were numerous attempts to escape from the
end of 191 5 to the middle of 191 6; but, curiously
enough, when aU the arrangements were complete, and
the attempt ready to be made, the Boche guard would
suddenly be doubled, or a Boche raid made on that
particular room at the last moment, and probably aU
the paraphernaHa caught. It happened too many times
for coincidence.
One of the few bright spots of my time at Bischofs
werda were the periodical visits of the Reverend Mr.
WUHams, who came once every three or four months
to the camp, and held Divine service for us. Mr.
Williams was the pastor of the English Church in
Berlin when war broke out. He was allowed to remain
in Germany, under certain restrictions, and went from

78 MY GERMAN PRISONS
prison camp to prison camp. I don't think any of us
were particularly religious, but Mr. WUHams was al
ways so bright and hopeful. One could not help catch
ing a Httle of his cheerfulness, and I think I can speak
for aU of us in saying that we looked forward to his
visits very much and felt the better for his coming.
Also we sincerely hope that on the conclusion of peace
the authorities at home wiU recognize and befittingly
reward his services, since no man ever carried forward
work under more difficult and disagreeable circum
stances — sHghted and distrusted by the German
civiHans, leading a life of complete isolation in the
enemy's country, exceedingly short of food. Indeed, on
his latter visits to us, he usuaUy had had no food for
twenty-four hours. One day, when we got permission
for him to take a meal with us, pending the arrival of
the train to take him to another camp, he ate with
much gusto some eggs from home, the first he had seen
for many months. Notwithstanding aU the obstacles
put in his way, he continued to pass from camp to
camp on this kindly pUgrimage.

CHAPTER VI
COURT-MARTIALLED AND INSULTED
I have now reached a point in my narrative which
dates us back to a few days before Christmas, 191 5,
when we learned that the German canteen was to be
done away with, from which hitherto we had been
able to get so much food, in order to augment both our
parcels from home and the greatly diminished Boche
rations, and that hereafter we should be more or less
dependent on our parcels. Some of my readers may find
this quite an interesting point, as it indicates the period
when the Boches reaUy began to feel the shortage of
foodstuffs. After my escape, many people continuaUy
asked me, "Are the Germans really as short of food
as the papers say?" My reply to this was, "Yes, only
a jolly sight harder up than the papers say."
The old canteen was finaUy aboHshed with the ad
vent of New Year's Day, 1916; and since the woman
and her husband who had hitherto run the canteen also
ran the whole show, they had a terrific amount of stuff
to remove — aU the kitchen utensUs necessary to run
a mess for three hundred and fifty officers. We had a
little hand in the removal, as I will explain. Early in
the morning of Christmas Day a Canadian officer came

80 MY GERMAN PRISONS
to me and asked me for the loan of my big basket before
mentioned, also for some money, as he knew me to be
in possession of a certain amount His idea was to get
into the basket, let himself be carried down by a couple
of the British orderHes, and deposited outside the
kitchen door with some dozens of other packages,
amongst them a couple of baskets of simUar type fuU
of linen and plates. Accordingly we got him into the
basket, caUed up the orderHes, and gave them orders
where to deposit the baskets. All went weU; the order
Hes carrying the basket passed the sentries without
trouble, since most of the orderHes had been detailed
to help the canteen people remove their stuff. A couple
of large vans were standing at the guard-room gate,
being rapidly fiUed with the packages, when my bas
ket's turn came. It was evidently too heavy, and un
fortunately a Boche orderly came out of the kitchen
that moment and offered to give a hand. Just as he was
about to lif t it the Canadian officer wriggled or made
some movement. Anyway, the Boche suggested look
ing inside in case of a cat or something being there,
though he had absolutely no suspicion of a prisoner
whatever. Proceeding to the kitchen to fetch the key,
as it was padlocked, they discovered that the basket
did not belong to the canteen people at aU. Immedi
ately they started to cut it open, and inside of course
they discovered the "Jack-in-the-box," who rose up

COURT-MARTIALLED 81
with a wild yell. The Boches nearly died from heart
failure. However, they coUared him and all his parapher-
naha, also the money, which he was not quick enough
to get rid of. He was taken to the commandant in the
usual fashion, and stripped naked, whilst they even
ripped up the seams of his tunic in their frantic efforts
to discover some forbidden article or evidence against
another person, as accessory before the fact.
As his trial, and incidentally mine, proceeded, it was
clearly evident that the Boches suspected that we had
been helped by the guard or some German in the camp.
There was absolutely no evidence to prove this, and
no reason for their suspicions whatever, but the Boche
authorities were most positive about it, so much so
that the wretched canteen people were arrested the
day after their departure, and shoved in a Httle jaU
in Dresden, pending the examination of the court-
martial. We chuckled over this, since the canteen peo
ple were absolutely innocent, and had grown rich at
our expense in the past. Shortly after the first inquiry
the basket was traced to me, and then the fun started.
The commandant insisted that I had given the Ca
nadian the basket for the purpose of escape. I said I
had n't; that I had been merely asked for the loan of
the basket, and that as I was not in need of it at the
time I had naturally compHed, and that British officers

82 MY GERMAN PRISONS
were not in the habit of asking their friends what they
wanted to do with articles which were lent to them.
After this, for a day or two, the affair, in so far as
I was concerned, blew over. Of course the Canadian
officer was confined to ceUs. One day I was again caUed
up, and informed that I had not only given the basket,
but also five hundred marks to the Canadian. Of course
I asked them to prove it; then they produced a written
statement from the Canadian, acknowledging that I
had given him the five hundred marks, after which it
was no longer any use denying the fact. They extracted
this information by telling the Canadian that the officer
who had given him the basket had also owned up to
giving him five hundred marks. Their object was to
convict the Canadian of the serious charge of bribing
the guards, which was being brought against him. Like
an idiot, he feU into the trap, and so we both got
caught. In a few days the members of the court-martial ar
rived — a fuU colonel, equal to a brigadier with us, a
major, and a captain — and a court of inquiry was
held forthwith, when I was accused of having bought
the basket a few weeks before in the canteen. This
being so, it was aUeged I purchased it for the purpose
of escaping or aiding others to do so, but I was told
that, if I would make a clean breast of the affair, they
would try to make my punishment as light as possible.

COURT-MARTIALLED 83
Very oily they tried to be; but I was not going to be
taken in by soft words. Then I was accused of provid
ing the money. Both the money and the basket I ex
plained satisfactorily; but the verdict was that, seeing
I was incapable of behaving myseff in a good camp, I
should be sent away for punishment. "Now," I said,
"I will just show you to what extent you Germans are
capable of miscarrying justice. I did not buy that bas
ket three weeks ago, nor did I buy it in the canteen,"
at which a general smile passed round the court, and
the canteen record-book was brought forth, showing
the date, etc., when I bought the basket. The accusa
tion of falsehood was then added to the Hst of my other
crimes. I then started to prove that I purchased the
basket over three months ago at the camp at Clausthal.
So convincing was my evidence that the court closed,
pending inquiry from Clausthal. The report which
came back endorsed my statement. In the end they
could bring nothing tangible against me except the
money, which I explained by showing them a cheque
written on the ist of January, 1916, from the Canadian
officer in exchange for five hundred marks in money,
which, as I explained, I had no use for myself. Finding
some one who had, I naturally exchanged it for a
cheque which I could send home. Thus in so far as I
was concerned the affair blew over. The Canadian was,
however, removed from Bischofswerda, and later to

84 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Switzerland, having been sent there owing to UI health,
probably brought about by bad conditions in the camp
he was sent to.
Perhaps it is worth while mentioning that we tried
our best to make New Year's Day a cheery one, and
almost succeeded in making ourselves believe we were
having a good time. Since the canteen had been broken
up each room cooked and prepared its own dinner, so
between Christmas puddings from home and aU sorts
of luxuries we certainly had a good feed. We had also
been able to get permission to buy a Httle wine —
awful stuff, but heady. The result was that a Httle
pent-up energy was let loose in breaking each other's
beds. The beds at Bischofswerda were roughly con
structed wooden ones, with wooden bed-slats, on which
rested a straw palHasse. By taking a run and jump and
landing immediately on top of the mattress, the whole
thing broke with a beautiful rending crash, sweet music
to the ears of a prisoner whose energies and spirits have
always to be under constant restraint. Of course there
was the devU to pay with the Boches, and the biU ren
dered by them on the foUowing morning was terrific.
All sorts of new rules and regulations came out with
regard to the beds, such as "It is forbidden to sit or
take exercise on the beds." This was quite amusing,
since there were not enough chairs to go round, so I
presume we were supposed to recline on the floor. Also

COURT-MARTIALLED 85
football was prohibited for a few days, and there were
sundry other "strafes." PersonaUy I was not able to
join in the bed-breaking competition, but to see others
venting their feelings was the next best thing.
The New Year, 1916, was welcomed by us aU as a
joyous advent, since we felt quite sure in our own
minds that victory must crown our arms before the
year was out, and that we should once more be able to
call our souls our own. What optimistic feelings we had
when, as week after week went by, the German food
rations became shorter and less wholesome. Seeing
that we could no longer buy food from the canteen, we
thought the end must be in sight.
We were now almost entirely dependent on our par
cels from home. Should they have been lost or delayed
in the post things would have gone very badly with us.
Fortunately our parcels arrived both frequently and
regularly. This surprised us very much, seeing that we
had had many opportunities for discovering that the
Boches themselves were getting perUously hard up for
food of every kind. We had expected that a great
number would have been either stolen or rifled. In a few
cases there were a few things extracted, but not as a
general rule, which speaks weU for the German postal
officials. I have already referred to the Boche Heutenant who
acted as official interpreter to the French and British,

86 MY GERMAN PRISONS
and of how he tried to make our conditions harder to
bear than they were already. It is difficult to lay a di
rect and plausible charge against this swine, but every
one can easily understand that in a life such as ours it
was the little things which preyed upon the mind, the
petty insults and iU-treatment. The very way this man
Harbe said " Good-morning" was an insult. Some of us
used to receive the periodical caUed "The Play," which
everybody is acquainted with. Harbe would confiscate
this from aU parcels, on the ground that the morals of
the British and French officers were so bad that the
German authorities felt it their duty to supervise the
Uterature in the cause of "Kultur." Harbe would care-
fuUy explain this to our faces, and instead of giving
him one in the eye for his insolence we had to stand and
grind our teeth. Such a speech from a German second
Heutenant to a British or French senior officer was of
course disgraceful. On several occasions when French
officers were writing both to their wives and women
friends he interchanged the envelopes. I don't sup
pose he caused any trouble, but it describes the type
of man who more or less ruled our lives at Bischofs
werda, a camp which was in most respects quite a good
one. With regard to parcels from home containing books,
Harbe would, as I said before, take months to censor
them, and then would frequently withhold even such

COURT-MARTIALLED 87
works as Dickens or other harmless books. When offi
cial searches took place, this beast made offensive com
ments on the photographs of one's relations; and when
large parcels came from home of foodstuffs, he would
make objection to the amount and the quaUty of food
sent. "Why, chicken and tongue, that is a luxury, and
prisoners are not aUowed luxuries. You may have it this
time, but you must not send for any more luxuries, or
they wiU be confiscated. You spend too much money
on food. Look at me; I live on the ration I receive; why
can't you? "
"Well, you see, we have not been brought up that
way," was my reply to this question.
Of course I was had up before the commandant for
impertinent replies, but on explaining that I had only
been defending myself against an attack by Harbe, on
the amount and quaUty of foodstuffs sent from home the
commandant dismissed me, and I rather think it was
Harbe who got told off. He once said that a prisoner of
war was a man in disgrace, who had no rights, and who
should not be allowed to amuse himseff in any way. He
said he ought to be made to feel the shame of his
position! Early in January, 1916, 1 discovered that if I could
procure a large sum of money, it would probably help
one or two of us to escape. I wrote home — in code, of

88 MY GERMAN PRISONS
course — for a certain sum of money to be sent se
cretly in parcels. It was the same method of secret com
munication referred to before as being so useful in
calling for the American Ambassador, and proved
equally successful. The money was to be sent in one-
hundred-mark notes, concealed in cakes, each cake to
contain one hundred marks. It was, of course, hard for
my people at home to consent to do this, since they
knew how carefully parcels were searched, and how
serious a punishment for me would be the outcome if
I were caught. However, my mother outweighed her
own personal feelings, and did her best to fulfil my
wishes. This may sound like sentiment, but I have
good reason for recording it here, as after my return
I heard scores of prisoners' relatives, to whom I paid
visits in order to give them the latest news of their
dear ones in Germany, say: "Oh, my dear boy has
hinted that we shall send him so-and-so, but you know
it must mean that he is going to try to escape. Suppos
ing he should be kiUed — how terrible for us! We
should never forgive ourselves. We could not think of
sending him anything of that sort."
These are the thoughtlessly selfish remarks I have
continually heard. I wondered if these good people
realized that it was not their own Hves they were risk
ing. Possibly the member in question was a son, hus
band, or brother, but whoever it was, it was his own

COURT-MARTIALLED 89
Hfe, to do with as he thought best; to take what risk he
chose. Could the people at home realize what it was
for an able-bodied man to be a prisoner during such a
war as this? Did they realize that every man who is
worth his salt has some spark of ambition, and that
that ambition must be absolutely crushed while he is a
prisoner? Hundreds mount over his head every day,
and he must sit and wait. He is tormented by the
thought: "ShaU I ever get back to my original position
in the service of my country?" His one chance is to
escape, and those at home should have laid aside their
own feelings in the matter and helped, to the utmost
of their abiHty, those who sent out a smothered cry
from the land of the Hun. The writer knows this to be
the point of view taken by aU prisoners of war.
But to continue. The precious parcels were sent to
me and a great number of them arrived safely. The
fact that some subsequent parcels were discovered was
only due to sheer bad luck, which I shaU explain later.
All these parcels came from home, sewn in caHco,
marked in a certain manner, and bearing the English
postmark of SaHsbury. At Bischofswerda, all the pris
oners' parcels were brought to the camp in a large
handcart, drawn by our own orderHes; that is to say,
the orderHes of aU four nationaHties incarcerated
at Bischofswerda, British, French, Russian, and Bel
gian. One of these worked on my behalf. From the

90 MY GERMAN PRISONS
top-story windows of the camp one could see for half
a mUe along the road leading to the station, up which it
was necessary for the orderHes and the packages to
pass in order to reach the camp. Every morning a look
out was stationed at one of the windows, in order to
watch the return of the orderHes with handcart and
packages on their way back to the camp between the
hours of 9.30 and 10 a.m. every day except Sundays.
When the cart passed a certain taU tree which bor
dered the road weU in view of the lookout stationed in
the camp, should there be a package as described
amongst the prisoners' parcels, one of the orderHes
would raise his hat, when immediately the lookout
would rush down and inform us. The organization util
ized this time to get into line before the advent of the
packages. In order that the cart might enter the camp,
it had first to pass through the guarded gate of the
outer wall. Here it was unloaded, and the packages
passed through the second line of wire, into the guard
room, and down the main corridor of the ground floor,
to a smaU room on the left-hand side of the said corri
dor which was kept by the Boches as a special de-
Hvery dep6t. Before reaching this room, which was
about sixty yards down the corridor, one had to pass
two doors on the right-hand side, the kitchen and the
canteen, which were connected by a large sHding win
dow through which officers passed their food from the

COURT-MARTIALLED 91
canteen to the kitchen to be cooked. Two sentries were
posted in the corridors, one at the entrance to the
guard-room and the other at the packet-room door.
From a sleeping-room situated directly over the guard
room, one could look down on the heads of the orderHes
passing through the outer defence gate. Immediately
the packages were passed through this gate, an orderly,
pushing the cart from behind, arranged the fingers of
his hand on the handraU of the cart, so as to indicate
the German Post-Office number registered on the par
cel. Thus, 237: two fingers of the right hand showing,
three fingers of the left hand showing; a pause; then
four and three fingers of both hands showing. In the
room above I received this signal. I then inscribed this
number on a packet which was made to look like the
packet conveyed by the orderly below, using a pencil
which had been stolen from the commandant during a
previous interview with him — a pencil used only by
certain German officials.
Before the cart could be unloaded, I was in the can
teen with the prepared parcel hidden under my great
coat. The same orderly who gave notice of the post
mark now hurriedly packed the parcels into the arms
of a confederate, taking care to place the particular
parcel on top of all the others. The confederate with the
load of parcels was now passed through the second line
of wire, the guard-house, and so on, into the corridor,

92 MY GERMAN PRISONS
where the Boches usuaUy left him to continue with his
load to the packet-room. As he proceeded up the cor
ridor towards the packet-room, one of us, watching
his chance so as to synchronize with the moment the
orderly reached the kitchen door, walked up to the first
sentry and asked him a question — fooHsh, or other
wise. As the orderly with the parcels reached the
open kitchen door, he dropped aU the parcels, seem
ingly with a lurch, and quickly kicked my parcel
through the kitchen door. Another orderly as quickly
kicked back the faked parcel, and hurriedly passed the
new one through the window leading to the canteen,
where an officer with a large overcoat was waiting.
Immediately on receipt of this parcel, he left the can
teen and proceeded to his own room, where the parcel
was opened and the wrapping put away in hiding in
order to be utiHzed for the next faked parcel.
A cake would be found inside with an oilskin wrap
per in the centre containing a thousand or more marks.
The sentry, whose attention had been diverted, would,
of course, have seen the catastrophe, but would have
been quite content when the parcel, kicked into the
kitchen, by the stumbHng orderly, was, apparently,
immediately shot out again.
When the hour for receiving parcels came, I, of
course, received my parcels containing tins of food,
etc., which I had probably already received some

COURT-MARTIALLED 93
months previously. Every day a watch for parcels was
kept, although there was usually a gap of seven to ten
days between each. One could never be sure that, owing
to the length of time some parcels took to come, two
might not arrive on the same day or within a day or so
of one another. In this manner the first parcel was
safely received. The second was not so fortunate, as on
the arrival of the orderly at the kitchen door, Lieuten
ant Harbe, the German censor, came out of his room
unexpectedly and stood watching the orderlies. The
fateful parcel went into the packet-room and was de
posited on the distributing table, though next the door.
Our reserves who were waiting in the canteen then
came on the scene. An officer equipped for the morning
ablutions, towel, hair-oU,Odol tooth-wash, etc., left the
canteen in accordance with a prearranged signal and
proceeded down the corridor towards the bath. Six
strides brought him opposite th e open door of the packet-
room, where stood the sentry, when he dropped every
thing he had on the stone floor. Harbe rushed out and
swore at him for strewing the corridor with broken
bottles, soap, sponge, etc. As Harbe rushed out, I and
two others walked into the packet-room behind his
back. The two others walked up to the two German
orderHes in the packet-room, hurriedly engaged them
in conversation, whUst I placed the prepared packet
on the table. Sliding the new one under my coat, I

94 MY GERMAN PRISONS
turned to the door and found myself confronting
Harbe, but he had seen nothing — I had been too quick
for him. He asked my business, and I repHed that I
had come to inquire if another officer might receive
my packet, since I had an appointment with the doc
tor at the hour when they would be distributed. This
he refused, so I walked out, packet 2 a triumph cer
tainly, but more than that, a score over Harbe, and in
his own department too. It was too deHcious, since he
thought he was too smart for any of us.

CHAPTER VII
IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN
In March a Canadian doctor recently taken prisoner
joined us at Bischofswerda, and although the Hague
Convention does not aUow doctors to be detained pris
oners for any length of time, this Canadian was stfll
there when I left in October, some seven months later.
However, as far as we were concerned he was a great
comfort, since we got some first-hand news as to recent
events, and also some valuable medical attention and
advice. His diagnosis of my case turned out to be abso
lutely correct, namely, that my trouble was caused by
splinters of the ribs lodged in the right lung; also,
owing to the long period it had been left unattended to,
then a matter of a year and a haff, a chronic pleurotic
state had set in. The Canadian doctor had an interview
with the German doctor over my case, but the German
refused to find anything wrong, though he said that,
should the Swiss Commission come, he would put me
up for examination before them.
During the last week of May, 1916, we were notified
that a visit from the Swiss Commission was shortly
expected, in order to coUect certain officers for transfer
to Switzerland. A Hst of those whose wounds were bad

96 MY GERMAN PRISONS
enough to aUow of inspection by the commission was
taken, although aU officers suffering from other com
plaints were actually inspected by the Swiss Commis
sion on its arrival. Great excitement reigned on the day
appointed for the visit, which was fated in the end to
bring very Httle consolation. With the exception of one
officer, who had been hit in the hand, which he had
more or less lost the use of, no other officer was placed
on the possible Hst except myself.
At first the Swiss seemed desirous of taking me, but
the German doctors would not hear of it. The outcome
of the discussion between them was a compromise,
the Swiss insisting that I should undergo a proper
examination with Rontgen rays, in order to decide
if it was a splinter or something else that caused the
trouble. The German doctors said it was quite unneces
sary, that I was quite sound, but that, if after examina
tion any sort of operation were necessary, it would
have to take place in Germany. The Canadian doctor
already mentioned gleaned from a private chat with
the Swiss that the reason the Germans refused to let
me go was that they were afraid of the questions which
would be inevitably asked in Switzerland as to why
they had left my lung unattended for the period of a
year and a half, without even troubHng to have a
proper diagnosis made.
So ended the first visit of the Swiss Commission.

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 97
Very nearly three weeks elapsed before my orders came
for the medical examination, which took place at a
town called Bautzen, about twenty-eight mUes from
Bischofswerda. It is a very large mUitary depot, and
contains a number of hospitals. To one of them myseff
and a Canadian officer who came with me were con
ducted. For some time we sat in the exercise-ground of
the hospital, where a number of German wounded sol
diers were sitting or walking about. We apparently
caused a great deal of interest, but no insult or objec
tionable looks were given us — in fact, rather the oppo
site. It is a curious psychological fact that, with regard
to those Boches who have actuaUy fought in the front
line, they seem to look upon their enemies with far
greater respect, which I suppose, after aU, is natural,
since they have actuaUy seen and felt the magnificent
fighting quaUties of our troops, and are therefore scep
tically inclined towards the articles in their newspapers
which continuaUy belittle the strength of our arms.
On the other hand, those who are on lines of commu
nication, etc., beHeve the newspapers, having had no
practical experience of their own to balance their rea
soning; and, as typical of the Boche character aU
round, when they feel themselves to be winning or up
against a weaker force than their own, they are buUies
of the worst possible character.
With regard to the events which took place at the

98 MY GERMAN PRISONS
hospital at Bautzen, after seeing the speciah'sts, imme
diate arrangements were made for an X-ray examina
tion. The result of this showed our Canadian doctor to
be correct. The German speciaHst then asked me why
this had not been attended to before, and why no
operation had been made. He said, "In my opinion it
must be done at once; at the same time I must warn
you that, owing to the length of time which has been
aUowed to elapse, a considerable growth has naturaUy
taken place over the affected area." He further said
that the operation now would be a very dangerous one,
and that even were it successful he could not guaran
tee that I would be any better, and that he would have
to ask me to decide there and then if I would undergo
it or not. On inquiring as to the probable result if I
should not feel inclined to take the risk, he rephed,
"You may not get any worse, but I shaU be surprised
if you don't, and I consider that tuberculosis wiU
probably set in, if it has n't done so akeady."
This opinion decided things for me, so I made a
statement in writing that the operation was done by
my own wish and at my own risk, since otherwise they
would do nothing.
After a further examination my friend and I returned
by train to Bischofswerda. About a week later the doc
tor caUed me down and explained that the operation
was a very dangerous one, and that there would be

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 99
still time for me to cry off; the commandant did the
same a few days later; but the spedaHst's threat of
tuberculosis decided me absolutely, as there was no
possible alternative. If I had the disease, I was done
for; if it came through lack of an operation, I was done
for; so the only thing to do was to trust to luck. Nearly
another month passed before my final orders to go to
hospital at Konigstein came through, and on the day
they arrived I was told to be prepared to go off in three
days' time, according to instructions from Berlin.
By the same post one of the packets containing
money already mentioned arrived, but unfortunately,
owing to sheer bad luck, without our advance guard
scouts having any knowledge of it. Up to this particu
lar parcel everything had been completely successful.
The misfortune came about in the foUowing manner.
A number of British officers had ordered from home
large parcels of foodstuffs to be sent by the American
Express, since their weight was over that prescribed
by the regulations for the British Post-Office.
Unfortunately a large number of these large parcels
arrived on the same day, along with a lot of very small
parcels such as books, sent singly. All the big parcels
were loaded on to the cart as usual by the orderHes,
but the smaU ones were issued in a sack straight from
the station. In this sack the parcel from home had also
been placed, so that no intimation that a special parcel

100 MY GERMAN PRISONS
had arrived was given by the orderHes. Consequently
I went to receive my parcel as usual. To my horror, I
found that it contained one of the precious cakes. It
was cut open and the Httle oUskin package discovered.
An inquiry was held, but very Httle information was
extracted from me. The commandant said it was a
most serious offence, and that the punishment would
be very severe. I repUed that if there was such a thing
as justice in Germany, it would be impossible to hold
me responsible for what might happen to be sent me
in parcels from England, unless, of course, he could
prove that I had asked for the money.
"If you did not ask for it, how does it happen that
your mother sends you such a large amount?" he
asked. To this I repHed that there was an exceUent
reason why she might send money, and of course, he
said, "Well, what is the reason? " thinking that I would
give myself away. "You see, sir," I repHed, "for the
past three months we have not been receiving the cor
rect change for our money sent from the bank to your
Bureau for our expenses. The lowest exchange at the
present time is 137 marks for £5, in fact the mark has
dropped 37 per cent, sir." "Yes, yes, go on." "Well,
sir, we only get 100 marks for £5, or 37 per cent less
than we ought to receive. I consider it most probable
that my mother, seeing that we are not being fairly
dealt with, has taken this course in order to convey

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 101
German money to me at the correct and fair rate."
After this I' was dismissed pending trial, but since I
had been ordered to hospital by higher authorities, I
knew that the threatened trial would be a long way
off if it ever came.
On the night before I was to have proceeded to the
hospital, orders came to the commandant that I was
to go to the reserve hospital at Dresden instead of
Konigstein, where I eventually went. But before leav
ing I wrote two letters, which I gave to one of my
brother officers. These two letters contained an exact
account of the treatment, or rather the lack of treat
ment, of my wound, which was to be delivered only in
case of the operation proving fatal. One was addressed
to the American Ambassador and the other to my
mother. The journey to Dresden from Bischofswerda was
more or less uneventful, with the exception that a cab
was actuaUy arranged for in order to convey me and
the guard to the station, which, of course, I had to pay
for, and for my luggage to Dresden, as, having no
guarantee that I would not be starved at the hospital,
I had taken my stock of tinned food with me, being
too old a prisoner to be caught napping in that respect.
The cab and transport cost me about thirty shiUings,
although Dresden is not much over twenty miles away.
On this journey to Dresden, and in passing through

102 MY GERMAN PRISONS
it on the way to the hospital, I had some exceUent
opportunities of gauging the aspect of the populace.
Sour looks met me everywhere, but no insults. On the
whole the people looked overworked and underfed,
going about their duties in a morose sort of doggedness.
Two of the main squares in Dresden were packed with
recruits under training — boys of not more than six
teen or seventeen years, and men who looked over fifty,
most of them being undersized and weedy.
The hospital was crammed with wounded German
soldiers and a few convalescent officers. It turned out
to be an enormous place, with most exceUent grounds,
bordering the Konigsvald, where a regimental band
played three times a week. A clean room was aUotted
to me in one of the wards, and it was a great reHef to
find that I was to have a private one to myseff.
On the morning after my arrival a weU-known Ger
man speciaHst visited me in my room, and made a
thorough examination of my chest. That afternoon a
young German convalescent officer was detailed to
take me out for a short walk, which we took in the
Konigsvald, a very beautiful woodland glen, fuU of de-
Hghtful bubbling springs and nice green glades, most
refreshing to a prisoner's eyes. The officer was very
courteous and sympathetic. That evening, on my return
from the walk, I was again visited by the speciaHst,
who said he was glad to be able to inform me that I was

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 103
not tubercular, as he had thought I was after his ex
amination that morning; also he explained that, if I
would place myself in his hands, he would guarantee
that the operation would be performed without any
great danger. By this he meant that in my present
state an anaesthetic was not advisable, and that if I
would consent to undergo it without he would guaran
tee everything would be all right. On the foUowing
morning the operation took place, and it was most
beautifully and satisfactorily done. I will not dweU
upon my own feelings during the ordeal, since it does
not take a vivid imagination to picture them, when
one takes into consideration a big operation like this
being performed without an anaesthetic.
My treatment generally in hospital in Dresden was
of the very best. I could not have been treated better
had I been at home, either in the matter of attention
or in food. My own nurse was especiaUy attentive, and
I shaU be eternally grateful to her. This happy state of
affairs, however, underwent an extraordinary change
on the day Rumania entered the war. Although my
nurse remained stanch, the matron of the ward, who
had hitherto been quite friendly, came to my room.
She shook her fist in my face, called me a Schweinhund
Englander, cursed the Enghsh and everything apper
taining to them, and caught hold of the bed, shaking
it violently, and causing me great pain in the region of

104 MY GERMAN PRISONS
my unhealed wound. She gave orders that I should be
cut off from aU my invaHd food and be given the sol
dier's rations instead. This was done.
One incident I forgot to mention before, which
shows up the extraordinary workings of the Boche
mind. In order to have this special operation per
formed, it had been necessary to give my parole in
writing, stating that I would not attempt to escape
from the time I left the prison for the hospital to the
time I returned from the hospital to the prisoners'
camp. Permission to give this parole under the existing
circumstances was obtained by me from the senior
British officer at Bischofswerda. However, on going to
the hospital, I discovered a sentry posted at the door
of my room and another outside the window. Of course
I immediately complained to the commandant of the
hospital that I had given my parole and naturaUy felt
exceedingly insulted at finding two sentries guarding
me. He smiled and said the order came from higher up
and that he could do nothing.
These two sentries remained on guard until I left the
hospital, which is most humorous. Imagine placing
two sentries to guard a man lying between Hfe and
death with an enormous incision in his chest, in order
to prevent him escaping should he break his parole ! I
should only have had to walk four hundred and fifty
miles in order to escape — this for one who had not

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 105
even the strength to feed himself. What must the word
of a German officer be worth, if he accepts another
man's parole and then takes steps to guard against its
being broken?
At this time I was interested to note that in the hos
pitals, as in the trenches, the German psychology of
mind seems to be the same; that is to say, even in the
hospitals, the same strict attention to their laws of or
ganized precedent was paid.
It almost seemed as if the German High Command
had laid down, in some army regulation, the length
of time a man must take to recover from such and
such a wound without consideration for the constitu
tion of the individual.
If, at the end of the specified time, a man had not
recovered, he ought to have done so, and must there
fore leave the hospital, whether he is well or not. Of
course, this is not true to the letter, but it is more or
less understood by the soldiers.
In my own case, I was removed from Dresden to Bis
chofswerda, a distance of some eighteen mUes, long
before the incision in my chest was healed, nor were
they able to use their own common sense, and break
away from the regular custom in the matter of dressing
my wounds directly after the operation. According to
custom, I was removed every morning from my own
private ward to the dressing-theatre on a wheeled

106 MY GERMAN PRISONS
stretcher. Every time I was Hfted from the bed to the
stretcher, I fainted away with the agony, not because
the two men were not gentle, — they were, — but
because my wound was in such a place that it was im
possible to move me a fraction of an inch without
opening up the wound. On returning from the dressing-
station, the same performance had to be gone through
before I was once more in my bed. For the first week
I lost consciousness in this manner, and each time a
double dose of morphine had to be administered. AU
day long and aU through the night, I Hved in continued
dread of that dressing, working myseff up to a fever
before the appointed time each day.
When I timidly requested that I might be allowed to
be dressed in my own bed, the thing was so much out
of order that a special appHcation had to be made to
the mUitary commander of the hospital. It was even-
tuaUy granted, after which I had no more trouble with
the dressings.
Very graduaUy I began to get strong, and as soon as
I could sit up in a chair I was removed from the hos
pital and sent back to Bischofswerda, very glad to see
aU my old friends again. But my removal took place
too soon, and the jolting of the carriage so upset me
that I was again taken UI and suffered a very consider
able relapse, being confined to bed in the hospital-
room at Bischofswerda. Here I stayed for over a month,

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 107
during which time many Httle incidents of interest
befell me. For instance, it appears that, contrary to
all Boche rules and regulations, my parcels had been
stopped and opened without any British officer being
present, and, needless to say, two parcels containing
a thousand marks each had been caught. Lieutenant
Harbe paid me a visit in the hospital-room, sent every
body out, shut the windows, and started to buUy me,
although he knew I was very weak at the time. He
also insulted me in every possible way. After he went
I had a high temperature, and the next day reported
him to the commandant.
Some days after this Mr. Jackson, the assistant of
the American Ambassador, came. He paid me a visit
in the hospital, and heard my tale of woe against
Harbe, which he carried to the commandant, asking
him to get rid of Harbe, since, during the whole period
that he had been at Bischofswerda, he had deHberately
tried and insulted officers to such an extent that it was
difficult for them to hold themselves in check. He was
therefore a very dangerous person to have in the camp,
since, had any of them struck him, as he deserved, it
would have been a most serious offence. However,
nothing came of this, except that Harbe was forbidden
to hold conversation with me unless in the presence of
another officer.
After being a month in the hospital-room, I was re-

108 MY GERMAN PRISONS
moved to a smaU room by myself on the first floor,
where I rapidly began to regain strength, being able to
walk across the room in the first few days of October.
I must not neglect to mention that we had a great
poker club at Bischofswerda, through which an hour
or two of regular upHfting excitement could be ob
tained. Whenever the natural demand for the same
became overpowering, the game was a high one — it
had to be to accompHsh its purpose.
It was jolly good poker — I have rarely seen better
— but it was played under difficulties which would
seem insurmountable to any but a prisoner, who has
always to make the best of everything. No gambling
of any sort was allowed, and no German money was
supposed to be in circulation in the camp. However,
with a Httle wangling we managed to obtain one, two,
five, and ten pfennig pieces, to be utilized as poker
chips. Losses were paid to the acting secretary of the
club, who settled aU monetary matters for us by
cheques sent home in monthly letters, and deposited
in a certain bank in London.
PracticaUy the only time it was possible to play
was from eight to ten in the evening. Unfortunately a
call-over was held every evening at nine o'clock, in the
corridor, outside. This somewhat broke up the game,
especially as one of the guards was sent to each room
to herd the occupants out to the call-over. Before this

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 109
guard entered the room, the little poker table had to
be hurriedly covered with a cloth, in order that he
might not see the chips on the table, and thus discover
that we had German money, or that a gambling game
was in progress. After returning from the call-over, we
played on until 9.30 or "Hghts out," and often man
aged to play on by the Hght of a hidden candle until
10.30 or n.
PersonaUy, I had very bad luck in these games, and
lost steadily until the night before I left Bischofswerda,
when I got it aU back on a single hand. My luck was
really quite extraordinary, as invariably I held the
most tantalizing hands. The reader knows, perhaps,
what it is to draw, continually, three "kinks" or three
ladies or better, and then find some wretch who con
tinually holds a straight.
In the great hand of which I speak, when I recov
ered all I had lost, I had the good fortune to be left in
with such a first-rate hand as aces up fuU, against a
pat royal flush! It was an exdting hand, and our room
was fuU of other feUows from different ceUs who had
flocked in on hearing of the big pool. That hand took
a good ten minutes to play, but the pool was worth it,
and the accompanying exdtement, doubly so.
The day before I was removed from the hospital two
British officers made a very fine attempt to escape,
one obtaining civilian clothes through me, the other

110 MY GERMAN PRISONS
having made a German private's umform. The two of
them passed out of the camp disguised as the tailor
who used to visit us from the town and his guard in
the German uniform. They got quite clear of the camp,
when an officer, passing them on the road a few yards
outside the camp, reported the soldier to the guard
room as going downtown without side arms, meaning
the bayonet; and thus the two of them were caught.
They were immediately court-martialled and put into
cells. On the 8th of October Harbe and three sentries
stalked into my room, where I was stfll in bed, and
informed me that I was going to be sent to a punish
ment camp, that aU my things would now be packed
in his presence, and that at four o'dock on the follow
ing morning I should leave for the new camp. I ex
plained that I could hardly walk, and I certainly could
not pack, so he started throwing my things into my
two boxes. On this I sent for my great pal, who kindly
came and packed everything for me, and also insisted
on my taking aU my food, which Harbe objected to.
However, my friend persisted; and weU, indeed, was it
that he did so, since both myself and others would
probably have starved had I not taken some food with
me. On the following day I got up from bed with a cer
tain amount of effort. Proceeding to the ground floor,

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 111
where an officer and guard were waiting to escort us,
I found that the officer who had attempted to escape
disguised as the taUor was accompanying me to the
new camp. We set off in a cab to the station, and after
a very trying and tiring journey reached Ingolstadt,
in Bavaria, at 9.30 the same night, so that we were
travelling for seventeen hours. To me, who had not
been out of bed for ten weeks, excepting for my jour
ney from Dresden to Bischofswerda, and after my
very serious operation, the fatigue of the journey can
well be imagined. On the top of this the officer in
charge, who had been quite dvU and courteous on the
way, left us at the station, and we were forced to walk
from the station to one of the German soldiers' rest-
camps, not being able to reach the prison at Ingol
stadt that night. It was about six kilometres to this
rest-camp, and the walk very nearly finished me. At
the same time I had a heavy bag with me, which I
should have had to carry also, had not my comrade
who came with me done so. Since he was a major, it
was not a very pleasant position for me; and had he
not been such a splendid chap, I should have insisted
on carrying it myself, an effort which would most cer
tainly have been disastrous.
On arriving at the rest-camp, after having been
forced to tramp in the centre of a muddy road, since
prisoners were considered too despicable to be allowed

112 MY GERMAN PRISONS
to walk on the footpath, we found a filthy, dirty,
wooden buUding, fiUed with the dirtiest and most
bedraggled-looking Boche soldiers I ever saw. At the
end of this building was a smaU room, partitioned off,
into which we were thrust and locked in for the night.
I have seen some filthy places, but this certainly took
the cake. Four beds and a table was aU the furniture
it could boast — the beds so dose together as to be
touching each other, the blankets and sheets black
with dirt and grease. Fortunately our previous experi
ence had taught us the value of Keating's Powder,
some of which we had with us, and we HberaUy sprin
kled the whole room, bedclothes and aU. To our sur
prise, although it was so late, a large bowl of quite
good bean soup was sent to us, for which we were ex
tremely thankful.
After we had settled for the night, three Russian
officers joined us, so that we now closely resembled the
old comparison of sardines in a box. But although our
surroundings were so uncomfortable, I was too done
up to take much notice of anything, and was thankful
to crawl into bed. The following morning at 9 o'clock,
quite a decent breakfast was brought to us, for which,
as usual, we had to pay. Still, we got it, which was the
main thing, and shortly afterwards were marched to a
smaU station about half a mile away, from where we
took train to Ingolstadt Fort station. On arrival there

IN HOSPITAL AT DRESDEN 113
a further walk of about half a mile brought us to the
fortress of Ingolstadt. As we passed over the moat into
the fortress, a nasty cold feeling crept down my spine,
and the words flashed across my mind, "Abandon
hope, aU ye who enter here." <

CHAPTER VIII
THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT
I will now refer, if I may, to one or two Httle notes
which I made on the journey down from Saxony. In
the first place, I never saw a single male porter at any
station. The guards on trains were aU women; and
when the train ran slowly through any sort of farmed
land, we saw groups of old men and Httle chUdren doing
some sort of work in the fields, although it was Novem
ber, and one would think there was not very much to
be done. I never saw a single male between the ages of
fourteen and fifty-five either in the streets or towns, on
the farms or elsewhere. It was as if Germany had been
absolutely depopulated of males between those ages.
What they have done with their unfits, goodness knows.
In order to pass into the fortress of Ingolstadt it was
first necessary to enter by the guard-house gate com
posed of sheet iron, that bordered the road. From there
forty yards brought you to a large iron grid, protecting
the approach to the bridge passing over the moat. This
grid, as weU as the guard-house gate, was kept locked
and guarded night and day. On being passed through
the grid and over the moat, the main entrance to the
fortress was approached over a paved causeway. The

FORTRESS • OF INGOLSTADT

¦ BAVARIA-
*FORT N° &-

•REFERENCES-
"5* SCNTRIES ON BATTLEMEin* AftOVt US A"F ? SeWTRIES WTSlOEOSLBVEt WITH MOAT ^ EABTMWOBK*
h Slhtries iNsioe tws Fcrt, B.Bath
L. Latrines
X.V-Z. EXURCISB. GROUHO' S3 CQMUAHWHT& 8UREMI

t=J Gun Emplacements
H Exterior guard Hgus?
103 Interior GUARD HOU6B

116 MY GERMAN PRISONS
gate consisted of a pair of massive steel doors, folding
in the middle, and built into the stonework of the lower
works. These stoneworks were protected from artiUery
fire by large earthworks, surmounting to a great height
above them, set out in battlements and caponiers, with
artiUery platforms. On entering the fortress we found
ourselves in one of the darkest, dampest, and most for
bidding-looking places I was ever in, the damp and
darkness being caused by the earthworks overhead,
which rose to a height of thirty-five feet from the roof of
the stoneworks. The whole interior was afterwards dis
covered to be filthy in the extreme. On page 1 1 5 is a plan
of the fortress looking down through the earthworks.
On entering these gloomy portals, we were immedi
ately conducted to the commandant's quarters, which
were situated next to the entrance. Here we were
searched, but nothing of consequence was discovered.
My first impression of the commandant was a good
one. It was not long before I discovered it to be erro
neous, as wiU be seen hereafter.
After our examination we were led to our cell, which
was to be my home for seven months. It did not look
inviting. A general description of the fortress is neces
sary, in order that the reader may understand subse
quent events. With the help of the plan this should not
be very difficult.
The Hving-rooms assigned to the prisoners were a

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 117
series of tunnel-shaped ceUs, running along the north
and south fronts of the fortress. These were connected
by a long stone corridor, and divided into two wings by
the main entrance, as shown on the plan. Each ceU was
connected to its neighbor by a smaU archway, which
had been partitioned off in order to make separate com
partments. These partitions were in some cases made
of wood, in others they had been bricked up. The ceUs
were twenty-six feet long by fifteen feet broad, and
contained six officers each. Thus, with six beds, a din
ing-table, a cooking-stove (suppHed by ourselves), and
a space set apart to act as a kitchen and scuUery, there
was not very much room. The roof being arched like a
tunnel, it was not possible to get the fuU benefit of the
floor-space, since one could not stand upright if near
thewalls. ThesewaUs were madeof granite, badly white
washed, and exuding moisture. During any damp
weather, the festoons of cobwebs which helped to
adorn the ceiling gHstened like a long grotto. On one
side of the cells a smaU drain, excavated out of the
wall, acted as a passage for the waters above. This
drain opened out into the cell by a small trap-door,
through which one could both hear and see the con
tinual drip, drip of water, which in rainy weather
formed itself into a smaU stream, occasionaUy flooding
over into the ceU. At aU times a large ring of damp
covered the floor in its proximity.

118 MY GERMAN PRISONS
As before explained, the ceUs were approached by a
long stone corridor running parallel with them, Hghted
by skyHghts at every forty or fifty yards, which pierced
upwards through the earthworks above them. These,
however, admitted very Httle Hght, except when the
sun was shining. One was always in danger of bumping
up against somebody walking in the opposite direc
tion; in fact, a good many hard knocks were received in
this way. The latrines were situated at the bottom of
each of these corridors. This is not a subject which one
cares to enlarge upon, but in this history it is neces
sary, in order to form a correct idea of the conditions
under which we Hved. These latrines consisted of a
mere hole in the stone floor, with no form of drainage.
Consequently the atmosphere in the corridor became
at times almost unbearable, since the corridor acted
as a sort of flue to the latrines, with which it was di
rectly connected, the final result of this being that,
when officers passed in and out of these rooms, a cer
tain amount of the disgusting odor penetrated into
the cells. Thus we had to sleep, feed, and Hve in one of
these cells, attacked from inside by insanitary condi
tions, Hving in a dirty, damp, badly Hghted stone ceU,
menaced from the outside by mosquitoes and miasma
rising off the waters of the moat, on to which the ceUs
looked through very heavUy barred windows. The
floors were made of asphalt, which struck cold into

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 119
one's very marrow, so that the majority of us were
always stiff with rheumatism.
At first we were aUowed to take exercise in the hol
lows marked X and Y in the plan, also to walk round
the ramparts of the protecting earthworks. But this
was very soon stopped, owing to an attempt to escape
over the moat; and, finaUy, the only exercise-ground
aUowed us was that marked Z on the plan, immediately
beneath the drawbridge and main entrance, a space a
Httle larger than a tennis court for some three hundred
of us to exercise in. To the reader it must seem almost
incredible that even a Hun would incarcerate a pris
oner of war in a heU-hole such as this, immediately
after having undergone a very serious operation; but
so it was.
Having given a rough sketch of the prisoners' ac
commodation in the fortress, I now propose to record
the events of an ordinary average day. Appell, or roll-
call, was at 7.30 in the morning, and held in the ceUs.
The intimation of the Appell was heralded by an enor
mous alarm-beU fitted in each wing. After this beU had
sounded no officer was aUowed to leave his ceU under
any circumstances. The Boche N.C.O. and one sentry
visited the ceUs in turn, counting six officers in each
cell. The N.C.O. entered the ceUs from the corridor in
order to make this count, the sentry remaining outside
in order to prevent an officer who had been already

120 MY GERMAN PRISONS
counted from proceeding down the corridor to a cell
which had not been counted, and thus being counted
again. The necessity for this was, in the event of an
officer escaping another being counted in twice would
allow the escaper time to get away from the camp,
should he have been fortunate enough to get clear.
After the Appell breakfast was served to us by the
French orderly aUotted to our ceU. The reader must
not imagine we had the use of the orderly aU day; he
had numerous other duties to perform for the Boche.
He usually made our beds and emptied the slops (not
always), and occasionaUy did the washing up after
meals. He also fetched our fresh water in a bucket.
The breakfast consisted of a large cupful of hot coffee,
already mixed with milk. As a matter of fact it was
made of ground acorns and a smaU percentage of chic
ory, and was quite undrinkable. This, with three
ounces of black bread, which chiefly consisted of potato
peeHngs, bran, and sawdust, was aU we had for break
fast. At the midday meal we received five potatoes for
six officers, or a swede weighing about one and a half
pounds, or seventeen sticks of tinned asparagus. Each
cell had its ration en bloc, so that whatever food came
was divided up amongst the six people in each ceU.
For supper a breakfast-cupful of soup, made of ground
white beans (sometimes edible, but not often), was
provided.

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 121
The above constituted the regular rations. Besides
these we received other rations : forty-five grammes of
meat each per week, including bone, and occasionaUy
some stinking fish, so bad that it could not be kept in
the ceU for more than a minute or two. The other ra
tions were fifteen lumps of sugar each per month; one
pound of tea (cut from the stem) per six officers, usu
aUy twice during the month; and, lastly, a sherry-
glassful of rum every six weeks for the six of us, and
a soup-plateful of tinned fruit. AU the food which was
not provided as a daUy ration was only given by the
Boches in order that they might be able to bring out a
Hst showing how weU they fed their prisoners. This
last was principaUy for the edification of the American
Ambassador. The foUowing reaUy looks quite well:
Rum, Sugar, Tea, Meat, Bread, Soup, Vegetables,
Potatoes, Fruit, Fish.
But all that gHtters, etc. — as will be seen by my
description of how this food was made and distributed.
Soon after the morning Appell we would hurry to the
bath, or so-called bath. Only a drawing by Heath
Robinson could possibly do justice to it. No words
could describe the extraordinarily primitive arrange
ments. A cement cauldron, on the top of which rested
a number of large basins, containing the water to be
heated. One third of a sack of coal was aUowed three
days a week, in order to heat the water in these basins,

122 MY GERMAN PRISONS
which must suffice for the ablutions of three hundred
officers. The water, when hot, was ladled out with
a magnified soup-tureen by hand, and thrown into a
bath. From there the water was pumped up by hand
to a series of beer-casks, resting on a wooden frame and
partitioned off so as to have one cask over each com
partment. The bather then proceeded to let loose the
water in the barrels by operating a rough valve, when
the water, which was nearly cold, owing to the many
vicissitudes to which it had been subjected, poured out
in a slow trickle upon the bather. Nevertheless, there
was a terrific scramble for the bath daUy. One could
have overlooked the fact of this Stone Age arrange
ment had the place been kept clean, but the filth of it
was indescribable. Streams of soapy water running
over the mud floor had rendered it something akin to
axle grease. Great care had to be taken in order not to
slip; for to sHp, which one often did, meant being cov
ered in filth, which no amount of washing in cold water
would remove.
After having completed the morning's ablution un
der these deHghtful conditions, one or other of the offi
cers in each ceU would be told off to cook the break
fast and lay the table. This was usuaUy taken in turn,
and a very good breakfast we had too — that is, when
our parcels were arriving from home regularly. No
knives, forks, spoons, or plates were suppHed to us,

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 123
also no utensils for cooking. We were forced to buy our
own stove. The coal which was suppHed to us every
second day would be equal to two small scuttlefuls.
This had to do for warming the cell and for cooking aU
the necessary food. There were times when this coal
aUowance diminished considerably below the amount,
especiaUy during the coldest period. At one time we
could only afford to have the fire Ht after 12 noon.
This was in January, when the thermometer stood
at thirty-two degrees Centigrade below freezing-point.
Let the reader imagine what that means in a stone ceU,
situated thirty-five feet beneath the earth. Certainly
we did not suffer from damp, since everything was
ice. Our drainage-vent was soHd ice about a foot
thick. To continue with recording the events of our average
day at Ingolstadt. Soon after having had breakfast one
or the other of us, in turn, would proceed to wash up
the dirty breakfast things, no easy or pleasant job to
wash greasy pots and pans with ice-cold water. In fact
it is quite impossible to get them clean without warm
water, as any housewife knows. WhUst the washing-up
was going on, one of the otherAmembers of the ceU
would busy himself trying to give the place a general
clean-up, sweeping the floor, making beds, etc.
The next item on our day's Hst was another Appell,
or call-over, held at 11.30 a.m. outside in the paved

124 MY GERMAN PRISONS
courtyard in front of the main entrance to the fortress,
which we used as an exercise-ground.
This Appell always held an element of excitement
for us, as we were never quite sure if the commandant
would so far lose his head as to order the guard to shoot
or not. It came very near it several times. I am sure
that most of us suffered in our self-esteem during those
Appells, seeing one's seh and one's companions herded
together like so many sheep in a pen, pushed, jostled,
and manhandled by the dirty Bavarian soldiers, yeUed
at and insulted, and kept standing for hours in the cold
because Boche N.C.O. 's could not count us properly.
Sometimes the feeling of the prisoners would reach
boUing pitch, especiaUy when the commandant issued
orders or chose to deHver a "strafing" speech in Ger
man or French. We could only reHeve our feelings by
the whole batch of us shouting, "We don't under
stand! Give us an interpreter!" for it is a rule in Ger
many that every camp should have its interpreters.
There were none at Ingolstadt; in fact there was reaUy
nothing at Ingolstadt except bad treatment.
After the Appell, we would retire to our ceUs, one of
us starting to prepare our midday meal; the rest taking
their shifts at whatever escaping project happened to
be on hand at the moment, for we were never without
work of this sort. I can safely make the statement that
from the time I went to Ingolstadt until I left, there

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 125
was never a moment, night or day, that the prisoners
were not working their fingers to the bone in order to
effect some means of escape. Plans of varying degrees
of ingenuity were always in preparation, tunnelling
being the chief form of attempt. Tunnelling through
rock without the necessary tools when every pick may
be heard by a sentry, and thus put an end to the whole
work, — the labor, perhaps, of many weary months, —
is terribly hard and nerve-racking work.
After a Hght lunch, according to the state of our lard
ers, the afternoons were usuaUy spent in further work
appertaining to escape, such as copying maps of the
different frontiers, preparing clothes so as to carry as
much food, sewn into our coats and trousers, as pos
sible. Generally work of this sort ceased towards four
o'clock, owing to the want of Hght. One miserable oil
lamp, which had to last us five days before being re
filled, was all that was aUowed to Hght up our dark
some ceU. Sometimes welcome packages from home
would bring us a few candles, and then we would be
able to read a book for a Httle while, or play a game
of bridge in comfort, one candle beside each player.
The evening was spent in preparing the principal meal
for the day, and afterwards, washing up. Then the
work of escape would go on, or a smaU game of bridge,
if a four could be raised. About 9.30 p.m. we usuaUy
turned into bed, not that we wanted to go to bed at

126 MY GERMAN PRISONS
that hour, but that we could not spare the Hght to sit
up any longer. Often enough there was no oil left after
the second day, in which case we would aU crowd into
the ceU of some other feUows who had candles or other
Hghts. Those Hghtless evenings were terribly trying to
the nerves. They made us short-tempered and crabby
even with our best friends, for every prisoner Uves
within himself more or less. It was not in our code to
confide the deep despair and bitter reflections of the
soul to others, no matter how great the friendship
might be. Sometimes, however, the thought that that
very day you had stolen the commandant's coal, torn
down and burned some wood in the fortress, or de
stroyed a bed, would buck one up considerably, be
cause we felt that whatever we had taken from the
Germans we had given to the AUied Cause.
It has been explained that in November we were
allowed to exercise on the ramparts, which formed a
very pleasant walk round. From this height a good
view could be obtained of the surrounding country.
There were no notices up explaining exactly which part
of the ramparts we were aUowed to frequent. We there
fore went aU over them without hindrance. There were
six sentries posted on the caponiers overlooking the
moat; therefore there was no earthly reason why we
should be debarred from walking or sitting anywhere
on the ramparts, since every part was overlooked by

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 127
sentries. Apart from this, in order to descend from the
ramparts to the level of the moat, one would be com
pelled to go down a very steep bank of some fifty feet.
The escaper would then find himself shooting into the
arms of the outer ring of sentries stationed inside and
on a level with the moat, with sentries on both sides
of it.
Nevertheless, after we had been aUowed to roam at
will over the ramparts, one day the sentry on the main
caponier suddenly and without warning opened fire on
two Russian officers lying near the breastworks be
neath him, who were taking advantage of a short spell
of sunshine. The sentry fired at them for no apparent
reason. Fortunately for the Russians they were not hit,
though it was only a matter of inches, as the sentry
was not more than sixty paces from them. This caused,
of course, a fearful commotion in the camp. The sentry
very nearly got mobbed by the prisoners. In fact, I
thought it was coming, and did my best to calm them,
since the prisoners must be the losers in the end, fists
being of very Httle use against rifles, especially inside
a fortress. Within a minute or two the interior of the
fortress was flooded with guards from the guard-room,
and the prisoners were herded to their ceUs and locked
in. The commandant was in a great state of agitation,
knowing very weU that it would not take much to

128 MY GERMAN PRISONS
make the smouldering embers of the prisoners' over
charged f eeHngs burst into flames. The worm wiU turn,
even if it has no means of defence, and our treatment
was rapidly nearing the limit of petty persecution.
After this the use of the ramparts and interior exercise-
grounds was debarred to us, so that we only had the
small paved area at the entrance to the fortress to
exercise in.
At one time in November, before the interior exer
cise-grounds were closed to us, the inmates of my ceU
had a little tunnelling scheme on hand. We discovered
that in the arched roof of the so-called "music-room"
cell, there was an old shaft connecting the ceU to the
gun platform of the caponier above, probably used for
hoisting ball ammunition in the old days and later
turned into a skyHght. The skyHght had been bricked
in from above, but not down its whole length. Conse
quently about ten feet of shaft stiU remained open in
the roof of the ceU beneath. To make use of this un-
bricked portion to tunnel upwards to the caponier was
our plan; we should, of course, still be inside the for
tress. Provided we were successful in piercing through
to the caponier and had been able to fake the caU-over
the night we made the attempt, the only obstacles
would be the drop over the sloping sides of the earth
works to the moat, and swimming the moat, under
fire from the sentries on the caponier and the sentries

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 129
on a level with the moat! However, given a dark night,
and a good chance of being missed by men whose fin
gers were cold with long sentry duty, we would make
for the open country, and then, who knew? — some
body might find fortune.
I mentioned, above, "faking caU-over." Whenever
it was absolutely necessary to the plans of a would-be
escaper, we used to fake the caU-over, in order to give
him time to get away. Unless the plan demanded it,
this fake was not undertaken, as the vital necessity of
being able to do it was too serious to be risked for a
trivial or unlikely attempt.
I have described how the cells were connected by a
stone archway, which had been partitioned either by
wood or stone. Wherever there was a wooden partition,
it was possible to do the trick, provided it was done
with coolness and rapidity and sure movement. At call-
over, the Boche sergeant visited each ceU in turn and
counted his full complement of prisoners in each cell.
He then passed on to the next cell, and so on, down the
corridor. It was necessary, therefore, for the prisoners
to be counted and found correct in the first ceU visited.
Then, as the sergeant turned and went out, one of us
sHpped through a sliding door, cunningly devised in
the wooden partition, got into another coat and hat,
and seated himself with his back to a Hghted candle,
in this way taking the place of the missing man. All

130 MY GERMAN PRISONS
this had to be done before the sergeant could walk five
paces in the corridor, and enter the second ceU. The
count would be taken, and, of course, would be
correct. The danger came in the Hghtning speed of slipping
through the prepared opening, closing it, getting into
a coat and hat similar to that worn by the absent man,
and getting seated in such a manner that the dim Hght
would not faU on one's face. Two seconds was the Hmit
of time. The feat was only possible with the coopera
tion of every one in the second ceU; one to open and
close the sHding door; one standing ready with coat
and hat; a third, standing in front of his own cell do6r,
to prevent the sergeant from being able to see every
movement at the moment of entering. One false move
or loss of coolness, and the trick was up.
But to get back to our escaping scheme. The job re
quired three men on each shift, one to excavate, one to
watch from inside the ceU, and one to signal to him
from the outside of the approach of danger, in the form
of either the sentry on sentry duty, or on the caponier
above, or the fortress detective. The signal from the
man outside was usuaUy conveyed by his blowing his
nose with a white handkerchief. The watcher inside
then gave the signal to the excavator, by a low whistle.
If the sentry above were either approaching or directly
over the shaft, he would be able to hear the least noise

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 131
of picking, so that work had to be suspended for a
minute or two during each of his beats.
Our first difficulty was to fasten two iron staples in
the roof at the entrance of the shaft, in order that a
plank might be placed across them to allow the exca
vator something upon which to stand. The second diffi
culty was to obtain sufficiently adequate tools to pick
with. Two staples and some three or four chisels were
improvised out of a number of iron stanchions,
wrenched out of different walls in the fortress, and
heated to white heat in the fire before they could be
fashioned to our purpose.
When the shift went to work, the excavator had first
to be hoisted to his perch and a blanket spread beneath
to catch every grain of teUtale mortar and brick that
would inevitably shower down. He then picked away,
until he got the signal to stop, and began again when
the danger had passed. Sometimes he was obHged to
stop for a longer period, when his three or four picks
had become aU bent and useless, when they must go
back to the ceU and precious fire, in order to be re-
tempered and straightened.
On one occasion, the camp detective came in too
quickly for the excavator to get down, or for the
watcher inside to remove the sheet. However, they
kept their heads. With a fraction of a second to spare,
the sheet was handed to the man above, who remained

132 MY GERMAN PRISONS
motionless while the detective searched about beneath
him. In fact, he actually looked up the shaft, but it was
too dark to be able to see up its whole length without
going up with a candle. Our hearts were beating so that
we felt suffocated, but at last, the detective turned
away. He had seen nothing, and had evidently decided
that nobody would attempt such an apparently im
possible task as to burrow through a soHd wall.
However, we worked successfully on the shaft for
about a month — a month of weary toil — when one
day our hopes were bitterly dashed to the ground. A
scatter-brained young French officer hid in the shaft
all one night, without arranging to have his caU-over
faked. And so the whole game was up. Neither am I
unfair in calling the young man "scatter-brained," for
he was the laugh of the French as weU as ourselves.
We called him "Tartarin."
Towards the end of November the weather became
extremely cold, and in consequence our conditions be
came unbearable, owing to the lack of sufficient coal
for heating purposes. This led to another Httle atten
tion from the Boches similar to that described above.
A batch of prisoners were transferred from the fort to
some other camp, and this left vacant one of the cells.
This was too good an opportunity to miss, since pos
sibly a portion of coal might be left by the officers just
gone. One of the British officers therefore paid a visit

THE HELL-HOLE OF INGOLSTADT 133
to the empty cell. There was nothing to hinder him
from doing so, for he merely had to proceed down the
corridor from his own cell till he reached the other one.
Immediately, however, he put his head in at the door
the sentry outside shot at him through the grated win
dow. Fortunately he missed him, but that was not the
fault of the sentry. Of course we complained at such
disgraceful treatment, and the commandant said he
would severely rate the sentry, but nothing ever came
of it in the way of redress.

CHAPTER IX
A "BLOND BEAST" COMMANDANT
To further iUustrate the general scheme of treatment,
I wUl recount the form of medical attention meted out
to us. A doctor from the town of Ingolstadt visited us
on Mondays and Fridays. He was quite a good feUow,
though I never saw him sober, and I went to him doz
ens of times. Consequently, from a medical point of
view, he was quite useless. As a permanent assistant he
had a French Alsatian Tommy, whose duty it was to
administer the doses and attend cases generally, such
as massage for rheumatism, from which we aU suffered,
and bandaging troublesome old wounds. This orderly
had had no training, and as a matter of fact was taught
to rub and bandage by us. He was not able to procure
medicines, and had no authority to do so.
On one occasion a Russian officer tried to commit
suicide towards midnight. This took place in the right
wing of the cells, which after 9 p.m. was shut off from
the administrative officer in the centre by doors
marked W and T in sketch; and although the officer's
comrades nearly battered down the door in order to
get some sort of medical help from the commandant,
it was refused; consequently the poor wretch had to He

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 135
and bleed till morning, when he was removed to hos
pital in the town, too late to help him, I fear; but of
course we never were allowed to know the result. At
another time an officer in my wing (the left) was taken
with violent fever and fearful pain in breathing, which
turned out to be double pneumonia. We tried in vain to
get some medical help, but we were only laughed at
from the other side of the iron-studded door, and told
that the swine officer must take his chance.
There was no sick-room of any sort. This could have
been excused had we been in or near a town, but since
we were situated five miles from the outskirts of the
town it became inexcusable, especiaUy as, owing to the
unhealthy state of the camp, everybody was more or
less unweU at some period or other. A sort of ague fever
attacked nearly every one, and we found it very diffi
cult to keep clear of bad colds and throats. Towards
the end of December the cold became so intense that
it was impossible to keep warm. The only method of
keeping the circulation up was by skipping. Our coal
aUowance, which had been entirely inadequate before,
was cut down. It was now only possible to utiUze it for
cooking purposes. Some means had to be found in order
to add to our fuel, and this we discovered. I refer to
the wood partitions connecting those cells which were
not occupied, also some wooden partitions separating
the holes used as latrines, and the commandant's pri-

136 MY GERMAN PRISONS
vate lavatory. Another man, since escaped from Ger
many, and I tore down these partitions and burnt them
in our cooking-stoves to create what warmth we could.
Of course it was not long before the Boches found it
out, and, since they could not discover the actual of
fenders, the whole of the officers in the fortress were
charged so much for repairs, which repairs never took
place unfortunately, as we should then have had a
fresh supply of wood, although we burnt everything
we could possibly lay our hands on. Wood burns at
such a fearful rate that this only kept us going for a
few weeks.
We had, however, another fuel supply which, though
it yielded only very small quantities, was more regular,
with the added advantage that a certain amount of ex
citement was entailed in obtaining the fuel. We were
not only cold from without, but from within, since we
were very short of food, and nearly a month had passed
since our last parcels of food had arrived from home.
My particular aU was down to two small boxes of sar
dines a day for the six of us — consequently we had
been forced to eat the glutinous paste suppHed by the
Boches as a soup ration; it had no nourishment, but it
filled the stomach.
There were three places in the fortress where coal
was fairly plentiful — the Boche guard-room, the bath
room on Thursdays, when the German guard took

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 137
their weekly wash, and the commandant's private
bureau — especially the last two.
With luck we usually managed to make the Boches'
bath-day on Thursday supply us with enough coal to
give us a couple of hours' fire on Friday and Saturday,
the commandant being made to supply us for the rest
of the week.
There was not much excitement in getting it from
the bathroom — it was too easy. One had merely to
take one's tin wash-basin to the bath, fill it on the way
out (without the bath orderly seeing, of course), cover
the basin with one's towel, and proceed to one's ceU.
But to filch it out of the commandant's own coal
box, right under his nose, with his five trusted Feld-
webel in the room at the same time — ah ! that was a
Httle job worthy of the daring.
The commandant's bureau is marked on the plan
(page 115), and it wiU be noticed that a sentry was
stationed outside his door. Inside the room, facing the
door, sat the commandant at his desk, and against the
waU to his right two more desks were occupied by his
two Feldwebel. Opposite them was the stove and large
open box, which acted as coal box; next to that again, a
large cupboard which held the confiscated articles of
different unsuccessful escapers. The plan of procedure
was this: Five or six of us paid a visit to the comman
dant — the more the better — and made some reason-

138 MY GERMAN PRISONS
able complaint, of which, alas, we had only too many.
Two or three then lined up in front of the Feldwebels'
desks, and distracted their attention. The others argued
with the commandant, and the last man in, apparently
standing behind, doing nothing, in reaHty produced
from under his large mackintosh a small leather
handbag which he quietly placed beside the coal box.
During the altercation which ensued, he stealthily bent
down and placed the largest piece of coal from the
box into the bag, and so on, until he had fiUed the bag
and it disappeared onto a Httle hook inside his coat
which was prepared to receive it.
He then waited patiently for whatever might happen
next. His pals, having seen that aU was ready, were
now willing to give in to the commandant, who, by
this time, was usuaUy foaming at the mouth. Before
long the sentry was sent for, and we were aU pushed off
to our cell. And then how we laughed as the victorious
Httle bag of warmth was produced.
Sometimes, indeed, we faUed to procure any coal.
But when we were successful, the Boches never dis
covered how or where it went to, the sheer audacity of
the thing making it often possible.
It was in January that the Swiss Commission paid
another visit; but although numerous cases were up
in front of them, only one French officer was accepted,
and he was eventuaUy sent back from Constance. The

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 139
commission put me on the list, but refused to make
mine a special case, since they had no record of the his
tory of my wound, so the hope of going a train journey
at the expense of the Boches towards the Swiss frontier
came to an end.
The British officers in general passed a good many
weary hours away in playing bridge, and owing to the
limitations of Hght during the long dark winter eve
nings we constantly played in the afternoons. At one
of these afternoon sessions we were surprised in our
usual game in a cell shared by four British officers and
two Frenchmen. One of the French officers was leaving
for another camp, thus , vacating one of the wooden
beds. The Boches having learned by bitter experience
that a vacant bed would be turned into firewood,
within haH an hour of its being vacated paid a visit to
this ceU in order to remove the bed to a safer place.
This occurred during our game of bridge. Now, in order
to remove the bed from the ceU, it was necessary to
take it to pieces, owing to the door of the ceU not being
wide enough to admit of its being taken out whole.
Whfle dismembering the bed the Boche carpenter
in charge of the work missed some of his stock-in-
trade, a large pair of iron pincers which he had inad
vertently laid on the floor beside him, whilst working
on the bed. The sight of this rare and useful article in
such close proximity awoke the attention of our bridge-

140 MY GERMAN PRISONS
four to the possibihties of adding so precious a tool to
our escaping outfit. Accordingly a little expert manoeu
vring on the part of one of our number brought the
tool into our possession without raising the suspicion
of the carpenter.
One of the other members of our four now left the
ceU with the pincers in his pocket, walked a few yards
down the passage, and gave them to some friend in an
other ceU. He then returned to us in order to continue
the game of bridge, knowing fuU weU that by that time
the pincers had been transferred to the other wing of
the fortress. Immediately afterwards, the carpenter
discovered his loss and reported the matter to the bu
reau. This led, of course, to an immediate examination
of our ceU by the commandant in person. The com
mandant stormed in and first accused us all in turn
with having the pincers. We could aU truthfuUy reply
that we had not got the pincers, and further, that we
did not know where they were (which was also per
fectly true). Upon this statement, a search was made
and also an examination of our persons, but, of course,
without result. During this examination the door of the
cell opened, and a French officer of the name of Bor
geau entered. On seeing the commandant he com
menced to apologize, at which the former flew at him,
calling him a pig of a Frenchman and various other in
sulting names. Borgeau very wisely withdrew to his

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 141
own ceU, situated farther down the passage; but he
kept the door of his ceU open, in order to intercept the
commandant on his way back to his bureau and de
mand an explanation for this unnecessary insult. This
he did, but before Borgeau had time to say anything
the commandant went for him, and struck him on the
face and chest with his clenched fist. At the same time
his two sentries with their lowered bayonets pressed
into the ceU along with the Feldwebel (sergeant-major).
The commandant was like a wUd beast, and in one of
his furious attacks on the defenceless Borgeau he over-
swung and knocked his own Feldwebel off his feet. This
caused a roar of laughter from the other occupants of
the ceU and increased the general pandemonium. For
tunately Borgeau kept his head in this very difficult
situation, and resisted the inclination to strike back.
Had he done so, he would have been shot for a cer
tainty. Later on in the day three British officers were called
to the commandant's bureau to sign certain necessary
papers, but when they found that they had to deal
with the commandant in person they refused to speak
to him, and told him in French that they would trans
act their business with the Feldwebel, since they did not
consider him (the commandant) either a gentleman or
an officer responsible for his actions after the affair of
that morning in striking a defenceless prisoner without

142 MY GERMAN PRISONS
the slightest provocation whatever. As a result of this
they were immediately confined to solitary ceUs, kept
for the purpose, in the interior of the fortress. Two offi
cers escaped from these cells in about two hours, and
returned to their own cells. On this being discovered
they were removed to the town civiHan jaU.
As will be seen, in return for the vile treatment dealt
out to us by the Boches, we did not give them very much
peace whenever the opportunity arose to do otherwise,
consequently our guard was doubled at the fortress, which
pleased us very much, since we felt that we were keeping
a number of men away from the front, and thus still help
ing to do our little share towards the war. Of course it in
creased the difficulties of escape a Httle, but not to any
appreciable extent. It was almost impossible to get
away with or without a whole skin. This being the case,
a few more guards more or less did not make very
much difference.
Hauptmann Hirsch and his Feldwebel were, perhaps,
the worst commandant and Unteroffiziers it was my lot
to strike during my two and a half years' imprison
ment. His name should most certainly be on the re
prisal list of the AlHes. The German High Command
were certainly not responsible for his ungovernable
tempers and petty forms of persecution. To him, alone,
can be attributed the uncaUed-for shooting at the pris
oners inside the fortress; the lack of coal or wood dur-

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 143
ing the severest winter (1916-17) and the lack of exer
cise grounds when he had them at his disposal; the
unspeakable filth conditions existing in the interior of
the fortress; the power which he placed in the hands of
his N.C.O.'s to insult and bully the officer prisoners at
every turn; the lack of drinking-water which by the
commandant's orders might only be drawn in a pail
once a day; the unsanitary condition of the holes in the
ground used as latrines, and the disgraceful lack of
medical attention.
About this time a certain amount of interest was
caused by the arrival at the fortress of a new battery of
anti-aircraft guns which were instaUed with a platoon
of infantrymen in the southeast battery of the fortress.
A good deal of comment arose as to just what they
were for, and it was some time before the problem was
solved. We tried to flatter ourselves that the new guns
were to help keep us in, but eventually we found that
they were to protect, against invasion from the air, the
Ingolstadt powder and ammunition factory which was
situated about three quarters of a mile to the south of
the fortress and one of the biggest factories of its kind
in Bavaria.
It is, of course, strictly against the findings of the
Hague Convention that a prison camp may be used as
a shield for belligerent artillery. That is exactly what
we were used for, since the Boches were fully aware

144 MY GERMAN PRISONS
that our airmen would not drop bombs on their bat
teries if it meant wiping out their own feUow country
men in prison.
Undoubtedly Ingolstadt was by far the worst camp
I was in, and yet it was in one way the best, because of
the wonderful esprit de corps which existed among the
prisoners. Every one helped his feUow prisoners. If a
compass or a map was wanted and it was possible in
any way to obtain such a thing, you were shown the
way to go about it, or perhaps it was obtained for you,
regardless of risk.
There were two small steel hacksaw blades, about
five inches long, which belonged to two old hands of
Frenchmen in the fortress — precious jewels, these
saws; more precious than a ton of diamonds, for if they
wore out, they could never be replaced. And yet they
were always at one's disposal, so long as one was con
sidered a responsible person and not scatter-brained.
When the time came for me to need a compass, I was
given a tip as to how to procure one, by a fellow who
had been in the fortress over a year, and knew aU those
who had come and gone in that time. It appears that
one day a prisoner obtained permission from the com
mandant to visit an ocuHst's shop in the town in order
to have his glasses readjusted. When he visited the
shop, he discovered some compasses under the glass
counter, and succeeded in secretly buying one. Over-

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 145
joyed, he returned to the camp with his priceless find.
Some time later, he escaped and was eventually
caught, when the compass was found on his person,
with the name of the shop from whence it came en
graved on it. In consequence, the shop was heavily
fined, and shut up, as a lesson to others.
My friend at the fortress suggested that there was
another oculist's shop in the town, and that since it
was about a year since the last affair, I might at least
have a try at it. He laughed and looked at me closely,
assuming an air of extreme soHcitude.
"Your eyes do look rather bloodshot," he said sym-
patheticaUy. Then he added, "There is a young man
in the shop and his two sisters — the sisters are rather
charming." "That's aU right," I repHed, "but how am I to get
into the town?"
"Go and see the commandant," he suggested, "and
tell him that you are nearly blind for want of Hght, and
that you intend reporting the same to the American
representatives when they come next time, and that
you must be fitted to spectacles right away. Suggest
going to Munich — that wiU put the old fox off the
scent." "Right-o, old thing," I repHed. "I'll have a shot at
it. I'U try right away," and started off.
With a mischievous grin he caUed me back.

146 MY GERMAN PRISONS
"If you're successful, you might bring me one, you
know." "It's as good as yours," I promised, and he laughed
and told me I was optimistic. I told him that naturally
I was optimistic, else I should n't be alive at that min
ute, and I marched off in search of the commandant.
He told me that the doctor must look at my eyes on
Monday, when he made his calls, so I waited for Mon
day with impatience. When he arrived, he was, as
usual, quite drunk, which made my permission aU the
easier to get. Another officer, who really was nearly
blind, and I, were marched to the mUitary hospital in
the town of Ingolstadt where we were examined. The
doctor there was suspicious of me, and tried to catch
me, but I simply would n't be caught, and finally he
gave me an order for a pair of lenses. The other officer
came through all right, naturally, and we were marched
to the ocuHst's shop accompanied by two guards. Here
we handed in our prescriptions, and underneath the
glass of the counter lay four beautiful brand-new com
passes. I pointed them out to the young man in the
shop and asked to have a look at them, speaking in
French. He shook his head. Did I not speak German?
I told him only a few words and asked him if there
was no one in the shop who could speak French.
"Oh, yes, my sister," he said, and hurried away.

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 147
Presently a little woman came out. She was, I sup
posed, one of the charming beauties my French friend
had so eloquently described. Ah, you dear Frenchmen,
— where a lady is concerned, what optimists you are!
The little lady was very agreeable, but on my
broaching the subject of compasses, she turned to the
guard who was in the shop and said:
"It is 'verboten,' is that not so, Soldaten?"
"Ya, ya," he repHed, and explained that he was
there to see that the EngHsh officers did not buy for
bidden articles. So I said, carelessly:
"Oh, never mind. I don't want it," and added, very
low, in French: "But I would have paid fifty marks
apiece if I could have gotten them."
At that, she looked up and winked, as she turned her
back to us.
"How long wUl it be before our glasses are fixed?"
I asked. "Oh, about an hour," she said. "My brother has to
grind the lenses to fit the frames. He 's in there," and
she nodded to the Httle back parlor. "That's his work
shop. He 's got an electric motor."
"Really," I said, with much interest. "I'm an engi
neer. I should love to see it. Also I'm very thirsty.
Could we procure a couple of bottles of wine and drink
them in — our little parlor whUe we wait?"
She turned to the guard, who said "No"; that it was

148 MY GERMAN PRISONS
"verboten." I saw signs of thawing, however, and I
said: "Now, look here, my good man, I'm tired and cold
with the walk, and I must get a drink. Come now —
nobody wUl know, and you'll get as much as the
rest." FinaUy he weakened, and shortly afterwards we
were aU seated in the parlor with the brother and an
other fair (?) sister. The young man sent out for a
couple of bottles of wine, and when we had opened
them we all drank to the speedy end of the war, the
guard having a generous share of the wine.
The time for action had now come. I signaUed one of
the sisters that I must have four compasses. She retired
into the shop and sHpped them into her pocket and
returned. The other officer stood between me and the
brother who was working at his machine, and filling
up a fresh bumper, I stood facing the guard, with my
other hand behind my back, holding out the tempting
German money. And while the guard and I were
draining our glasses, the four compasses found their
way into my pocket, and the money into the hands of
the fair lady.
The spectacles were fitted and finished, and we re
turned to the fortress, reaching there just before dark.
Thus, four compasses came to cheer the souls of four
men at Ingolstadt. I went to the officer who gave me

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 149
the tip, and presented him with one. He took it and
laughed. "Eh, bien, mon ami," he said. "You're more than
an optimist."
"WeU, you're not," I retorted. "The lady had a face
like a tomato."
During the month of December I became very
friendly with a French officer, and the two of us de
cided to carry out a plan of escape which we had hit
upon. We were to cut through the thick iron bars of the
cell window, sHp past the sentry, pass over the frozen
moat and dash away; it sounds comparatively easy,
but it proved pretty difficult.
First, we had to borrow one of the precious hack
saws, and then we had to make a dummy bar, to put
in place of the severed one, when we should have suc
ceeded in cutting through it. The dummy bar had to
be fashioned of a bed slat, brought to the right color by
soaking and painting with some gray chalk which we
procured. Cutting the bar was a heart-breaking task, as the
longest time we could safely saw continuously was
about five seconds, owing to the fact that the sentry
passed up and down on a level with the window, not
more than four feet away. One man worked on the
saw, while another watched the sentry with the aid of
a tiny mirror which was stuck outside the window on

150 MY GERMAN PRISONS
the end of a thin writing pen. When the sentry neared
the ceU on his return beat, the worker on the saw must
have his saw out, and have jumped down from the win
dow before the sentry came opposite the window. It
took us five days and nights to get the bar cut — a job
which would have taken about half an hour's steady
work — and our hands were in bad condition when it
was completed. However, the bar looked as soHd as
before, and lard and plaster Ume were cunningly filled
in the cuts so that no one could tell it had been severed.
The next step was to arrange with one of the French
orderHes, who worked on the carbide lamps round the
fortress, and who was in the game, to fill the lamps with
oil in the bottom, so that at a given hour they would aU
splutter out. This he did, and succeeded in passing
them under the Feldwebel's own eyes.
At 8.30 I was to cross over from my wing of the for
tress to ceU 22, where the severed bar was, and an
officer from that ceU would take my place for caU-over
in my ceU. AU was in readiness — food, warm clothes
for the journey, maps, compasses, etc.
I was sitting on my bed, waiting for the time to leave
my ceU, and wondering whether, if the sentry fired, he
would hit me or not, for we would be obHged to pass
within five yards of him. However, if the lamps acted
well, the chances were good enough. We did n't hope
to get more than thirty seconds start, but given a dark

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 151
night, and one hundred yards to the good, we might
make it. Suddenly, my heart jumped. The big alarm
beU clanged out its warning.
"What the devil is that for?" I thought. "A caU-
over, at this time? "
Such was the case, however, and the Boche arrived,
counted the prisoners and found everything correct,
and returned to the commandant. But they locked and
guarded the corridor connecting the two wings, and
there was no chance that night.
"WeU," I thought, "I must grin and bear it, and
hope for better luck to-morrow night."
That night, at n.30, every lamp in the fortress sud
denly flickered out. The guard were in a frenzy, calling
for Hght. And there I sat in my ceU, tormented by the
thoughts of the chance I had missed; the bar was sev
ered, the fortress in total darkness, and there was I, on
the wrong side of the prison. Would my friend B  ¦
try it alone? I hoped so. The night was as black as
pitch and everything in our favor. It was simply sheer
rotten bad luck.
In the morning we found that the reason for the
early call-over and lock-up was that a party of French
officers had been discovered tunnelling in the other
wing. When they were caught, the Boches were not
sure but that somebody had already gotten away — •
hence the extra call-over to make sure.

152 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Then when the Hghts went out so mysteriously, their
suspicions were, of course, further aroused, and the
camp detective went around, hammering at aU the
bars with a sledge-hammer. It was four days before his
usual day for this particular pastime, and of course
when he came to our bar, it coUapsed. So the game was
up once more, and as a result of our work a slab of
sheet iron was put up over the whole window, com
pletely excluding the Hght.
The occupants of the ceU next to mine, — number
42, — French and Belgian officers, hit upon a plan
by which it might be possible to get out and fool the
Boches at the same time.
They noticed that for some time it had been the
habit of the Boches to change the interior guard once
a week. When these changes took place, the Boche
N.C.O. belonging to the party utilized the prisoner
orderHes to carry out their paUiasses (mattresses of
sacks, stuffed with straw) accompanied under the
guard of one of their N.C.O.'s.
A Belgian uniform was roughly transformed to look
like a German N.C.O.'s uniform, so that it could not be
detected by lampHght. When the usual day for chang
ing guard arrived, one of the officers who spoke Ger
man perfectly, dressed up in the uniform, and had the
rest of his pals waiting in the dark corridor, each with
a palHasse on his back and weU bent over their heads.

A BLOND BEAST COMMANDANT 153
A moment before the guard should have turned out,
which was always after dusk, the whole party calmly
walked out of the corridor and out of the main gate,
passing the guard on the way. They marched straight
up to the drawbridge and demanded to be let through,
the demand being made by the officer in the Boche uni
form. They were let through, the second gate on the
other side of the moat was also opened, and then they
chucked their loads and made a bolt for the last Hne of
defence which was a seven-foot stone waU, sprung over
this, and were away!
Ten days passed, and no word came to us. We began
really to beHeve that at last some good feUows had
been successful. But on the eleventh day the whole
troop were led back. They were in an awful condition.
The trek had been too long, and the way too hard.
Two of them could not walk for more than a month,
their feet were so badly bHstered and bleeding. "Well,"
we said, "they did n't succeed, but, by Gad, they did
fool the Boches ! " The thought cheered us up for quite
some time.
I have stated before how some British officers and
a Belgian escaped over the frozen moat. This was one
of the finest efforts I have seen, as the chance of reach
ing the other side of the moat aHve was almost nil. At
the outset they had to rush over the caponiers from the
interior exercise-grounds, in fuU view of the sentries

154 MY GERMAN PRISONS
standing on the top of the caponiers, down the other
side, a descent at an angle of 6o°, to a depth of from
fifty to sixty feet, on to the frozen moat, which was
about sixty yards broad, and then race over open
country under fire for about two hundred yards, and
cross another canal which was not frozen. The sentries
started firing before the escapers reached the moat,
and kept on firing long after they had crossed. On this
occasion the proverbial bad luck of the escaper cropped
up. A mUitary wagon came tearing down the usuaUy
deserted road to the fortress, and was brought to a
standstill on the bridge which crossed the outer canal;
a troupe of about eight or ten Boches poured from it,
and in this way our unfortunate brother officers were
caught.

CHAPTER X
BOUND FOR CREFELD
At the end of February we were surprised by a visit
from two representatives of the American Embassy,
to whom we poured forth our woes, and who declared
their views pretty strongly as to the conditions in
which they found us. The assault by the commandant
on a defenceless French officer was fuUy narrated to
them, also the fact that officers had been fired on in
side the fortress whUst lying out in the earthworks.
The American representatives made every effort with
the commandant to procure more coal for heating our
ceUs, also greater space for exercise, asking permission
for us to again use the interior exercise-grounds X and
Y, periodicaUy closed to us as a general strafe, and per
manently closed to us after the attempted escape of
the British officers over the frozen moat.
As a result of this last visit from the representatives
of the American Embassy, we were again aUowed the
use of the two interior exercise-grounds. This only
lasted about three weeks, but we managed to get a
considerable amount of fun out of it.
At that time the whole country was covered with a
heavy paU of snow. Immediately "coasting" suggested

156 MY GERMAN PRISONS
itself, and one or two of the officers secured permission
to buy some cheap boys' sleds from the town. We im
provised others, and on these rickety articles, the Rus
sians, French, and British vied with each other in try
ing to break their necks down the precipitous banks of
the interior earthworks.
About one hundred yards was the longest course ob
tainable. To essay this, one had to be an optimist, a
fool, and a prisoner. We had to start the sled from the
top of the highest gun platform. In about twenty feet,
we had to get our impetus and turn a complete right
angle, in order to shoot down a smaU path, leading
down into the yard, a sheer drop of about fifty feet,
to the gravel yard beneath. Some good fractures were
secured in this way, but the exhilarating excitement
was a wonderful nerve tonic. A rough game of hockey
was also played on several occasions when we had the
use of the yard.
Strangely enough, we were allowed to see the com
mission alone, but after our interview they proceeded
to the commandant, who took them across to the so-
caUed theatre or music-room, where doubtless the
commandant went into raptures over the beauties and
utiHties of the theatre, forgetting to explain that we
were not aUowed into it and that the door was kept
locked, so that possibly the commission went away
with the feeling that after all the Boches were trying to

BOUND FOR CREFELD 157
make up for the awful conditions existent in the for
tress by giving us the use of an improvised theatre.
The amount of eyewash prepared in camps for a visit
of any sort, either neutral or Boche, was extremely
humorous to me. A camp would get busy like a hive
for a couple of days before the visit, sweeping and
cleaning in every corner, so that general conditions
would improve for a day or two, and immediately
after the visits they would lapse back into the old con
ditions of filth.
During the last few months an escaping scheme on a
large scale had been under way from a cell quite close
to my own. After many months of terrific manual la
bor a tunnel running from beneath the floor of the cell
to the edge of the moat had been brought to successful
completion. On the day of the night chosen for the at
tempt the never-ending bad luck of the escapers again
ruined all these carefully laid plans. A large sewage-
cart containing an enormous iron cylinder visited the
camp for the purpose of pumping out the latrines. In
order to reach these latrines the sewage-cart had to
pass over the strip of ground dividing the cells of the
fortress from the moat, and in so doing passed over the
underground tunnel, which at this place was not more
than three feet beneath the surface of the earth; and
although the tunnel had been strengthened with every
possible kind of wood torn from every hole and corner

158 MY GERMAN PRISONS
inside the fortress, the weight of the cart was too much
for it, and a deep rut showed in the ground after the
cart had passed. This might have escaped the eye of
the sentry on beat at this place, had not the cart passed
over exactly the same spot on its return journey, thus
causing a depression, which rapidly sank to about a
foot deep. The sentry did not fail to see it, and the fact
was reported to the quarter guard, whose investigation
with picks and shovels soon revealed the truth, so that
another accidental discovery was added to the list.
When we found that no attempt had been made to
drain the latrines for over two years, the extraordinary
bad luck became a hundred times more exasperating
to bear.
Those who have not witnessed or participated in
these schemes would find it hard to beHeve the extraor
dinary amount of ingenuity that was displayed in
their accompHshment. For instance, we needed a large
pump for air, to be used when the tunnel had pro
gressed so far that the air became too foul for a man
to walk in, or for a candle to burn in. How was it pos
sible to construct a pump or obtain piping? you might
ask. A prisoner would answer you, — " Quite simple —
all you need is the necessity, which is, as every one
knows, the mother of invention." Thus does a prison
er's mind react.
As a matter of fact, the commandant aUowed us to

BOUND FOR CREFELD 159
buy waxcloth, or "American cloth," in order to cover
the filthy, greasy tables aUotted to each ceU. If the
stupid Boche had taken the trouble to count, he would
have found that enough waxcloth had been bought to
cover every table in the camp a hundred times over.
Later on, their duU brains did find out the reason why
the prisoners apparently fed on waxcloth, and then it
was impossible to secure.
The waxcloth was cut into thin strips of about three
inches wide, and beautifuUy sewn into tube lengths,
glossy side innermost. Then came the grease from the
wax candles from home, which were melted and poured
and rubbed into the seam. Round this again was
wound string, which came off of parcels from home, so
as to protect the outside case. Each length was made
so that one end would fit into the larger end of another
length, and there you have a regular hose pipe, pro
tected and air-proof.
The pump was reaUy a pair of large beUows, made
out of the frame of two chairs, hinged in the middle,
and covered top and bottom with waxcloth, naUed to
the wood with smaU naUs, which we extracted from the
soles of our boots. The waxcloth was then greased so as
to exclude the air. The sides of the beUows were any
sort of thick cotton fabric, usuaUy Russian undershirts,
saturated with paraffin wax, and rubbed over with lard
or butter so as to be quite pUable, and at the same time

160 MY GERMAN PRISONS
almost air-proof. The valve and nozzle were made out
of somebody's soft bedroom sHppers and an india rub
ber tobacco pouch.
When the excavator went down the tunnel to work,
he had to have a rope tied to him, so that he might be
hauled out should he faint in the foul air, or to give him
the signal to stop work as the sentry passed over his
head. The rope was made of cunningly entwined boot
laces cut into strips, bed-sheeting, and anything else
that was obtainable.
The reader may wonder how it was the camp detec
tive did not see the hole through the floor of the ceU.
We had asphalt floors, about two inches thick, beneath
which were cement flags, and below that, stone peb
bles and rubble. The asphalt was first weU heated with
flat irons, which we had for ironing our clothes, and
when it was sticky, we carefuUy cut with a knife a hole
large enough for a man to enter. The asphalt was re-
melted again onto a flat tray made of bed boards, so
as to fit tightly into the square which had been cut out.
The stone beneath was then picked up and the work
of getting out stone and rubble commenced. At the end
of each day or night's work, the tray of asphalt was
put into position, and a red-hot iron seared over the
joint, so that it was almost impossible to see that it had
been moved. One must attend to every tiny detail if
one would be successful on a job of this sort.

BOUND FOR CREFELD 161
One of our greatest difficulties, however, was getting
rid of the stuff which had been excavated. Outside the
ceU, in the corridor, a sentry was posted. Every grain
of stuff had to pass him, without arousing his suspi
cions, in order to dump it down the holes used as la
trines. We carried the stuff in capacious overcoat pock
ets, or in smaU bags made from underlinen, concealed
under our clothes, as we passed to the latrines. Outside
the latrines was another sentry. He must not hear the
stuff falling, or his suspicions would be excited. But,
above aU, not a pebble or a grain must be spiUed in
transit, for the watchful eye of the camp detective
would spot it, wonder where it came from, and a search
would undoubtedly be instituted. Too, the excavations
down the holes had to be covered with paper, in order
that a flashlamp, shone down into their murky depths,
might not disclose the secret.
There were two officers at the fortress who had pre
viously made several gaUant attempts to escape. One
of them I held in the highest honor as the star performer
amongst aU the prisoners, of aU nationaHties, and who
I deeply regret to say was kiUed on his fifteenth at
tempt. These two tried a new if somewhat disagree
able method. Their plan was to try and steal out
in two large wooden boxes, used as dustbins for the
refuse of the fortress. The two refuse boxes were
kept inside the fortress, but emptied outside the

162 MY GERMAN PRISONS
prison once a week, by prisoner orderHes and a con
ducting guard.
The first difficulty was to remove enough rubbish
from the boxes to make room for their bodies, when the
eyes of a sentry overlooked the place near where the
boxes stood. This sentry marched up and down on a
regular beat; it was, therefore, only when his back was
turned that the two escapers could hope to get into the
boxes without being seen.
In the end this part of the scheme was successfuUy
accompHshed. The two officers got into sacks stolen
from the Boches and jumped into the boxes, and the
rubbish was hastUy pUed in on top of them by their
friends. AU went weU. They were Hf ted onto a cart and
taken out of the fortress, pitched off the cart onto an
old heap of rubbish outside the fortress, and left there.
Evening began to close, and our hopes were high that
all would be weU with them. But, alas! It was not long
before we saw our friends returning under guard.
Later we found out that the guards, after having
seen the refuse and the sacks dumped out, had with
drawn, when some busybody of a civUian ragpicker
came poking about in the mound of rubbish. It was not
long before he discovered the sacks with their human
contents, and with a shriek the guards were caUed, and
the game was up. We also heard that it was a close
shave for their Uves, as the guards were perfectly in-

BOUND FOR CREFELD 163
furiated at having been hoodwinked. And thus another
scheme failed.
What, then, was the saving, upHfting influence
which kept the mental balance of our prisoners intact?
Two things: Pride of race to endure against hopeless
odds, without loss of self-control and therefore seff-
esteem; and the constant, ever-present dream, by day
and night, of escape and how to effect it. By day and
night these dreams took soHd form in plots and plans
and schemes. They would be reasoned out, discussed,
and tested, only to faU and faU again, until at last a
superstition, a hopeless fataHsm, grew up among us.
We came to feel that the Almighty Power itseh had
decided against us; that we were deserted by both God
and man.
Yet, somehow, after each faUure, from somewhere a
new hope was rekindled that, perhaps, after all there
was no special dispensation of Providence which had
decreed that we must always faU. The doubting man
might laugh cynicaUy on remembering our many de
spairing efforts, and look on us as confiding chUdren.
But laugh as he would, the little hope always, in the
end, crept upwards, and eventuaUy became master of
the field, until even the doubter joined in new plans of
escape. At the end of March I was suddenly called up to in
terview General Peter, the commandant of the military

164 MY GERMAN PRISONS
district of Ingolstadt. He addressed me very civUly,
which was not his wont, and told me that I, along with
two other British officers, was going to be removed to
the best camp in Germany, owing to our exemplary
behavior and gentlemanly conduct. I saluted and
departed to inform my comrades in my ceU, where
laughter overcame me. My exemplary behavior! when
everybody in the fortress knew that I had been de
scribed by the commandant as one of the most "dan
gerous characters" in the camp. Of course my mind
instantly sought for the reason which had caused the
Boches to decide on sending me away, and it was not
long before I discovered it. I immediately consulted my
French pal, and the two of us put our heads together
and paid a visit to the commandant, but found no clue
there. We then proceeded to the so-caUed Krankenstube
(or sick-room). Seeing a lot of new medicines, I asked
the orderly who they were for. He repHed that the
Swiss Commission was paying us a visit in a few days.
The reasons of my removal to another and better camp
were immediately explained. A great many inquiries
had been made from home to the Swiss Commission
regarding my case and the reason why I had not been
sent to Switzerland on the last visit of the commission.
The Boches, knowing this, had no intention that the
commission should find me still an inmate of such a
heU-hole as Fort 9, Ingolstadt.

BOUND FOR CREFELD 165
On the morning of the 3d of April, or two days after
old General Pet.er had told me I was to be sent to a nice
camp because I had been a "good boy," orders to pack
up my goods and chattels came from the commandant.
My baggage had by this time grown to a very consid
erable bulk — my own spring-bed, folding camp-chair,
box of foodstuffs, cooking-utensils, blankets, clothing,
etc. The luggage had to be in the packet-room by three
o'clock, in order that it might undergo the usual
searching process. Immediately it was generally known
in the camp that we were leaving Ingolstadt on the
morrow, and that our luggage was to be sent to the
packet-room by three o'clock, I received dozens of ap-
pHcations from the ever-watchful prisoners for permis
sion to try to sneak out in my baggage. Permission was
given to the first two apphcants, French and English
majors, one of whom occupied ceU 42 with me. Two
large hamper washing-baskets were borrowed from
some Russian and French officers. Into these the two
escapers were pushed, with blankets and clothing on
top of them, and a cunning arrangement by which the
padlock could be sHpped from the inside.
The two hampers, together with my boxes and those
of the other two officers accompanying me, were car
ried by ourselves at the appointed time to the packet-
room, where each officer opened his own boxes in front
of the examining Boche N.C.O., who made a quick

166 MY GERMAN PRISONS
search of each box. In this case the two other officers
had their luggage examined first; then came my turn.
By this time he had grown a bit slack, and when he had
gone through my three boxes he was stiU more so. The
two baskets were left tUl the last. These were opened in
their turn, and I began hauling out the top blankets.
With a wave of the hand the N.C.O. said " Good," and
the hampers were passed, as had been calculated upon.
After this the N.C.O. caUed in some French orderHes,
and gave directions for our luggage to be heaped up in
a corner by itself. Unfortunately they placed one of the
basket-hampers on the top of the other, which proved
in the end to be the undoing of the whole affair.
The luggage having been passed, the packet-room
was closed for the night, and there seemed to be a very
fair chance that the escapers might be successful in at
least getting out of the fortress. At 5 p.m. the usual
guard was mounted outside the packet-room door, and
all went weU till about 7 p.m., when the escapers in the
baskets essayed to get out of these in order to reHeve
the agonies of cramp which had naturaUy overtaken
them in their confined position. There was no reason
at aU why they should spend the night in the baskets,
as the packet-room would not be opened tiU seven
o'clock the foUowing morning. Even if a chance visit
should happen to be paid to the room, there was
plenty of material to hide behind amongst the general

BOUND FOR CREFELD 167
debris of packets and bales which covered the floor.
With this in view the officer in the upper basket tried
to get out with the least possible noise. To raise the
Hd from the inside was easy, as before explained, but to
get out noiselessly was quite another matter, since any
movement in the basket above was registered by a
loud creaking from the basket below, and before the
two officers had succeeded in extricating themselves
the suspicions of the sentry outside had been aroused,
a search was instituted, and the plot discovered.
Returning to my own position, I now expected to
receive a notification from the commandant that my
removal to another camp was canceUed, owing to the
fact that I had helped these two officers to escape in
my luggage; but no such order was issued, which
proved to me more strongly than ever that the au
thorities at Ingolstadt were most anxious to get rid of
me for some very good reason, which I surmised was
the expected visit of the Swiss Commission. Informa
tion now came through to us from one of the French
orderHes that a party of officers, coUected from all
the other prison camps in and around Ingolstadt, was
being sent to the camp at Crefeld on the foUowing
day. This information had been come by during a par
ley between the orderly and another French orderly,
who had arrived at the fortress the preceding day from
one of the camps which was being broken up. We felt

168 MY GERMAN PRISONS
pretty certain, therefore, that our destination would
also be Crefeld, since we were aU going on the same
day; also, if old General Peter had spoken the truth, it
must be Crefeld, as he had said it was the best camp in
Germany. That night we received orders to be ready to start
at five o'clock the next morning, and I had much to do
and certain arrangements to make with the friends I
was about to leave behind me, in case I should succeed
in making good my escape. For many months past I
had wearied of Ingolstadt and its appalling conditions,
but now that I had actuaUy to move off on the morrow
a certain sense of loss to come and a feeling of extreme
depression overcame me at leaving these good feUows.
The camp was bad — nothing could be worse; but, still,
the idea was borne in upon me, "Better to bear the ills
we have," etc.; and God only knew what the future
might have in store for me. One becomes extraordi
narily attached to those of one's feUow beings with
whom one has passed through great ordeals.
However, enough of the sentimental. Some of my
pals were laying bets between themselves as to whether
I should succeed in making my escape or not, and I 'm
sure those who lost did so with the greatest pleasure.
At 4.30 the next morning the three of us were sent for
by the commandant, and went through the usual
search, which we all passed quite satisfactorily. AU the

BOUND FOR CREFELD 169
same, a smaU corrugated iron spring, knife, bit of a
screwdriver, compass, and electric torch escaped the
watchful eyes of the Boches. .Compass and spring were
concealed in a hoUow underneath the rubber heel of
my boots. A smaU electric torch was hidden in a candle,
carefuUy hoUowed out, the torch inserted, and the can
dle fiUed up again with hot wax — a very difficult
thing to do neatly so that it cannot be detected. A
screwdriver, without a handle, of course, was concealed
in the same way.
At 5.30 a.m. we shook the dust of the fortress from
our feet. As before explained, there were three of us,
and we had to walk over eight kilometres to the sta
tion. We had been ordered to take everything neces
sary for three days in the shape of food, clothing, etc.,
so the kindly Boches gave us a couple of orderHes to
carry our hand luggage. I suppose I should have been
both surprised and grateful at having any help at all,
but reaUy it was only a case of haff a loaf being better
than no bread, since two orderHes could not possibly
carry the amount of our hand luggage; consequently
we had a very hot and tiring walk, carrying the bag
gage on our shoulders, our guards making no effort to
help. However, we did eventuaUy arrive at the station,
perspiring freely, although it was freezing at the time.
At the station we were surprised to see a large dray
loaded with luggage that looked very EngHsh, which

170 MY GERMAN PRISONS
turned out to belong to a party of officers we discov
ered at the station. There were about twenty-five of
them, as weU as I can remember, consisting of a
collection from all the camps in and around Ingol
stadt. Many inquiries were made when they found that we
had just come from the notorious Fort No. 9. We learnt
from these officers that we were bound for a camp
caUed Crefeld, quite close to the Dutch frontier, and
supposed to be the best camp in Germany. Satisfaction
on going so near the frontier showed on many faces.
About 7 a.m. our train arrived, and a second-class car
riage was aUotted to us by the German officer in charge
of the party. Our guard consisted of this officer, who
was a coarse bullet-headed Bavarian Heutenant, and
about nine men, if I remember aright, aU of them being
fuUy armed and evidently warned to keep their eyes
skinned. The Boche officer numbered us off and al
lotted so many officers to each compartment, together
with one guard to each batch. When he came to us he
said, "Oh, yes, Fort 9; you wUl be in a compartment
by yourselves," and he told off three guards to watch
us. This was not at aU satisfactory, and looked very
bad for our venture. However, there was no circum
venting it, and the only thing was to accept the situa
tion with the best grace possible and trust to our brains
to outwit the three guards.

BOUND FOR CREFELD 171
Towards 7.30 the train puUed out, at which I drew
a breath of reHef , feeling that Fort 9 at least was be
hind me, and in front enormous possibUities of escape.
For the first time during two and a hah years I was
more or less fit; I was in a train travelling towards the
northern frontier of Germany; every mUe drew it and
home nearer, and I had the delightful sensation that
the German Government was about to be made to pay
for at least a good part of my road towards home, trav
elling comfortably in a second-class railway compart
ment. That I was going to make good my escape from
the train I was firmly convinced, although the circum
stances of our disposition among the guards did not
for the moment look very hopeful; but there was a sort
of something in the air, excited quiverings running up
and down my spine.
To carry out our project of ingratiating ourselves
with our guards was a matter of immediate impor
tance, since we could never teU how soon our chance
might come. Accordingly we started by falling into
amicable conversation with them, which was carried
on with the aid of signs and a few words in broken
French and German, only a very few German words
being used, in order not to excite any suspicions that
we could understand their conversation. In this man
ner we learnt one or two smaU points of interest: firstly,
that we were not expected to arrive at our destination

172 MY GERMAN PRISONS
tiU the evening of the next day, also that the camp we
were bound for was indeed Crefeld.
By about eight o'clock the baU started rolling in
good earnest, when one of the guards suddenly said,
"Der Kriegist nicht gut." We agreed that war was heU
and that we wanted to be back with our families in
peace and with plenty to eat again, for there was " viel
essen" in England; to which they repHed, "Kein essen
in Deutschland," and we answered that the prisoner of
war felt the want of food in Germany more than the
German soldiers did, but that we received plenty from
home, so we did very weU, at which I opened my suit
case and displayed to the greedy eyes of the Huns a
whole lot of tinned meats of various kinds. This was
a fine opportunity to cement our friendship, so we
started to prepare a good sound breakfast of tongue
and chicken, in which we succeeded in getting them to
join us; they offered us a share of hot coffee from their
water-bottles, and we all fairly settled down to it.
Alas! with what pain I saw my limited food sHpping
down the Hun throats; but it was our best poUcy, and
I must say that succeeding events justified us in giving
them a decent meal. Two of the guards were now suffi
ciently at their ease to surrender to comfort, unfasten
ing their belts and putting their rifles on the racks; the
third, however, kept his rifle handy, but I do not think
with any idea that it might be necessary. After break-

BOUND FOR CREFELD 173
fast we aU had a Httle snooze — at least we pretended
to. Two of the Boches certainly dropped off for a Httle
whUe. About midday we arrived at a station, where the
carriages were shunted, during which time we were
aUowed to stretch our legs on the platform and get
some hot coffee from a staU which was not too awf uUy
bad. Whilst we were bartering for the coffee a train
puUed up at another platform, bringing in a quantity
of newspapers for the day, over which there seemed to
be a general hubbub of excitement; a few were brought
to our platform, and we tried to bag one surreptitiously
without success, but not before the headlines of the
paper had been read by one or two of us. The news
caused just as much excitement amongst ourselves as
it had amongst the Boches, being no less than the offi
cial declaration of war by the United States. In ordi
nary times this would have given us a topic of conver
sation for months, but for the present we had other
fish to fry, and we soon forgot aU about it; at the same
time we all felt excessively elated by the downcast,
morose aspect of the Boche civiHans at the raUway
station.

CHAPTER XI
WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN
To return to our own affairs. When the train started
off again, we made up our minds that we must find out
everything there was to know about the carriages we
were now in. To do this it would be necessary to visit
the other compartments, without of course arousing
the suspicions of any of the guards. Accordingly I
again entered into conversation with one of them, and
asked him how many prisoners there were in the train,
if they were all going to the same camp, had they just
been taken prisoners or were they old ones, from what
camps did they come, etc. I then hinted that I thought
I'd stroll along and have a talk to them; perhaps
some belonged to my own regiment. This did not
seem to perturb him at all, as indeed there was no rea
son why it should, seeing that the carriage was made
up of six compartments, which had been partitioned
off with a gangway running down one side. Sometimes
one comes across them in this country, and by standing
up and looking over the seat one can see into the next
compartment. Accordingly I stroUed along to the next
compartment, and sat down with the fellows there and
soon got into animated conversation. I noticed, how-

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 175
ever, that one of the guards had foUowed me and was
standing in the gangway. After about half an hour he
got tired of this and went back to his seat, and a few
minutes after I also returned to my own seat. This
seemed to put him quite at his ease, and by the time
the evening arrived I had visited aU the compartments,
and found, to my great joy, that the rear one held four
officers without a guard at aU.
It was now necessary to find out the disposition of
the Boche officers and the remaining guard, which we
did not discover tiU about 10.30 that evening, when we
arrived at some town to put up for the night. The
name of the place I don't know, as I could see no name
written up anywhere, for there were very few Hghts
showing on the station, and it was a pitch-dark night.
On detraining, we were marshaUed into a sort of Red
Cross shelter on the platform, where we waited about
three quarters of an hour, after which we were formed
into fours and marched a distance of about a mUe and
ahalf through the town to a big bunding, evidently some
kind of educational institution temporarUy turned
into a receiving hospital. Here we were ushered into a
large haU, no doubt used before the war as a gymna
sium, and now fuU of collapsible camp-beds. On these
we were informed we must sleep tiU four o'clock the
next morning, when we should again march off. These
beds looked very enticing to a great many of us, and

176 MY GERMAN PRISONS
personaUy I took the full benefit out of the one aUotted
to me, as I felt sure that it would be many a long weary
day before I got the chance of another good rest — if
indeed I ever would need one again in this Hfe. The
night passed without incident, and we were weU
guarded. The next morning at 4.30 we marched off again and
reached the station about 5 a.m. Here we were once
more marshaUed into the Red Cross rest station where
we had been the previous night. Hot coffee, bread, and
a piece of blood sausage were dealt out to us, at a price;
but I for one was very thankful, for it was the last
meal I was to have for five days, although of course I
did not know it at the time.
At six o'clock we again entrained, and I noted with
satisfaction that we were to have the same carriage as
that of the previous day. Unfortunately it was now the
leading one of the train, because any one attempting
to leave our carriage must inevitably be seen by any
person looking out of those in the rear. I made especial
note of the whereabouts of our conducting officer, and
found that he and the guard I had missed the night be
fore were located in the next carriage to ours. As in
English "Pullmans," one could pass from one carriage
to another the whole length of the train, and I suppose
he felt that he had us sufficiently under his eyes from
the next carriage.

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 177
On taking our aUotted places in our carriage, we were
deHghted to find that the front compartment, which
had been the rear one the previous day, was again
without a guard. Nothing of any note happened till
after dawn broke, when we crossed the Rhine at
Frankfort, and towards io a.m. we drew up at a way
side station, and were again aUowed to descend and
stretch our legs. This time there was nothing to be got
in the way of food or drink, and it was freezing very
hard; so I and my two companions, finding a small
waiting-room, went in and shut the door — in order to
keep warm, of course! After about ten minutes the
whistle went for the train to start, but our conducting
officer had discovered he had not got his fuU comple
ment of prisoners, and by the noise he made in shouting
at his men he seemed to be pretty much excited over it.
During a wUd and flurried search we were discovered
innocently doing nothing; and although we got pretty
roundly cursed, there is no doubt that it helped to allay
any suspicion on their part that we might be possible
escapers, so much so that when the train actually
went off one of the three guards was removed from our
compartment after a whispered consultation with the
Boche officer, and went to join his comrade in the offi
cers' compartment. This left us with two in our com
partment, and things began to look better for us.
From this on nothing of any particular note happened

178 MY GERMAN PRISONS
tiU midday, except that I felt exactly as if I were going
to step into a dentist's chair, and the clock seemed as if
it were at a standstill, although the train was now mov
ing a good deal faster than it had done hitherto.
About one o'clock we stopped at a station, where we
got rid of another of our guards, who, suddenly dis
covering that his pal who had joined the other guard
had taken his grub with him, went off in search of it —
and, to our joy, he did not return. We were now left
with only one guard in our compartment and four
others in the compartment in front of us. After we
moved off the train gathered speed, and our hopes be
gan to descend again. If the train continued like that
to the end of the journey, to jump would be out of the
question. This was immediately after the sentry had
been moved, and we found ourselves with only one
sentry in our compartment.
We looked at each other, and unanimously said,
"WeU, what about it?" Supposing we successfuUy
made good our escape, we must be able to travel with
the greatest possible speed towards that part of the
Dutch frontier which we beHeved to be the best place
for an attempt, and, owing to its situation amongst the
swamps, would probably be less carefuUy guarded.
Our progress across Germany was going to be very
seriously hampered by the fact that we were without a
map of the actual frontier, and only in possession of a

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 179
small piece of map about three inches square, showing
the railway system on which we were actuaUy running,
and this was not even correct according to a large tin
map showing the German northwest raUway system
which was nailed to the wall of the compartment.
We therefore set to work to learn by heart this map,
in so far as it was likely to affect our possible route, and
in order to get a definite idea of our exact position on
the raUways, when the time came to make the attempt.
This was done, of course, by carefuUy noting the sta
tions one by one as we passed them in the train and
referring to the map.
PersonaUy that map seemed to have burnt its equiv
alent into my brain, particularly the branches which
led westward and passed over numerous smaU rivers
and eventuaUy over a chain of lakes, which spot would
ultimately be our objective. We then sketched a rough
plan of how the attempt was to be brought to a suc
cessful issue. My plan being accepted by the other two,
it was decided that I was to have the right of trying
first — the other two tossing up with a coin for right
of second place. This being decided, another important
factor had to be discussed, the issue at point being that,
firstly, there were some twenty-five or so other British
officers in the compartments in rear of us. The last of
these compartments was without a guard, and was
therefore the best one to escape from. Secondly, there

180 MY GERMAN PRISONS
might be some of these officers in other compartments
who intended to take an opportunity, should it occur.
If they did so without our knowledge, it would ruin our
chance; and, on the other hand, if we attempted to es
cape without their knowledge, we should equaUy spoU
their chance. Since we were aU British officers together,
we decided to make it known to those who looked or
acted as if they were looking for a chance to leave the
train. Accordingly I left our compartment, and entered
into conversation with the officers in all the other com
partments in turn, but saw no signs of any preparations
until I reached the last two compartments, where I
found evidences of suppressed excitement. The sentry
in my own compartment did not seem to mind my vis
iting the others where, as he knew, I came under the
eye of the sentry in charge of each compartment. The
fact that there was no sentry in the last one had evi
dently escaped him. I discovered six other officers who
talked of making an attempt, and discussed my plans
with the senior and two others of these, after which I
returned to my own compartment and companions.
I then proceeded to the lavatory, to which I was fol
lowed by the sentry, who posted himself outside, let
ting down the window on the lavatory side of the train
and leaning out. This was in order that I might not get
out of the lavatory window without his knowledge. In

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 181
the lavatory I first cut the communication-cord; then,
taking a galvanized spring which I had concealed in
the heel of my boot, I tied the broken rear end of this
cord to one of the communication-cord pull-throughs,
in order that it might be puUed in the corridor behind
me, and spring back into its place without transmit
ting the signal farther up the train. This done, I re
moved my rucksack, made of sacking, from between
the lining of my trench-coat, and put into it the re
mains of my food brought on the journey. I then put
the rucksack on my back, and, coming out of the lava
tory, I manoeuvred so that the sentry walked in front
of me on our way back to the compartment, in order
that he might not see that I had grown a hump-back.
On being seated, I again studied the raUway map in
our compartment, until I felt that I had off by heart
the general directions of the railways that would be
likely to help us en route.
The next thing was to get the door of the carriage in
the rear compartment open. Before leaving our end of
the train, we decided that, as a signal to go, I should
drop my handkerchief out of the window on the left-
hand side of the train, since an attempt must, if pos
sible, take place from the right side — firstly, because
the right side contained the corridor passage, and,
secondly, the sentry could not possibly fire on us from
a moving train on the right side, unless they were left-

182 MY GERMAN PRISONS
hand shots, which risk we had to take, though the
chances were very much in our favor. Again I paid a
visit to our friends in the rear compartments, and in
formed them that, as soon as dusk set in, we would
make the attempt — sooner, if the train slackened
speed sufficient to give us the least feasible oppor
tunity. We were just then passing the thickly wooded coun
try near Bonn, and the views were quite deHghtful.
The Hght began to faU fast, and my nerves were
strained to the highest tension. Getting into communi
cation with the sentry in the next carriage, I began en
larging on the beauties of the view, asking this or that
question, at which he was highly deHghted. In fact, we
got on so weU that before many minutes were up I had
the window down, and was leaning haH out on my right
side. WhUst we were unanimously praising a special
Uttle bit, my right hand crept down almost to the Ml
length of my arm outside the window, and lifted the
outside latch, after which I lost interest in the view,
and the sentry returned to his compartment, whUst I
went to the rear one. The train up to this time had been
running at a speed of about fifty mUes an hour, which
gave us no chance, considering we had to jump on to
metal raUs and sleepers fiUed in with broken granite.
At about seven o'clock we ran into a smaU station,
and thought our chance would come as we drew out

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 183
before the train could gather speed; but just as we
drew out, on reaching a level crossing, we found a com
pany of Boche soldiers drawn up on both sides of the
line, and the chance was left behind. At this moment
we discovered a strange Boche had entered the com
partment. He turned out to be a raUway official come
to turn on the Hght. He remained with us for a few
minutes only. To us it seemed an eternity. Would he
never go! At last he went farther up the train, and we
began to draw into another smaU town; but the train
stopped in front of another level crossing, with a
crowd of Boche civiHans on both sides.
After about a minute the train moved off again and
gathered speed with great rapidity. We could see the
Hghts of a big town about a mfle in front of us. This
might be our destination, but we did not know. I in
formed my confederates that in my opinion it was now
or never. The impossibiHty of jumping at that moment
seemed to be deeply impressed on everybody but my
self. However, I dropped the handkerchief, and, cross
ing to the other side, turned the handle and jumped
out. Picking myself up, I sprinted in the opposite di
rection to that in which the train was moving, keeping
to the centre of the track. It was impossible to leave the
Hne here, since both sides were lined with houses; so I
rushed on, hoping for a gap in the houses towards the
open country. Passing the level crossing, I noticed the

184 MY GERMAN PRISONS
barriers beginning to rise and the crowd of civiHans
preparing to pass over. I heard a cry behind me and
the patter of running feet, and thought a crowd was
following, at which I redoubled my efforts, but soon
realized that my long imprisonment had told upon me,
and that I could not go much farther.
Then it dawned on me that I could run better with
out my trench-coat. Visions arose of the long wet trek
in front of me, and the possibilities of rheumatic fever
without it; but my breath was going fast, so there was
no alternative. Accordingly, as I ran I threw the pre
cious coat from me. By this time I was very nearly done,
and the weight of the rucksack containing my food for
the journey made my shoulders ache, so that I threw
that off also. Another fifty yards and the end of the
town was in sight, but before this I espied a gap in the
houses, for which I made. This only led to a cul-de-sac.
The only alternative was to cross a fence into a garden,
and then another and another, through a wire fence
and into a kitchen garden. In a few minutes I was
joined by three others, whom, to my joy, I discovered
to be three of my companions of the rear compart
ment. Here we rested, and I got out my concealed
compass, in order to take down bearings. This done, in
about a quarter of an hour we prepared to make a
start. We first ran into a large house and garden sur-

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 185
rounded by barbed wire, into which we pushed our
way, only to find ourselves temporarily trapped, as we
could find no way of exit on to the road at the other
side, so that we had to retreat by the way we had come
and make a detour round the house, to find ourselves
confronted by a main road, with occasional pedestrians
passing along it. By now the moon had begun to rise,
which enabled us to see a good distance ahead, but at
the same time increased the danger of our being ob
served. Fortunately, she providentiaUy went behind
thick fleecy clouds. Thinking the road in front of us too
dangerous an obstacle to cross at this point, we made a
detour of about haU a mUe, and again took compass
bearings, which bearings we took periodicaUy, when
it suddenly struck me we were travelling directly to
wards the moon, and therefore almost south, at least
southwest, which was not our object at aU. Again we
took a bearing with the compass, which seemed to
prove me wrong; but I obstinately refused to beHeve
myself wrong, and this led to trouble between myseU
and the senior officers of our expedition.
To take a bearing properly and correctly was quite
a difficult feat. It consisted of lying on the ground
covered by somebody else's coat, in order to Hght a
match in safety without attracting attention, other
wise we found it impossible to set the compass suffi
ciently accurately. On removing the glass from the

186 MY GERMAN PRISONS
compass, it was discovered that the agate bearing was
cracked, which caused the compass to swing and stick.
This must have happened in my jump from the train.
I did not at first convey this information to my com
rades, thinking that it might cause too great consterna
tion; for it must be remembered that they had aU been
strangers to me a few hours before, and I was not there
fore sure of the type and cahbre of the men I had to
deal with.
For a few hundred yards we carried on, when, to the
disgust of the others, I again decided to take a bearing,
over which I spent a great deal of time, carefuUy plac
ing the compass-point towards the edge of the agate
bearing, and allowing it to swing gently to a stop. Al
though the needle was not balanced in the centre, it
was sufficiently so to enable it to swing freely; then,
taking a careful line of the exact direction of west, in
conjunction with the rising moon, the Pole Star and
Cassiopeia, I set a direct course, from which, with the
exception of sHght deflections for the purpose of avoid
ing dangerous obstacles encountered on our route, we
never swerved until after we crossed the Dutch fron
tier. It was hard work to make time by forced march
ing, since we had to watch the ground for pitfaUs for
the feet and the heavens for direction.
Shortly after taking the last bearing we crossed an
other railway line of sorts and a station brUHantly Ht

WE JUMP FROM THE TRAIN 187
up, and here it seemed to our excited imagination that
the people inside the brUHantly Ut train-cars drawn up
at one of the stations were interested or excited about
something. AU the occupants had their noses glued to
the glass, looking at something or other, whilst the
powerful head-lamps were sweeping the country
around, often Hghting up our prostrate forms as if it
were day. Innumerable cars seemed to come and go,
and we dared not move under such conditions. Soon,
however, to our intense reHef, the trains slacked off,
and we were able to make a good steady advance. It
began to freeze very hard, the clouds vanished, and
the moon became mtensely brUUant, which of course
helped us immeasurably; but we could not see it then,
as our nerves were too much on edge. PersonaUy I felt
as if I were naked and the whole world was watching
with bated breath. The heavy frost also helped us,
since we were sticking entirely to the open country,
mostly over ploughed fields, and instead of the usual
slow advance one makes over plough we walked on it
as on pavement, so that we made exceUent progress.
At the same time caution guided our every movement.
We never crossed a road without scouting it before
hand, or came upon a farm or even a shed without
making a wide detour round it. What we feared more
than anything else was that a dog might start barking,
and cause its owner to come out to see the reason.

188 MY GERMAN PRISONS
When I look back at that first trek, I come to the
conclusion that fortune favored us for once. I don't
think we ever made a false step, which was luck indeed.
We walked hard till about 3 a.m., and then found our
selves approaching a main road, with what appeared
to be two big villages situated not more than hah a
mile apart. A scout went forward to investigate, but
came back scared and excited. Moving Hghts appeared
first here and there; sometimes red flashes came and
went. We immediately decided that we had been sur
rounded, only to find on closer investigation that the
Hghts belonged to a single-track railway, which seemed
to run in a semicircle around us. On crossing the rail
road and raUtrack beyond, we began to realize for the
first time that dawn was rapidly approaching. Lights
began to spring up in the large vUlage to our left, so
that we were immediately forced to look for a place
where we could safely hide during the coming daytime.
This proved to be no easy job, and before we were fin
ally settled it was very nearly broad dayHght.

CHAPTER XII
ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY
Unfortunately, not being of a Hterary turn of mind,
I am unable to write a thrilling account of our adven
turous journey across Germany. At the same time,
where in my description I make such a statement as
"We now made our way across country without inter
ruption for four hours," the reader must not imagine
that we just rushed along without encountering diffi
culties, for the way was always beset with some sort of
obstacle or other. Needless to say, we gave ourselves
a great many unnecessary scares; but in our highly
strung condition, with aU our senses working at fever-
heat, this was not to be wondered at.
The uncertain moonHght played tricks with our
imaginations, everything assuming gigantic propor
tions. AU the forces of nature seemed to be arrayed
against us and to walk hand in hand with the enemy.
If a sHght wind rustled the leaves of a soHtary tree to
our rear, we felt we were discovered and foUowed, and
must press on, only to faU on our stomachs again after
a few hundred yards, as there was something standing
in front and waiting for us, inevitable, grim, and sUent.
"Look! he has moved; it's a sentry! Did you notice the

190 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Hght shining on his bayonet?" — and so we would
creep away to right and left, only to find that our grim
sentry was a large post marking some boundary, and
the apparent flash of the bayonet had probably been
caused by the rays of the moon suddenly appearing
from behind a cloud and striking one of its white
painted sides.
To return to facts. The spot in which we were forced
to hide, for want of a better place, was on the edge of
a smaU wood, consisting of a number of old and rot
ten trees, with a very thick carpet of decayed leaves,
which, being frozen, made the most infernal crackling
noise under our feet, as we searched to and fro for the
best place of concealment. Being winter, there was not
sufficient foHage to enable us to hide in the trees them
selves with any safety. After exploring the wood in
vain, we eventuaUy had to take up our position in a
natural drain running along the edge of the wood.
This afforded us very Httle covering; a few blackberry
brambles and smaU branches were hastily snapped off,
and puUed in on top of us. By raising our heads a little
above the drain a view of the surrounding country
could be obtained, and the raUway line and main road
connecting the two smaU towns which we had crossed
early in the morning were in plain view.
After careful examination of our position, I came to
the conclusion that we had managed to find almost the

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 191
identical spot that I had planned out as the most de
sirable one for the termination of our first trek, as
shown on the map of our raUway carriage, both be
cause of its position in relation to a network of small
raUways to which we must depend for direction, and
to the fact that it lay almost in a direct line, if taking
the shortest route to the frontier; so that, with the ex
ception that we had not enough cover for safety, we
had not done so badly, and had in reaHty made very
good progress from our starting-off place the night
before, and, what was more important than anything
else, I felt pretty certain of our exact situation.
At the approach of dusk on the foUowing evening it
would be necessary, according to my prearranged plan,
to strike due north for about ten mUes, in order to find
two Hght raUroads running west, which bridged two
smaU rivers and the Dutch-German Grand Canal,
and also passed over the dangerous swampy ground
through which our course lay. Could we find either of
these raUroads we should again know our position, and
by keeping to the tracks as far as possible make bet
ter progress, with the chance of being able to use the
bridges, should they be unguarded.
The reader wiU no doubt ask why I proposed to take
so difficult and dangerous a route, leading as it did
right through the centre of the swamps. My reasons
were threefold. First, because I was firmly convinced

192 MY GERMAN PRISONS
that the Boches would place so much confidence in the
natural obstacle presented by the swamps that any
sort of guard would appear superfluous. Secondly, the
country through which we were trying to pass is the
most thickly populated part of Germany. By making
for the swamps, therefore, we should almost entirely
obviate the chances of being seen by pedestrians.
Thirdly, because it was the shortest way, which, situ
ated as we were without food or the necessary warm
clothing, would become a factor of primary importance
before many hours had passed.
To return to the early hours of the morning after our
first night's trek, as we lay half concealed in the drain
bordering the Uttle wood before described. My first
feeling was one of intense reHef at the thought of a
day's rest in front of me, for my whole body ached after
the unwonted exercise. I tried to compose myseff to
sleep, but the natural excitement of mind caused by
the happenings of the last twenty-four hours proved
this to be very difficult, and it was some time before I
eventuaUy dropped off into a troubled slumber, only
to wake up within the hour suffering from cramp and
stiff with cold. To make matters worse, the ground
underneath me had thawed with the warmth of my
body, and I was now wet through all down one side.
If only we could have got a good hot meal to take the
shivers out of us, things would have assumed a differ-

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 193
ent aspect. The sound of occasional voices wafted to us
on the wind from the highroad before mentioned kept
us continuaUy alert to our danger; but the first real
anxiety was brought about by an old woodcutter who
paid a visit to our Httle wood, evidently looking for a
piece of old timber, and before very long he settled
down to work not more than sixty yards from us. The
regular chomp, chomp of an axe told us that he at any
rate had discovered nothing suspicious; but of course
all prospects of further sleep vanished until his de
parture at midday with a barrowful of wood.
About this time I for one began to get ravenously
hungry, and forthwith made a meal of a precious piece
of chocolate. A sixpenny bar of Cadbury's chocolate
does not go very far after a long march, but as I had
nothing else whatever it had to do. Don't let the reader
imagine I greeduy ate the lot. Oh, no! I took about
three quarters of it, sufficient for the day, but at the
same time I thought with longing of my improvised
rucksack and the good things it contained, either lying
on the Bonn-Diisseldorf raUway line or elating the
greedy spirit of some beastly Boche.
After the departure of the old woodcutter the day
passed fairly peaceably until about 3 p.m., when the
barking of a dog in our near vicinity "put our wind
up," as the expression goes. Suddenly the stillness of
the wood was rudely broken by the sound of a shot,

194 MY GERMAN PRISONS
and we could distinctly hear the fall of a bird as it
crashed through the trees with a thud to earth, fol
lowed by the yapping of the dog as it ran its quarry
down. The hunter then tramped aU over the wood,
tapping the trees, evidently in search of more sport,
and in so doing he passed within ten yards of us, AU
this time we lay with our bodies pressed to earth in a
perfect agony of doubt. As for myseff, it seemed im
possible that the hunter could faU to hear the wUd
pounding of my heart; but the danger passed, and
again sUence reigned in the Httle wood.
Not for long were we to be left in peace. The old
woodcutter returned, and this time he took up his posi
tion a good bit nearer than before, and chopped away
hard tiU nearly dusk, when at last he again went off
with his old barrow. If one carefuUy analyzes one's
f eeUngs and sensations in moments of excitement such
as these, through what extraordinary vicissitudes does
imagination lead one. For instance, in the almost in
finitesimal space of time between the report of the
hunter's gun and the sound of his quarry dropping to
earth I Hved a lifetime. We had been seen; we were
surrounded; armed men had been sent to take us; we
would be led back in triumph to the heU that awaits
prisoners; and then the sound of the quarry falling
through the trees, the swift reafization that the enemy
is only hunting game and not you, the wild reHef and

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 195
the bodily demand for a drop of brandy or something
to puU one's seH together, which foUows after all great
mental strain.
About dusk we crept out of our old drain into the
shelter of the wood, stiff with cramp and cold, but with
the glorious feeling that so far we were safe, that we
were already twenty-five mUes nearer home, and that
another night of swift action lay before us, at the end
of which we would, please God, be stfll nearer. At 7
o'clock we again started trekking. Little of moment
happened to us during the early part of the evening,
and by 9.30 we had made a good ten mUes, and were
casting round for the raUway for which we were in
search. Our progress now became very slow; thick
white clouds obscured the face of the moon; a rapid
thaw had set in, and our way was barred by a series
of deep rivulets running through an old and decayed
wood stretching for many mUes on each side of us.
Here we very soon lost aU idea of direction, and de
cided to retrace our steps as best we could and strike
stiU farther north.
By good luck we came within a hundred yards or
so of the spot from where we had started before en
tering this wooded country. Having got our direction
again, we struck north, to find ourselves getting into
more marshy country as we advanced. After having
walked for some distance over wet fields of a spongy

196 MY GERMAN PRISONS
nature, sometimes up to our knees in water, we came
upon a smaU river, which we foUowed northwards un
til we struck the much-hoped-for raUway-track that
we were in search of, running due west and cutting the
river at right angles, in accordance with my previous
calculation. Making sure there was no sort of guard on
the bridge, we drew ourselves out of the marsh, to
stand with reHef for a moment on the firm dry track,
before passing over the bridge and proceeding on our
adventures. Pushing on again, we kept to the track as long as it
ran due west, and within a few mUes struck the second
river which we had hoped to find, and thus placed a
formidable obstacle behind us. Our exact position was
now known with relation to the network of raUways
on which our minds were concentrated. The Hne which
we were now on would run due west for a mUe or two,
and then bend southward in a big curve before run
ning in a northwesterly direction again, when it would
bridge the Grand Canal. Our object was now to make
use of this bridge if possible, but we did not feel jus
tified in remaining on the Hne until the bridge was
reached, owing to the fact that, as far as we could re
member the map, there appeared to be a station or
siding through which the line ran soon after it began to
turn southward. Accordingly we stuck to the raUs as
long as they ran westward, after which we left the

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 197
track with the very greatest reluctance, to again plunge
into the marsh, maintaining our fixed purpose of trav
elling northwestward whenever possible.
Very soon the sight of our friendly track was lost to
view, and we had not advanced more than a mUe or
two before we began to consider that perhaps we
should have done better to stick to it, whatever the
consequences, as the difficulties of advancing through
the marsh were becoming more serious as we proceeded.
We were now weU over our knees and often up to the
waist in water and slime. The moon had unveUed her
self, much to our discomfort, and before very long she
was shining in a cloudless sky, which caused us to call
a halt for the purpose of consultation as to the best
procedure under the circumstances. Was it best to go
on as we were? We were doing fairly well, but making
a terrific noise in advancing through the marsh, which
was absolutely unavoidable. Four people cannot push
their way through mud and slush nearly up to their
waists without making a disturbance. This was well
enough so long as it was dark. If any of the enemy did
happen to be in the neighborhood, they would prob
ably conclude that the noise in the marsh was caused
by cattle; but now that we could see almost as well as
if it were day, we could therefore just as easUy be seen
in turn. The sight of four men wading through dan
gerously swampy country in the middle of the night in

198 MY GERMAN PRISONS
close proximity to the frontier in war-time would raise
the suspicions of the most simple-minded.
However, our consultation did not lead to any better
results, and we were losing valuable time. The general
opinion turned out to be contrary to retracing our
steps, for many reasons: first, the fear of losing our
direction; secondly, if we did strike the railway Hne
again, we might be forced to leave it, and find ourselves
in the same position that we were now in. Should we
happen to run up against somebody, the impossibUity
of finding to what extent these marshes extended to
our right and left, without running grave risk and
again losing time, and many other minor reasons, de
cided us to proceed as rapidly as the difficulties of our
route would permit.
Within a couple of mUes we found ourselves, to our
great joy, on the banks of the expected Grand Canal.
When I say banks, we were standing up to our waists
in water and long lush grass, a heavy damp white mist
hung over everything, -and we could just see over the
other side of the canal, which was evidently a great
deal more swampy than our side. Large patches of
water, unbroken by reeds, gleamed here and there.
To swim the canal would be easy, but to advance on
the other side looked impossible. Accordingly we de
cided to follow the canal westward as best we could,
in the hope of striking the raUway Une again, which

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 199
must bridge the canal in some place or other in our
near vicinity. Hardly had we proceeded a couple of
hundred yards or so, when the expected bridge sud
denly loomed out of the mist.
The natural elation caused by the sight of this bridge
was quickly damped as we approached, for there on the
far side of the bridge was a smaU black shed. It ap
peared as if this would be one of those occasions where
we should be forced to take a risk. Accordingly we ad
vanced to the track with the least possible noise, taking
the very greatest care to prevent any rustling of the
reeds in our path, cHmbed to the track, and lay on our
stomachs whilst we took a cautious survey. After a few
minutes' reflection I rose to my hands and knees, and
crawled up to and over the bridge, and lay within ten
feet of it on the other side, where I could distinctly hear
a gentle snore, that told of some sort of human inmate;
also I now noticed for the first time a very thin wisp
of smoke curling up from the cabin chimney — this we
had not been able to see before, owing to the thickness
of the mist. The feUow in the cabin, soldier or civilian,
whoever he was, continued to give out comforting Httle
snores. Accordingly I signaUed to the rest of my com
panions to crawl over as I had done, and one by one
they succeeded in doing so without making any appre
ciable sound, but for me waiting on the other side it
seemed as if each one took a lifetime. But the bridge

200 MY GERMAN PRISONS
guard slept on, and we aU crossed with perfect safety,
to immediately push off again down the track with the
utmost possible speed, in order to leave this unwel
come neighborhood behind.
Now that we had put the two rivers and the Grand
Canal behind us, we felt that we had done a very good
night's work, even if we made no more progress that
night; but it was only 1.30 A.M., and we had at least
three if not nearly four hours before daybreak, in
which another ten mUes might be made. As we ad
vanced along the track the land to our right and left
grew gradually more swampy; sometimes large ex
panses of shining water came into view on either side
of us, and we thanked our stars we had risked the
bridge, as, had we essayed to pass through country
like this, our progress would have become nil, even if
we survived drowning.
Within a couple of mUes the land graduaUy began
to take on a drier aspect, until eventuaUy dry ground
showed on both sides of us. Here we took a general
survey of our direction by the aid of the stars, and
found we were travelling north by east. This had to be
corrected, so we now left the track on which we had
made such exceUent progress, and struck off west over
dry land, which led us to a series of gently sloping hiUs,
looking something like the downs at home. Every bit of
available ground was under cultivation, and on several

ESCAPES BY NIGHT AND DAY 201
occasions dogs barked out their warning from smaU
farms which we passed.
The difficulties of keeping direction were now fuUy
brought home to us. For instance, we would approach
a block of farm buUdings, and, in order to prevent at
tracting the attention of any dogs, we would make a
half-circle round the buildings and strike off north
ward by the stars on the other side. In this manner we
must have dropped some distance southward, instead
of working north, as was afterwards proved, although
we were always travelling west. It is practicaUy im
possible to teU when you have made a circle round a
village or bunding without sufficient landmarks to
guide you, and at night it becomes an impossibUity.
We would walk round a vUlage or other obstacle which
we wished to avoid, tiU it seemed to us that we had
more than haH-circled it; but in reaHty we probably
only went about a quarter the distance round. At one
place a dog foUowed us up almost to the top of one of
these rolling fields, and barked untU we thought he
must alarm the whole of Germany. MeanwhUe we lay
with our noses pressed to earth; the moon was at her
brightest; and we were on the highest ground, and
could certainly be seen from a great distance. Conse
quently we did not appreciate the attentions of the
dogs in advertising our presence in the neighborhood.
In order to avoid the chance of our figures being seen

202 MY GERMAN PRISONS
against the sky-line, we crawled over the hUltop untU
we were weU over and down the other side, which
brought us to more plough, ending in a densely wooded
region of thickets, through which we at first essayed to
pass, but found it no easy matter without making a
lot of noise, caused by the snapping of the dried under
growth through which we tried to force a passage.
Withdrawing from what seemed a dangerous area, we
held a hurried consultation, which ended in our decid
ing to spHt up into pairs and make our way through
this region of undergrowth at two different points,
some distance from each other, and meet on the other
side if possible. Should we faU to meet directly, it was
no good wasting time looking for each other.
Anyhow, we were rapidly approaching the spot
where we might find it necessary for the safety of our
project to spHt up into pairs, as four people are much
more likely to be seen than two. And we had no inten
tion of essaying the actual frontier or its immediate
environment at our present strength, though we might
probably attempt it singly or in pairs.

CHAPTER XIII
WE HIDE IN A DRAIN
It must have been a good hour before we eventually
got clear of the thickets, and our passage through
them had been a pretty noisy one. No sign of the other
pair could be seen, so that after scouting round for
about twenty minutes we moved off again.
My companion was Captain Stewart, of the R.F.A.,
and a more stanch feUow in a hazard of this kind could
not possibly be desired. From this time on we made
exceUent progress through the night, and nothing of
note happened until just before the break of dawn,
when we had great difficulty in finding a suitable place
to hide in during the day. EventuaUy we discovered a
ditch between two fields, in which we passed the day
without incident. The extreme cold, coupled with the
want of food, was beginning to teU on us, as we lay too
weary to care very much what happened, so long as
only the night would come, that we might push on
again and get some circulation in our limbs. At about
7 p.m. we started to rub our feet and legs, which ap
peared quite dead, and at 7.30 pushed off at a good
pace. Before long we felt quite warm and comfortable,

204 MY GERMAN PRISONS
with the exception of a gnawing sensation in the vitals,
owing of course to lack of food.
From here on tfll about one in the morning no in
cident worthy of record happened — only the same
careful skirting of viUages and farms, keepmg always
to the open country, and avoiding aU paths and roads
like the plague. About one o'clock, to our surprise, we
struck a railway Hne running southwest. This we fol
lowed, not on the line, but paraUel with it, at a distance
of about a hundred yards. Once or twice we heard
voices on level crossings. The reason of our foUowing
the raUway was that we had not expected to meet one
so soon — in fact, not untU the foUowing night, and
then we calculated we should have to turn south for
quite ten mUes in order to find it. This railway would
be of enormous importance to us; it should run over
some small rivers, the Grand Canal, and an artificial
embankment, constructed through the centre of a
lake, and thus dividing it in two, both of which por
tions were connected on either side by a series of small
lakes, stretching north and south respectively, and
were, I presumed, the means by which the surround
ing low-lying country was inundated.
These smaU lakes, which should run paraUel with
the frontier, according to the maps we had seen,
formed a very serious obstacle to our advance. It was
therefore of the greatest importance to find some

WE HIDE IN A DRAIN 205
means to help us over the difficulty, and this railway
seemed to be the only one. If the railway we were now
foUowing passed between two small towns situated
nearly opposite to one another, and then passed
through a third within a mile or so of the last two, then
this was the line running through the lakes which we
had hoped eventuaUy to strike, in which case we had
inadvertently come across it, and were a great deal
nearer the frontier than we had thought possible.
However, we did not credit such good luck for a mo
ment; for, in reasoning the matter out, we must have
dropped a good ten or twelve miles south from where
we had started the previous night in order to be any
where near this raUway line. To our great satisfaction,
in carrying out our intention of foUowing this chance
line, at about 3.30 a.m. we passed between two small
towns, this time walking on the track itseH, and leav
ing it again when we were weU clear of the outskirts.
Pushing forward at our very best speed tiU about
four o'clock, we found ourselves approaching another
town, through which the raUway ran. A careful survey
showed a station and several sidings. During this inves
tigation we found the inhabitants were preparing for
the coming day, and, looking at our watches, discov
ered, to our consternation, that it was nearly five
o'clock. Where could we find a suitable hiding-place?
We had n't passed anything on the way that would

206 MY GERMAN PRISONS
give shelter to a rat, so there was nothing to be gained
by retracing our steps. To try to walk round the town
might end in our being caught by the dayhght, having
found no place of concealment. The only possible pro
cedure in these circumstances was to pass through the
town on the track as best we could. Accordingly we
moved off, sometimes crawling on hands and knees
wherever we saw anything that we were not quite sure
of. We tried to get under big heaps of timber and steel
raUs lying beside the track, but no consolation in the
shape of a hiding-place of any sort offered itself.
We had proceeded through the town in safety, but
were brought up sharp by a party of workmen coming
along the line from an opposite direction. Fortunately
we were practicaUy on the outskirts, so that we were
able to dodge into a smaU garden tiU they passed. By
this time the whole town seemed to be awake, the usual
warning Hghts springing up in the cottages aU round us,
and day was just about to break. Passing through the
garden in our frantic endeavors to discover some place,
we found ourselves in a smaU fir wood — through
which we rushed, heedless of the noise we were making.
Anything to get away from this dangerous spot! Why
had we come near the beastly town at aU? What fools
we were to be caught by the oncoming dayhght in such
a dangerous place! These and other thoughts crowded
through our minds as we rushed ahead.

WE HIDE IN A DRAIN 207
Leaving the wood behind us — for we could find no
place either in the trees or underneath them that a
squirrel could hide in —r we found ourselves in more or
less open country. Only the Hghts of a few scattered
cottages gleaming here and there showed that we were
not out of the danger zone yet. A Httle way to our left
we spotted another smaU wood or clearing that looked
as if it might offer shelter of some kind. To this we
advanced with as much caution as possible, only to
find no undergrowth of any kind.
Things began to look desperate, voices were heard on
aU sides of us, and a man came tramping through the
clearing in which we were. Throwing ourselves down,
we waited with bated breath for him to pass. As soon
as he had disappeared I'm afraid we lost our heads for
a short space. Beneath our feet was a thick carpet of
dead leaves. The ridiculous idea that we could hide
ourselves beneath these struck us both simultaneously,
and with one accord we feU on our knees and began
franticaUy scratching up the leaves in wUd despair
until we got down to the rotten mossy bed beneath,
and after a few minutes succeeded, with broken and
bleeding naUs, in scratching a hole large enough to hold
our bodies; but to puU the leaves over us from the in
side, so that they would look undisturbed, we found
to be an impossible task.
For a moment or so I lay back in the little grave I

208 MY GERMAN PRISONS
had dug and gave myself up to despair, and then sud
denly it dawned upon me that this was not the way to
make a successful escape. We were in a very bad posi
tion, but we were not acting with the coolness neces
sary to bring about a successful issue to our project.
Forthwith I jumped up, and the two of us moved out
of the clearing and scouted through the open country,
travelling in what we thought must be a westerly di
rection. Very soon we espied another smaU clearing,
this time to our right. Immediately we made our way
to it with the utmost caution, only to find that here
also there was no place of concealment. But on leaving
this clearing on the farther side we came across a deep
drain about two feet broad and four feet deep, with
four inches of water in the bottom. Following this drain
down its length to right and left, we found it was just
the place in which to He concealed, if only we could
find some sort of covering for the top that would look
at aU natural.
Unfortunately it was now practicaUy Hght, and there
was great danger that we might be seen whUst trying
to construct a roof. Without some sort of covering
we would almost certainly be discovered by the first
passer-by. With this in view the two of us hastily
snapped off a few smaU branches from the neighbor
ing clearing, and stuck them into the sides of the top of
the drain, so as to form a rough framework; then tear-

WE HIDE IN A DRAIN 209
ing up some ferns of old-man's-hair which we found
growing along the edge of the wood, we arranged them
as quickly as we could on the top of the frame of
branches, and removing our boots we wriggled in one
by one, drawing them after us. This was aU right
for the first one, but extremely difficult for the
second, owing to the want of space in our retreat,
since there was no room for both of us to He on
our backs. We had therefore to wedge ourselves in,
lying like a pair of spoons on our sides, pressed so
close together that the sHghtest movement became
impossible. Our first sensations were of intense satisfaction at
having at last found a place where we stood a reason
able chance of not being discovered, and great bodUy
reHef after our long trek of the night before. Before long
we felt the strain of supporting our heads above the
water, in which we were partly immersed, but were
able at length to aUeviate this with the aid of our
boots, which we contemplated using as pillows, though
this was more easily thought of than done, as, owing
to our wedged position, neither of us could put a hand
out to reach the boots and draw them under our heads,
although they were not more than six inches away, so
that this had to be brought about by one of us roUing
over on top of the other before he could get a hand
free. This being accomplished, he roUed back into his

210 MY GERMAN PRISONS
old position, with the added comfort of the boots as a
piUow. For a time we composed ourselves to rest with a sigh
of content, only too glad to feel that we were at least
out of the danger of immediate discovery; but before
very long we began to realize that we had a very bad
time in front of us. Fortunately it was not given to us
to know how bad that day's experience would be — one
that we should ever afterwards remember as the most
terrible of our Uves. No description of the awful time
we spent in that drain, however vivid, could possibly
depict the agonies of body through which we went.
Owing to the cold and damp, we first were assaUed in
turn by an ague which nothing could suppress, our
teeth rattling like castanets. This changed to the most
severe cramp of the stomach and legs, which, owing to
our position and not being able to move, it was impos
sible to aUeviate. The cramp lasted till nearly midday,
when quite suddenly it passed away, to be succeeded
by a complete deadening of the limbs from the feet up
wards — in fact, from the waist downwards we were
as if made of stone, without any sign of feeling or Hfe
whatsoever. This was reaUy a great mercy, as it re
lieved our previous suffering — anything was better
than that awful cramp.
But now the likely possibility flashed across our
minds that, when nightf aU came, we might not be able

WE HIDE IN A DRAIN 211
to continue our journey, if indeed we should be able to
walk at all; and even if we got the circulation back into
our legs and stuck it out during the foUowing night,
but did not succeed in crossing the frontier, should
we be able to last another day and night without food,
and could we possibly stand another day like this? Of
course we should go on tiU we collapsed, but for that
matter we might have done that already. We could
only wait for nightfaU to put it to the test.
Soon after the cramp had left us a party of children
passed, so close indeed that it seemed as if they must
be walking almost on top of us. We feared they might
be poking along the drain in search of minnows or
something. The danger passed, but for some Httle time
we could hear chUdren's voices, which kept us in a per
petual fear that some game or other might lead them
accidentaUy to stumble upon us. From this time on
pedestrians passed close by, either singly or in pairs at
varying intervals, which brought us to the conclusion
that we had chosen a spot near to some footpath or
other across the fields, as we afterwards discovered to
be the case. Just about this period it began to rain
pretty hard, for which we were very thankful, although
jt made us more uncomfortable than ever, as we
calculated it would reduce the number of pedes
trians who would be likely to take a footpath across
the fields.

212 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Until the time when the first lot of chUdren had
passed, playing by the way as they went, we had felt
pretty secure in our retreat, which was our chief con
solation for being in such an awfuUy cramped place;
but now that the danger of detection was becoming
more frequent, owing to our close proximity to a path
of some sort, we began to suffer mentaUy as well as
physically. It was not long before we discovered that,
if the rain reduced the number of people likely to be
abroad in the fields, it was also very considerably di
minishing our head-covering, which, if the rain did not
soon cease, would be reduced to a minimum, on ac
count of its being chiefly composed of old-man's-hair
fern, which, as most people know, is a kind of grey
fibre, very much like horsehair. These hairs, when dry,
had formed a beautiful thick and fluffy covering, but
now that they were soaked with rain they had become
shriveUed and hung down in lank tresses. We could
now see out perfectly clearly; but owing to the depth
of the drain, and not being able to move, we could not
observe any persons who passed, though we felt their
eyes could not faU to spot us. This is, I know, very
bad reasoning, since one can always see a passer-by
from the window of a room without being seen in
return. But philosophic reasoning such as this requires a
better mental and physical condition than was ours at'

WE HIDE IN A DRAIN 213
that time. Consequently we suffered tortures every
time any one passed by. In one case in particular our
nerves were strained to breaking-point. A man came
along the path, carelessly humming a tune to himself.
Just as he was passing us he suddenly stopped, and so
apparently did our hearts. For a moment or two he
stood motionless. How long he actuaUy remained, or
why he did so, I cannot teU, but to us it seemed a thou
sand years. FinaUy he moved off and started humming
again, though he took our peace of mind with him.
We felt sure that he must have seen us, but had feared
to take us on single-handed, and had now gone to sum
mon help. For that every German kept his eyes and
ears open in the hopes of detecting escaped prisoners
we were weU aware, as the reward offered by the Ger
man Government for such information as might lead
to the capture of prisoners was very considerable, es
peciaUy for the hated EngHsh. Rumor had it that any
person lodging reHable information received the sum
of two thousand marks.
What should we do? If we crawled out, it would
probably be hours before we got our legs to work, in
the meantime being exposed to the view of everybody.
No ! we must stay, and pray that we were mistaken and
had not been seen. From this time on, however, we
were a prey to the most harassing fears, as we Hstened
with bated breath for the sUghtest sound which might

214 MY GERMAN PRISONS
foreteU the coming of our captors. One or two more pe
destrians passed, and at the coming of each we thought
the game was up, but aU went by without incident.
Towards 6 p.m. the rain ceased, but the sky was over
cast with heavy grey clouds, which, with the coming of
dusk, decided us to try to extricate ourselves.

CHAPTER XIV
MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER
It was with the very greatest difficulty that we got out
of that ghastly drain, owing to having lost the use of
our lower limbs. EventuaUy my companion was the
first to get clear, but it took a good quarter of an hour's
work to accomphsh this, and it was brought about by
my placing my right arm (my left was pinned under
neath me) round his neck and endeavoring to draw
him over on the top of me, he at the same time pressing
with both his hands against the opposite waU of the
drain, and the two of us pulling and pressing in jerks,
until finaUy he succeeded in rolling over on top. I was
now able to edge my body into a flatter position at
the bottom of the drain, owing to the removal of my
friend's body making more room, at the same time sup
porting his weight on the top of mine. We were now
no longer wedged, so that he was able to puU himself
out by pressing on the two sides of the drain with his
hands, and thus graduaUy edging himseH along, drag
ging his useless legs behind him.
As soon as he was clear and I had had time to recover
from my previous exertion, I succeeded in dragging
myself out in the same way, the two of us edging along

216 MY GERMAN PRISONS
untU we found a broader part of the drain, when, putt
ing ourselves to a sitting position, we tried to induce
the circulation to return to our legs, which we did by
putting our hands under the knee-joints and raising
them up and down. After about twenty minutes of
this, both of us began to experience excruciating pain
as the blood came back. However, we worked away
with joy, the return of pain also indicating the return
of circulation, and therefore the use of our limbs. It
must have been nearly seven o'clock before we were
able to scramble out of the drain and crawl to the shel
ter of the clearing close by. As it was not yet quite dark
we felt that we should be safer in the clearing than in
an open drain so close to the footpath; also we must get
rid of some of the water in our clothes.
Crawling to the wood had stUl further aided our cir
culation, so that before long we were practising walk
ing, which at first was not at aU reassuring, but im
proved as we began to warm up. The two of us could
not help laughing at ourselves during the time we were
trying to walk about, when a leg would suddenly give
way, precipitating the owner to earth. Very graduaUy
we began to get the fuU use of our legs. This difficulty
having been overcome, we proceeded to take off our
clothes, in order that we might wring the water from
them. I then cautiously returned to the drain for my
boots, which I had the very greatest difficulty in put-

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 217
ting on. However, we were equipped and ready for the
final venture at a Httle past eight o'clock, when we
moved off westward as joUy as a couple of sand-boys.
AU the horrors of the past twelve hours were forgotten;
the farther we walked the warmer we got, and in con
sequence more optimistic. Good Heavens! what feeble
rats we had been! We were good for another week of
this, and we felt that aU was weU with us.
Our object now was to strike the raUway on which
we had passed through the town the night before, when
we had left it in order to avoid the party of workmen
coming towards us. We had then rushed to our left;
consequently the Hne must be somewhere to our right,
so that we now traveUed in the direction we judged to
be northwest, according to our calculations during the
day. As the stars were not yet visible we had nothing
definite to guide us. Every moment we expected; to
strike the Hne, but it must have been quite nine o'clock
before we eventuaUy did so, although we had thought
it could not have been more than hah a mile away
from our last hiding-place. On reaching it we carried
out the same tactics as on the night before — that is,
foUowing the direction of the Hne at a distance of about
one hundred yards. Several times our nerves were har
assed by hearing voices; but we stuck to it for over
an hour, when we found ourselves walking into a thin
mist of white vapor, which got thicker as we ad-

218 MY GERMAN PRISONS
vanced. We hoped greatly that this mist might be ris
ing off the expected area of lakes. If so, it was now
time to strike directly north in order to find our hoped-
for railway, which would take us to the frontier itself.
We advanced with added caution, crossed two main
roads, and shortly afterwards succeeded in striking the
railroad, on which we passed two level crossings which
were Ht up. Distinct sounds of people in conversation
could be heard at each crossing. Very soon we began
to get into wet and boggy ground, which decided us to
make for the track, walking along it as quietly as we
could. The heavens were now beginning to clear up
gradually, and one by one the stars appeared.
We had not proceeded along the track more than
half a mUe when we passed a smaU cottage at the side
of the line. Hurrying past this as noiselessly as pos
sible, we were brought up sharp by a railing and large
five-barred gate across the Hne. At the moment when
we were about to climb the gate, the door of the cot
tage opened and a man stalked out. Possibly he did not
see us, but he could not faU to hear us. We were over
the gate in the twinkling of an eye, and were preparing
to run for it; but fortunately our presence of mind re
turned as quickly as it had fled, and we walked on at a
comfortable and leisurely pace. The man foUowed us,
and was gaining. If he was a guard, why did he not caU
on us to halt? He could not have been more than forty

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 219
yards away. We quickened our pace a bit, just enough
to keep the distance between us equal. The blood was
beating in our temples and throats; we wanted to run,
but we dared not even look behind us.
On we walked, our imagination running riot. We
must have proceeded in this manner for a good half-
mUe, when suddenly I perceived that we were in the
middle of a lake. We were indeed walking on the very
embankment rurming over the lakes that we had cal
culated on. That we had actuaUy arrived at the lake
and walked over it for some distance without noticing
it showed the state of nervous tension we were in.
Nothing had taken our minds off the man, who was
stiU foUowing us, inexorable as fate itseH. Very soon
the reason why he had not chaUenged us was borne in
upon us. Of course on the other side of the lake there
would be another gate and guard, into whose arms we
should walk and be taken like rats in a trap. Should I
stop and hold him in conversation whUst my com
panion struck him down from behind? For it must be
done sUently. Yes, we must do this. But the idea of
killing in cold blood is awful, and we walked on yet
another one hundred yards. In doing so we passed a
big iron wheel and sluice-gate, connecting the two
sides of the lake through the embankment.
A Httle farther on we noticed a clump of small
bushes growing on the sloping sides of the embank-

220 MY GERMAN PRISONS
ment. This would be a good place in which to make an
end of him. SUentiy we waited. The man reached the
sluice-gate and stopped. He had missed us and was
Hstening for our footsteps, we thought. But no! after a
minute or two we heard the sluice-gate screeching out
its note through the night air, to be foUowed by a rush
of water. He must be the attendant of the sluice-gate.
Thank God! Perhaps we had not raised his suspicions,
so we hoped to hear him walking away, or that he
would walk past us, and thus perhaps give us warning
of what lay in front of us. But the rush of the water
seemed to drown aU sound. Cautiously I crawled back
to the sluice, nearer and nearer, until I stood upon it.
There was no man; he must have gone back. His sus
picions had not been aroused.
I returned to my companion, and we moved off
again, but soon decided that, walking as carefuUy as
we could, we were making too much noise. To aUeviate
this, we stopped whilst I took off my boots. I had been
wearing three pairs of socks tiU now, so I drew off the
two thickest pairs, replaced my boots, and handed one
pair of socks to my companion, when we both put
them over our boots. This muffled the sound of our
footsteps considerably.
As we advanced, we noticed the embankment get
ting perceptibly wider; also that, whereas as heretofore
there had been no mist hanging over the water of the

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 221
lake itself, we. were now running into a thin white
vapor, which increased as we proceeded. From this we
concluded that we were approaching the opposite bank,
and must therefore increase our precaution. The sides
of the embankment were now studded plentifuUy
with smaU bushes, of which fact we took fuU benefit,
moving from bush to bush as we went along. During
our progress we noticed that we were no longer sur
rounded by water on either side, but by a slimy-looking
bog, sprinkled here and there with taU reeds. We tried
this bog, but immediately sank up to our knees in filthy
mud, so that we were forced to return to the track. A
Httle farther on we again tried the bog; it was dry this
time, but stiU too bad to venture over.
The moon now thought it was about time she showed
her presence on the scene. Fortunately she was balked
of her fuU design by a veU of thin clouds, to which we
sent up prayers of thankfulness, with a courteous re
quest not to move off. Suddenly a briUiant speck of
Hght shone out in the centre of the track, which imme
diately made us take to our knees, on which we crawled
until we were within fifty yards of the Hght. As we had
suspected, we could now detect a big gate across the
track, upon which the Hght we had seen seemed to be
suspended. As we were making plans how we should
pass over this barrier, a man came out from a hut
which we had not noticed before, owing to its being in

222 MY GERMAN PRISONS
the shadows. He advanced to the Hght and unhooked
it, carrying it with him back to his cabin and placing
it on the ground outside his door. ,
Without waiting for any further developments, we
crawled into the bog on our left. Fortunately it was
fairly dry here, so we did not sink very much, but
found it difficult to advance without making a certain
amount of sucking noise as we crawled, caused by puU-
ing our hands and knees out of the mud. We must
have made more noise than we thought, for we un
doubtedly raised his suspicions, as he came out of his
hut and stood Hstening. Of course we stopped at once
on seeing him, and cowered down into the mud; and
although he could not possibly see, he went back to the
cabin, and in a short space of time returned with his
gun, to which we could hear him fixing his bayonet.
During the time he was away, which was perhaps two
minutes, we had taken advantage of his absence to
crawl a good twenty yards farther away from him.
The reader may be surprised that we were able to
distinguish his movements so weU, but it must be re
membered that he was standing on the raUway em
bankment, whUst we were about thirty feet below him
in the bog; consequently to us his figure stood out
quite clearly against the sky-line. For a whUe he re
mained motionless (needless to say we did the same);
then he walked to the far side of the track, and de-

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 223
scended out of view for a few seconds, a fact of which
we took instant advantage to creep away another ten
yards. This time he must have heard us again, for he
passed off the track and started to descend towards us.
We were just about to rise and make a bolt for it,
when he stopped haHway down the slope, Hstening in
tently; then he quickly climbed to the track, seized his
lantern, and placed it inside his hat. It had evidently
struck him that his Hght was advertising his move
ments. Again we put yet another twenty yards be
tween us, and in so doing crawled up a sHght incHne,
the ground beneath us becoming drier at every step,
until we found ourselves on a road, where we lay flat
on our stomachs, watching for the next move of the
sentry. It was perfectly evident that his suspicions were
fuUy aroused, for he was walking about like a cat on
hot bricks. His actual movements we were now too far
away to discern with any accuracy. The road we were
lying on cut the railway Hne at right angles; hence the
gate — it was a level crossing. The Hne, as we knew,
was running west; therefore this road was due north
and south. We decided to get on and join the raUway
line again, when we had made a big enough detour
round the sentry. To do this we had to crawl one by
one across the road on our stomachs, fearing that the
whiteness of the road would show up our figures in too

224 MY GERMAN PRISONS
strong reHef if we crawled in the ordinary manner. On
the other side was a hedge of prickly brambles. Over it
we scrambled, to be pierced by a hundred thorns. On
the far side of the hedge was a steep bank, and then —
great Heavens! — another lake!
The road as weU as the railway Hne was buUt on an
embankment. I essayed to wade the water. It was past
my depth. SUentiy we returned to the hedge, and began
to help each other over, when suddenly I felt my com
panion grip my arm. The two of us remained motion
less; the grip on my arm graduaUy tightened, which I
took to mean silence, so I stood without moving, ask
ing no questions, and aU the time haH supporting my
companion's weight, who was perched on the hedge,
with one leg the other side. GraduaUy he aUowed his
whole weight to rest on me, giving me a Httle nudge at
the same time. Straining every muscle, I placed him
on his own feet without making a sound; then, as
we waited, hardly daring to breathe, suddenly a man
cleared his throat with a Httle cough.
Great Heavens! he could not be six feet away, and
I realized that, had my friend got over the hedge, he
must have faUen almost into his arms. For a moment
I felt petrified by the impending danger which had
come upon us. Suddenly out of the dark, but before my
brain had seized upon a plan of action, we heard a beU
clang out its warning from the direction of the level

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 225
crossing. Simultaneously we heard the sentry shuffle
round on the road and walk off. As the sound of his
retreating footsteps grew fainter, we took the advan
tage of scrambling over the hedge as quickly as possi
ble, cowering down under the shadow of the other side,
where we waited a few seconds, in order to make sure
that the sentry was not returning. Then we started to
crawl away down the road, always keeping as close to
the friendly shelter of the hedge as possible. Before we
had proceeded very far we were startled by the shrill
whistle of an engine. A moment or two and we could
hear a heavy train panting towards us, and as she
passed over the crossing we rose to our feet, and did a
good couple of hundred yards' sprint down the road
leading directly southward, feeling quite sure that the
noise of the heavy train lumbering by would com
pletely drown the sound of our hurrying feet
Here we essayed the swamp again, but found it im
possible, so at last we decided to f oUow the road south
tiU we found dry ground to our right. About half an
hour's walking brought us to a very smaU vUlage on
the edge of the marsh, reaUy only a few scattered cot
tages; through this we went with the very greatest pre
caution, as there were stfll Hghts to be seen in one or
two of the cottages. Immediately we passed through
we found a great expanse of ploughed fields to our
right. Over this we made our way, going sHghtly north

226 MY GERMAN PRISONS
again, in order to strike the south end of the swamp,
and thus keep in touch with it and our beloved raUway
line, which stiU apparently ran through the middle
of it. GraduaUy the ploughed fields began to descend
towards the bog, and in our anxiety to make sure of the
bog we passed quite close to a big barn that had es
caped our notice. As we did so a dog inside began to
bark furiously. Instantly we rushed away southward
again, the dog continuing to bark as long as we were
in hearing.
Again we endeavored to make the margin of the bog.
After having made a wide detour round the barn we
struck it in safety, but this time it appeared to be drier,
much to our satisfaction. We tried to walk on it, but it
was not possible as yet. FoUowing the bank, which ran
almost due west, we tried it again. After about another
mUe it was stiU too wet, but here and there a soUtary
tree could be seen growing. These increased in number
as we advanced, until at last we were brought up by
a decayed wood, through which numerous rivulets
were running. Here we plunged into the wood, over our
ankles in peaty bog, and advanced northward in an
other attempt to hit the raUway. Our progress was very
slow, as we constantly had to jump ditches, some of
which were too broad for us to make a successful land
ing on the other side, when we would sHde back into the
slimy water, only to puU ourselves out with difficulty.

MAKING FOR THE FRONTIER 227
In one place was a rivulet about forty feet wide,
which of course it was impossible to jump. Noticing a
heavy log on our side, we pushed it into the water, and
reached the opposite bank one by one astride the log.
This was not so easy as it seems, as the log roUed first
this way and then that; but we finaUy managed to
cross in safety without wetting the upper part of our
bodies. Some people might say we ought to have
jumped in and swum over, but they must remember
the condition we were in. Both of us feared that, if we
once got into the water, cramp might again overtake us.
WhUst stiU advancing northward we passed to
higher ground, which grew drier as we proceeded, and
before we had gone very far we suddenly stumbled on
to the raUway. Joy of joys! we had got our direction
once more, when, foUowing the raUway for about a
mUe, which was stiU running due west, quite suddenly
it branched southward. This rather put us off, but we
decided to foUow it for a Httle while longer; and a very
good thing we did, as before long we were brought up
sharp by numerous lines of Hghts, showing like pin
pricks in the darkness, some being red, others green.
This must be a big junction of some kind. We crept
cautiously nearer, more Hghts showing as we advanced.
By the side of the track was a big hedge; to this we
made our way, and lay down in the shelter of its
shadow.

228 MY GERMAN PRISONS
For the first time we realized that we were both very
tired, but, strange to say, not in the least hungry — in
fact, neither of us could have eaten anything, even if
we had had it. As we lay resting ourselves the beUs of
a neighboring church chimed out the hour of twelve.
Good heavens! only five hours to dayhght; we must
get on. Each said to the other we must start at once,
but neither of us moved, our limbs refusing to obey us.
I had a violent pain in the chest, my head ached, and
my teeth would not cease from chattering. In the end
the spirit gained over the flesh, and the two of us
moved nearer to the Hghts, when, suddenly looking to
our right, we discovered a bright Hght in the sky to the
north. Great Scott! that must be the town of Venlo;
there cannot be any other place big enough within
fifty miles of here which could shed such a Hght as that,
and Venlo was three mUes over the Dutch frontier.
My companion refused to beHeve we could be so near,
but I insisted. Then, "What is this town in front of
us? " " It must be K  ," I repHed — which is, as you
know, just on this side of the frontier and southwest
of Venlo.
For the moment our pains were forgotten, as we
made towards the welcome Hghts of Venlo. But our
troubles had only just begun; the climax of the venture
was to come.

CHAPTER XV
ELUDING THE SENTRIES
As we walked towards Venlo over heavUy ploughed
fields, we found that we were very graduaUy ascending.
On the way we passed a Hne of posts running in a
straight Hne north and south. Was this the boundary?
They were certainly boundary-posts of some kind. But
then this could not be the frontier, as we had seen no
sentries at aU, and we knew there were at least two
fines of them. Still pressing forward, only with added
precaution, dropping on our faces every time we heard
a sound or saw anything suspicious, we approached a
sunken road, with what appeared to be a line of block
houses situated on it, at about a hundred yards apart.
These were occupied by soldiers, as once or twice a
door opened, letting out a flood of Hght, and exposing
to view a man in German uniform, who left his house
and walked over to another one, carrying a lantern.
This he put out and went inside. AU this time we were
lying in suspense not more than sixty yards from one
of these blockhouses.
Immediately the soldier had disappeared we crawled
over the road, and advanced towards the glow in the
sky already mentioned. Within a mUe the plough

230 MY GERMAN PRISONS
came to an end, and we found ourselves approaching
what appeared to be a long hedge, but when we came
up to it we found it to be the outskirts of a dense forest
of broom. Into this we penetrated for a few yards, when
we came across a Uttle path cut through the broom.
Here we held a whispered consultation, and decided
that we did not like the look of it at aU. We lay down
in the broom beside the path, in order to hear any
sound that might betray the fact that others were
there besides ourselves.
Hardly had we sunk into the broom when the intense
silence of the place was broken by the sound of foot
steps, which came nearer and nearer, until a sentry
with his gun at the slope passed us on the path; he was
so close I could have touched him. It is not necessary
to describe to what a pitch of excitement we were
brought by our discovery that we were actuaUy in the
frontier lines. The moment of swift and fearless action
had arrived! Drawing out my penknife, I hastily cut
the laces of my boots, puUed them off, and padded si
lently in my stockinged feet down the path after the
sentry. Fortunately this path had not been cut in a
straight Hne, but wound about here and there, so that
I was able to sHp after him from corner to corner. Once
or twice I imagined that I could distinguish his form
in front of me, but I could hear the sound of his heavy
tramp distinctly enough to know if he stopped, other-

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 231
wise I might have come upon him suddenly round a
corner. We must have proceeded about seventy yards in
this manner when the soldier in front of me was chal
lenged, but I could not catch the answer. Then I dis
tinctly heard two, if not three voices in conversation,
although I must have been quite thirty yards away,
which led me to beHeve that, for the moment at least,
our presence had not been suspected, or they would
have been more careful to hush their voices. Again
a sUght noise led me to beHeve that our sentry was on
the move. Instantly I slunk into the bushes to await
events, thinking that perhaps he might be going to re
turn, but nothing happened until I heard another chal
lenge in front of me, this time very indistinct. I now
came to the conclusion that we were in a Hne of out
posts, and that our sentry was the visiting patrol,
which turned out to be correct. If this was the case,
then there must be another sentry very close to the
spot where I had left my companion — too close, in
fact, for peace of mind — and I immediately started
to retrace my steps.
On my way back I noticed for the first time that I
had passed a number of smaU paths, cut through the
broom, in the same way as the one on which I was, but
running at right angles to it — in fact, going towards
what we supposed to be the frontier. Could we afford

232 MY GERMAN PRISONS
to risk taking one of these? If there were any more sen
tries in front, certainly not. Whilst absorbed in these
meditations I suddenly heard something coming to
wards me. Hurrying on, I arrived at the place where I
supposed my friend was, and plumped down into the
bushes. In a few moments the same sentry passed
again, so close I could have touched him. Within from
ten to fifteen yards he was again chaUenged, to which
he answered "Friend," after which I thought I heard
a few mumbled words passed between them about rain
coming, and one of them moved off again. My difficulty
now was to find my companion without making any
noise that the sentry near us could hear. Creeping
down the path, I tried to locate the place where I had
taken off my boots, but I was absolutely at sea, when
to my satisfaction I saw another figure creeping to
wards me.
Fortunately my friend had seen me come back, and
had marked down my position. That's the sort of
pal a fellow wants in a venture Hke this — one that
does n't say much, but who is on the job aU the time.
I 've stopped so often to analyze my own feelings, —
for after aU, they are the only ones I can analyze, —
but I have often thought of what sort of suspense my
friend must have gone through whUe waiting for me.
We know so weU that to wait is often the hardest part.
And in waiting and watching, he had kept the bridge,

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 233
so that we were able to join forces again. Had he failed,
we might have lost hours of time, and perhaps the
whole venture, looking for each other in the dense
brown murkiness. We then discussed in whispers the
result of my scouting movement, deciding to take to
the broom, and try to follow the direction of one of the
paths running at right angles. This we put into imme
diate execution, but very soon found that the disturb
ance we were making would be fatal to us, since it
is almost impossible to walk or crawl through thick
whippy stuff Hke broom without making a noise; so,
after having gone a few yards, we decided to trust our
selves to one of the paths, which we did, advancing
along its edge and dodging from bush to bush.
The moon was now playing the most exasperating
tricks; sometimes she would be quite hidden, only sud
denly to flash out again between the Hght clouds which
obscured the heavens. We must have made a bit over
a hundred yards or so, when we again heard somebody
talking, this time almost directly in front of us; so off
we went into the broom again, travelling southwest,
and within a few minutes struck another path running
paraUel with the one we had just left. This bucked us
up, as we thought we had escaped a sentry in front of
us on the other path; but our hopes were quickly
dashed to the ground by the sight of the glowing end
of a cigarette right beside the path which we were now

234 MY GERMAN PRISONS
on, and not more than thirty yards in front. For a few
moments we felt rather hopeless, but soon decided that
we must risk crawling through the broom between the
two of them. Accordingly we again entered the broom,
working our way to a spot which we judged would
be about equidistant between the two sentries, and
started to crawl forward, taking the most infinite
precautions. We made our way through the broom, crawling one
behind the other, the foremost carefuUy parting the
bushes and holding them back for the passage of the
one behind, in order that they might not whip back
and cause a suspicious sound. Every ten yards or so
one of us would crane his head cautiously above the
broom to see if we were keeping direction relative to the
drives. It was during one of these surveys that we dis
covered that we were on a level with the sentries on our
right and left respectively; for there to our right was
the other man, who was also smoking. " Blessed cigar,
or whatever you are! What a splendid beacon Hght
you show!"
Crawling on, we left the line of sentries behind us,
and had proceeded a Httle distance when we found that
the broom was gradually becoming thinner and thick
ly interspersed with heather, until finaUy only thick
heatherabout a foot deep prevailed. Here we were able
to notice that a sUght wind had sprung up, which was

Q

0

©

?????? ? ? * f ?

0 Sentries we Imagined
X * " saw or heard
e=cs Orives cut tn broom
? ?*? Patrols
•r Our first position
j. — > tine of Advance

236 MY GERMAN PRISONS
encouraging, as it lessened the chances of our being
heard. On the other hand, the moon had come out
from behind a big mass of clouds, so that we could be
seen from a very great distance. Fortunately she was
sinking and would not trouble us much longer. In front
of us lay a long stretch of flat heather, over which we
must continue to crawl, both because our figures could
easUy be seen by the sentries behind us and because we
did not know what might be in front of us.
We had passed through two lines, possibly we were
actuaUy over the frontier; but we dare not risk this.
The dispositions of sentries that we had discovered and
of those we had eliminated were as shown on page 235.
StiU crawling, we pushed forward slowly and cau
tiously — at first, in order to make sure that the sentries
behind could see nothing; then, when we had put a
good distance between us, we began to quicken the
pace, until we were almost running on our hands and
knees. But the effort of crawling for such a long period
was quickly robbing us of what strength we had left.
Every ten or twenty yards we were forced to sink down
into the heather for a few moments' rest, in order to
gather a Httle more energy to go on with, and also to
stretch our legs out straight; for we were now suffering
agonies with cramp, brought about by the unwonted
exercise of the muscles utilized in crawling — even
our tongues were curling back into our mouths; but

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 237
we set our teeth and crawled on, in spite of the
cramp. "We must succeed, we must beat the Boches! Gad!
how sick they 'U be if we get over! But shall we? Thank
God, the people at home don't know we are hunted
beasts, and they can't see the danger we are in; but you
see it all, you old moon up there — you can see the
dangers in front — you who see aU the doings of the
night, what does fate hold in store? — you with the
tantalizing smUe, so cold and aloof! I'd swear at you,
if I was n't afraid of you. Please don't stare so."
Presently the moon sank behind a big cloud, and my
friend and I were able to rise to our feet and walk
slowly forward. The reHef of being able once more to
stretch our legs was intense. This did not last very
long, however, as we suddenly caught the sound of a
man's footsteps pacing evenly upon some hard and
ringing substance. Instantly we were on our knees in
the heather. Where on earth could the man be? There
was no road of any sort, as far as we had been able to
see before the moon had sunk behind the clouds. On
every side of us was an unbroken expanse of heather,
yet the sound of somebody walking was unmistakable,
and grew more distinct as we crawled nearer. We were
absolutely puzzled, when, looking to our right, I saw
another beacon Hght, perhaps one hundred yards away.
Somebody was smoking, and the smoker was moving.

238 MY GERMAN PRISONS
At first he seemed to be coming towards us; but as our
position could not be bettered by advancing or retreat
ing, we decided to stay where we were, cowering down
amongst the heather.
After a Httle whUe we decided that the Hght was
moving away from us, to suddenly disappear alto
gether. Cautiously we crawled forward again, the
sound of pacing growing so distinct that it seemed as
if it could not be more than a few feet away. Suddenly,
without any warning, the two of us found ourselves
looking down into a sunken road, about forty feet deep
and perhaps one hundred and twenty feet across, into
which we must descend, down a steep sandy bank, to
the hard surface of the road beneath. The sound of
some one pacing puzzled us no longer; for there, not
ten yards away, was a small hut, right in the middle of
the sunken road, on the other side of which somebody
was pacing up and down. We could not see the man,
but we could distinguish when he was walking towards
us, when he stopped, and when he was walking in the
opposite direction.
Again we were disturbed by the sound of something
moving roughly through the heather behind us. We
were now threatened on both sides, so that immediate
action was necessary. To sHde down into the road, we
waited tiU the sentry was apparently walking away
from us, and then let ourselves head-first down the

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 239
sandy slope. I dug my nails and toes into the sand, but
the descent was too steep. Swish! and I found myself
lying by the side of the road, waiting for my partner
to foUow suit. Swish! and he too lay beside me. For a
moment we listened to hear if the sentry was on his
return beat — we could not be sure. In that moment
of waiting the moon came out again clear and bright,
and the steps of the sentry were coming nearer and
nearer. He could not faU to see us; our dark bodies
against the gHstening white of the road must stand out
in reHef . We lay stiU, hardly breathing. In a moment
he would see us — perhaps he had done so already; he
was taking aim, and we waited for the buUet. Oh the
suspense of the moment! Slowly — it seemed ages —
he advanced, and then we heard him swing round, and
he was walking away again. Immediately we wormed
our way on our stomachs across the road, and at
tempted to climb the other side in silence; but it was
steep and sandy, simUar to the side we had just come
down, and for every two feet we went up we came
down one.
Once more the sentry was on his return journey,
which forced us to be silent again; but this time it was
not so easy, as we were on the slope. In vain we dug
our hands and feet into the sand; we sHpped down
slowly but surely, inch by inch. He could not fail to
hear the sHpping sand, or so we thought; but he did n't,

240 MY GERMAN PRISONS
and on his again walking away from us we scrambled
up, regardless of the noise we made. StiU he seemed to
hear nothing, but we gained the top in safety.
As soon as we got our breath, and had time to survey
our new position, we found, to our surprise, that we
were lying beside a new raUway track under construc
tion. Directly up against us was a large heap of flint-
stones, evidently for use on the track. To pass over
this, without dislodging a single flint, would be impos
sible. However, get over it we must, and we finally
managed to cross without making very much disturb
ance; but it was no joke for me, without any boots on.
Once over the other side, we hurried across the track.
In front of us was a large shed, evidently used for
stores and tools, as there were several wheelbarrows
about. Fearing there might be a night watchman of
some sort, we started to skirt round it to the right, and
had not cleared the track more than a few feet when
we practicaUy ran into the arms of a sentry. Whether
he saw us first or we him I do not know. He was n't
more than forty yards away, only a smaU hedge sepa
rating us from him.
We were fairly caught. Immediately I grabbed my
friend's arm, and walked him straight up to the tool-
shed, knocking at the door. The sentry was walking
rapidly towards us. At the moment I knocked he caUed
"Halt! " at which the two of us doubled round the shed

j Line of Advance
4- First Position
•Xr Sentry who fired
X Sentries
Z= Sunken Road
D Shed
»-~~s Hedge
5 Hedge

21? Line *-*

l?t Line—*

X .--

 ~\

242 MY GERMAN PRISONS
on the other side, putting it between him and us. Twice
we heard him franticaUy yeU "Halt!" but we had seen
a taU hedge to our left, running in the direction we
were making for. To this we sprinted, and kept on
running under its shadow, tiU we dropped for want
of breath. Every moment we expected to hear the
whiz of a buUet, but evidently we had shaken him
off. It was now pitch-dark, the moon having disappeared
for good, for which we were very thankful. But before
we had recovered our breath sufficiently to press on
again, the sUence of the night was rudely broken by the
sound of six shots, fired in quick succession. This firing
must have been haH a mUe to our right, but in the stiU-
ness of the early morning it sounded very much nearer.
Alas! in our own extremity of the moment, we had for
gotten the other pair of escapers. Fortunately we never
connected these shots with our late comrades, or the
knowledge would certainly have caused us great anxi
ety for their safety.
Very soon we felt sufficiently recovered to go on,
also we were anxious to get farther away from the sen
try who had so nearly taken us, fearing that he might
be putting dogs on our track, although we calculated
that we must now be out of danger, even if we were not
actuaUy over the frontier, since we had passed two fines
of guards in the broom, and now this last line which

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 243
we had just got through. The Germans could not pos
sibly have more than three Hnes, as they were too
badly in need of men at the front, or so we thought,
to be able to waste them guarding the frontier.
Slowly and painf uUy — for we were very nearly at
the end of our tether — we made our way eastward
through a thinly planted wood, on the other side of
which we traversed a large area of plough. For some
time, now, the struggle to push forward had been purely
a matter of mental control. I had an extraordinary sen
sation, never before experienced, of mental detachment
of mind from body. I felt as if the real me were floating
above the clumsy, lumbering body, urging the weak
flesh to further effort. Sometimes the detachment was
complete, when we tripped over every root, tumbled
into every bush, and feU into every hole in the ground,
and yet we picked ourselves up, unheeding, and stag
gered on again. We now felt so certain that we were
over and safe that we actuaUy began to discuss the
fact, without troubling to lower our voices very much.
Suddenly a man caUed "Halt ! " Looking to our left, we
saw a figure bearing down on us. He could not have
been more than twelve yards away, or we should not
have seen him in the darkness. " Come on ! " and we were
running over plough for dear Ufe. "Halt!" On we
raced. Then his first shot rang out. What a wicked
crack it made, as the bullet struck the ground some-

244 MY GERMAN PRISONS
where by my feet! I was doing better time than I had
ever done on the wing in my footer days, and then the
second buUet came just under my nose. I could feel the
rush of air on my mouth. His third shot passed a foot
or two above my head.
Where was my companion? A fourth shot and a
heavy faU some distance behind me. "My God!
they've got him! " Should I stop? No! it is each for
himseH now — that was understood. Then another
shot rang through the night, somewhere a long way
behind. The sentry was finishing my friend. Horrible!
Still on I flew, suddenly to faU head over heels into a
ditch. I was too done up to go any farther, and lay
gasping for breath; but the spirit of self-preservation
is a hard one to break, and before long I was calculat
ing what I must do next. The Hght of dawn would soon
be upon me. I must get to a better hiding-place for the
coming day.
What's that moving towards me? Is it my fancy?
No. By Gad! it's a man, and he's moving so slowly it
must be the sentry; he is looking for me. He will walk
almost on top of me. AU right, my friend; if you miss
me by a foot, I 'U strangle you from behind. The figure
came on, was beside me; in a flash I was on his back
and had laid him out. A famUiar groan. Good Heavens!
it was my companion. I almost cried over him, but his
temper had gone with the blow I had given him, and it

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 245
was some time before he would have anything to do
with me.
"I foUowed you as best I could," he gasped, "and
I thought I had lost you, and I have n't the faintest
idea where I am. That brute turned on to me after he
had given you the first three. The first one hit me just
under the heel and laid me flat, but I got up and rushed
in the direction I thought you had taken. Then he
fired again, but it was mUes behind me."
When my friend had sufficiently recovered his
breath we started off again, and after a few hundred
yards entered a region of decayed woods. Here we ex
perienced great difficulty in advancing, owing to our
exhausted condition, caused by the lack of food and
the extreme cold. ContinuaUy we tripped over the
stumps of trees in our path, to go sprawling fuU length
over the other side, only to pick ourselves up in a dazed
determination to press forward as long as any strength
remained in us. Time after time we crashed to the
ground in our blind progress, until finaUy the two of us
fell over at the same spot, where we eventuaUy decided
to rest tiU the coming of dawn, which was just about to
break. WhUst we were resting it was graduaUy borne in
upon us that we were not alone in the wood, as we
could hear something rustling up to us through the
undergrowth. As yet it was some distance away. In-

246 MY GERMAN PRISONS
stinctively we got to our feet and stumbled on again,
a Httle refreshed by our short rest. Once or twice we
stopped in order to find out if we were being pursued,
and discovered that every time we halted the person
behind did the same. Evidently he must be trying to
get our position by the noise we were making as we
passed through the undergrowth, the fact of which he
seemed to have taken fuU advantage, for it appeared
to us that he was very much nearer than when we had
first heard him.
Somehow we managed to move forward at a faster
pace than we had done hitherto, and in doing so we
passed through a smaU clearing, in which we noticed
some bundles of cut fagots, and the idea struck me that
they might possibly help us to evade our pursuer. Hur
riedly seizing one or two of these fagots, we plunged
into the undergrowth on the far side of the clearing;
then stopped to get the direction of the man behind,
who in his turn stood stiU, as soon as he discovered we
were not moving. I then swung one of the heaviest fag
ots to our left, right over the top of the bushes. Imme
diately it landed the man started off in the direction of
the noise it had made as it feU through. In the mean
time we remained sUently crouching in the bushes.
EventuaUy we heard the man, or whatever it was, pass
us to the left in the direction where I had thrown the
fagot, and we heard no more of him.

ELUDING THE SENTRIES 247
It was broad dayhght before we moved on again,
and found that we had been resting within a few yards
of the edge of the wood. In front of us there was an ex
panse of plough, but quite different to what we had
previously seen. Here the fields were neatly trimmed;
hedges divided one field from another; also the furrows
were more regular, and not so far apart. My companion
and I discussed the fact, and decided that it did not
look at aU Hke the work of the Boches, which led us to
beHeve that we were reaUy over at last. So we were,
and had been for a couple of mUes past, though, of
course, we had no means of knowing it. We heard
afterwards that the man in the wood to whom we had
given the sHp was a Dutch sentry. Oh! if we had only
known it, we should most certainly have hugged him
round the neck, and probably asked him for something
to eat: not that we were in the least hungry: we had
long ago passed that.
At the end of one of these ploughed fields we were
brought to a halt by a broad ditch about thirty feet
across, on the other side of which was a raUway Hne.
How on earth were we to get over this? PersonaUy I
sat down in despair, wondering in a dazed sort of way
who put the beastiy ditch there. My friend scouted to
right and left for a bridge, but found nothing. On re
turning to me, he noticed that I was sitting on a long
pole.

248 MY GERMAN PRISONS
"Buck up, old man! that's the very thing we want,"
he said. "We can pole-jump it." And so we did.
On the far side of the railway track we reached a
smaU vUlage, situated on a big main road. Crossing the
road, we saw a Hne of trees running north and south as
far as eye could see — beyond the trees a long white
Hne, of what appeared to be mist. As we approached
we discovered it to be a river. When we reached its
margin, it was found to be about three hundred yards
across. "It's the Meuse!" I shrieked, "and we're over,
man. We have been over three mUes, and did n't know
it. Do you understand, you blockhead? We're over!
We're free! We've escaped!"
Then I for one sat down and cried Hke a chUd. Very
soon my companion decided that we must swim to the
other side.
"Swim over that, in our condition! You must be
mad! I tell you the Meuse does not run into Germany
anywhere within a hundred mUes of where we are."
"WeU," he repHed, "it wUl be safer the other side,"
— and he started to take his coat off.
"Don't be a Withering idiot; you could n't swim
that even if yoii were fit and strong. However, go
ahead, old thing! I'U watch you drown. I'm perfectly
content to He here forever and ever."

CHAPTER XVI
LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY!
And so the two of us lay and wondered at it aU, until
we heard the sweet clear beUs of some church far up
the river strike the hour of seven.
"Look here, old man, we're getting stiff again; we
must push on to some place or other."
Accordingly we walked northwards, hugging the
river-bank, and after about an hour's tramp we came
to the outskirts of Venlo. Passing through that part of
the town which Hes on the east bank, we arrived at the
great bridge. Over this we started to make our way,
feeling that we should Hke to put the river between
ourselves and the enemy. In the middle of the bridge
we were halted and questioned by the Dutch guard.
When we declared that we were two British officers
just escaped from Germany, the Dutch N.C.O. looked
rather doubtful. As he did not speak either German or
French we had some difficulty in convincing him. Cer
tainly our appearance was not very reassuring. My
companion did not look so bad, though his clothes were
badly torn, and he was covered with slime from head
to heels; but his field-boots were field-boots, and as
such should have commanded attention. As for my-

250 MY GERMAN PRISONS
seH, I was a horrible-looking sight; and, to make things
worse, my socks were worn through, disclosing cut and
bleeding feet.
After about ten minutes' wait on the bridge one of
the sentries was told off to take us to the caserne, or
barrack-room; so we were conducted back to the east
side of the bridge. Here we were told that the officer in
charge was not up, but he would be immediately in
formed of our arrival. Within a minute or two the offi
cer himself came to welcome us, and ushered us into
his bedroom, where he was completing his toUet.
What a splendid welcome that Dutch officer gave us!
With his own hands he took off my socks and washed
my feet, smearing the sore cuts with some stuff which
he seemed to have great faith in. Finding that my
friend's boots were too much for him, he caUed in a
couple of his orderUes, who managed, after a great deal
of pulling, to remove them from his swoUen feet. Then
the Dutch officer bustled about, ordering breakfast for
us. What would we Hke? Eggs and bacon, of course!
AU the EngHsh liked that.
"Yes, my cook does them beautifuUy; you shaU see."
Then he made us take off our clothes and wash;
clean shirts and vests were suppHed from the officer's
wardrobe; and, finaUy, he rang up the mUitary doctor,
and informed him that he had a couple of bad cases.
All the time he bustled about helping us here and there,

LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY! 251
and never seemed tired of informing us what fine fel
lows we were, to which, of course, we both agreed.
When the breakfast arrived, he hovered around us Hke
a hen with her chicks, but we were hardly able to eat
anything. With great difficulty we managed to swaUow
an egg, more to please the good feUow than anything
else. Soon after breakfast the doctor arrived, and we
were hustled off to the hospital in a cab. Here we were
treated Hke princes. Nothing was too good for us. It
was nice to be fussed over and taken care of, after being
neglected so long, and we thoroughly appreciated their
kindness. First we had a very hot bath. Oh the luxury
of having a real bath once more! After the bath we
went off to bed and slept the clock round. Another
bath, heaps to eat, and more sleep ! The doctor said we
must stay until we felt strong enough to make the
journey to Rotterdam. When was the next train, we
asked. Oh, in a few hours. WeU, we felt strong enough
now for Rotterdam, and as soon as may be England,
and then home.
And so that morning we left Venlo and aU the kind
friends we, had made, and journeyed to Rotterdam,
accompanied by another Dutch officer, traveUing in
first-class PuUman carriages. On our arrival we were
handed over to the British Consulate. Everybody there
was kindness itself; arrangements were made for us

252 MY GERMAN PRISONS
to buy civiHan clothes, and before very long we were
completely fitted out.
From Rotterdam we were removed to The Hague
(pending a British boat to take us to England), where
the British Ambassador and his wife made us welcome
at the Embassy. Here again nothing was too good for
us, and we shaU always remember the great kindness
they showed us, which affected me deeply after our
terrible experience.
And then the great day arrived when we actuaUy
set our feet in England once more!
But what would England be Hke? How had she stood
the strain of nearly three years' war, with an expendi
ture of nearly eight milHons a day? That such a stu
pendous sum had been gathered from the resources
of our Empire, without the fear of immediate bank
ruptcy, only fiUed us with a joyous pride for the race
to which we belonged. But what of the toU of blood and
bone? Was that as frightful as it had been represented
to us? Not that we had been reaUy influenced by "The
Continental Times," or any othe^ paper which the
German Government propagated amongst the AUied
prisoners of war, as part and parcel of their general
system of persecution; for the German is a master of
mental as weU as physical agony. But these papers,
which were our only source of regular news, had laid
the foundation of a doubt, deep down within our

LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY! 253
hearts, that perhaps aU was not quite so weU with
those at home; for when day foUowed day, and weeks
grew into months, and months into years, and no ap
preciable advance had been made by the Entente, it
would take a very hero of optimism, if not a fool, to
remain absolutely free from the canker of doubt. In
existing circumstances it was impossible to calculate
how long we must continue to five as exUes, under
these appalling conditions. We dare not look for the
speedy return of peace, for an early peace would mean
the cause of the Entente was lost, the triumph of
wrong over right, which must surely be impossible; and
so the prisoners made it their duty to laugh, and say,
"Oh! three or four years longer," when asked surrep
titiously by some German soldier or other as to how
long the war would go on.
I wonder if the people at home ever realize that the
prisoners in Germany number amongst their ranks
some of the greatest heroes of this war. On the battle
field the heroes, or at least some of them, are recog
nized, and rewarded accordingly; but the exUe is never
known, though he fights against far more hopeless
odds; for him there is no chance — aU is at an end.
Fine deeds are done in the heat of action, when the
excitement of the moment gives the spur to many a
noble act; but it takes a braver and more steadfast
spirit to pass smiling and cheerful through the endless

254 MY GERMAN PRISONS
stunted and hopeless days of a prisoner's life, to cheer
up those of our comrades who have for the moment
faUen into the slough of despondency, and to harass
the German guards at every turn in the matter of at
tempted escape, since if the prisoners were peaceably
quiescent the number of their guards would be re
duced, thus freeing so many more men to go and fight
against their brothers on the front. The more escapes,
the more guards necessary to prevent them, the more
electric Hghts or oU lamps to show up the designs of the
escapers by night, the continual supply of coal and oU
necessary to feed these Hghts, slowly but very surely
help to drain the resources of the Boches. This can be
more easUy seen when it is realized that the combined
Alfied prisoners in Germany run into mUHons.
There are those who might say that the amount of
coal and other things used for the exterior fighting of
camps could not be a serious item. Very true. But,
however smaU, it aU counts, and it is the only way that
a prisoner can help to do his bit. If he tries to escape he
is punished, sometimes very severely; but he accepts it
as part of his lot, because he feels that the more men
placed to guard him, the less men there wUl be to fiU
active positions. I have met many people in this coun
try since my return who don't beHeve — or more prob
ably don't want to beHeve — that the Hfe of a prisoner
is as bad as some of us make out. AU I can say is, I wish

LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY! 255
they could try it for themselves. Let them put up with
the pestilential insanitary filth and the nauseating
stench of camps without any sort of drainage; the bit
ter cold of the long winter without adequate warmth;
the daUy slaving of cooking tinned food and washing
up greasy plates in freezing water afterwards; the diffi
culty of cleansing underlinen without the necessary
utensUs to wash it in; the mental torment of being
without any authentic information of the fortunes of
war or of the fate of those dear to us, whUst the flag-
posts with which every camp is fitted are periodicaUy
gaUy beflagged with enormous mUitary banners flaunt
ing some great German victory which the Boche sen
tries seldom lose the opportunity of sarcasticaUy point
ing out! Lucky indeed is the town or vUlage which
boasts of a Kriegsgefangenen — prisoners' camp! To be
inspected on Sundays as curious and despicable ani
mals behind a wire cage by the German populace,
decked out in holiday attire for the occasion, who
mock and gaze through field-glasses at one's face or the
legs of those wearing kUts, shouting lewd remarks as
the animals march up and down their confined exer
cise-ground; to have one's precious letters from home
the subject of offensive remarks from German officers
attached to the camp, — these are only a few of the
more outstanding troubles that a prisoner must bear
with a smiling face.

256 MY GERMAN PRISONS
Had the Boche in the beginning started by treating
his prisoners with the respect and honor which is their
due according to The Hague Convention, it would stiU
be the duty of every prisoner to make his escape, if
possible; but then the offensive spirit would have
ended, for a holder of the King's commission must
carry out the spirit in which that commission is given
— the path of duty, even unto death, in whatever cir
cumstances that path may He. But taking into consid
eration the unscrupulous character of the enemy, as
shown by the treatment of his prisoners, it is the duty
of each able-bodied officer and man to carry out the
offensive spirit in every way possible. Some of the men
have been magnificent, and have carried this spirit to
the highest possible heroism.
I have so often been asked, since my return home,
"How do you feel about it aU? WUl you ever wipe out
the memory of those long wasted years? Don't you
sometimes dream you're back in it aU again?"
I don't know quite how to answer that. It is difficult
to describe one's thoughts and feelings in this connec
tion. It is as if some of the best years of one's life had
been erased — wiped out. There is a sudden jump,
from the joy of fiving and the exuberance of youth, to
the duU monotony of middle age, with no easy, transi
tory stage in between to compensate. Even now, re
membering those years, that Hfe seems, somehow,

LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY! 257
natural, and the present Hfe of freedom, unnatural.
The Hghts, the laughter, happy people — aU seem un
real; it is Hke seeing dancers through a window when
you can't hear the music. It passes over one's head,
and one finds one's seH waiting for the curtain to drop,
for the end of the play, when the fairies and the tinsel
shaU disappear, and one shaU find one's seH back in the
duU, grey hopeless days which it is nearly impossible
to realize are over.
But to return to our impressions as the train grad
uaUy bore us to London from the port at which we had
disembarked from HoUand. Everything seemed to be
as of yore. The long rolling fields bounded by broad
hedges, the picturesque farms nestling in hoUows, with
fat cattle grazing over every hiUtop, the wonderful
soothing green of the general landscapes, brought a
heavy sigh of content to be back in it aU again. Every
thing seemed as if we had just left it. On the platform
we saw numbers of men of mUitary age. Surely things
must be going pretty weU, or aU these men would be
in uniform, they would have been caUed up long ago;
or were they stiU playing at conscription in the matter
of exemptions? Perhaps aU these were shirkers, who
did not know of or did not care for the great need of the
Motherland in her dire distress, who had pitted herself
in her unreadiness, in the cause of honor and right,

258 MY GERMAN PRISONS
against the greatest military nation on earth, organized
to the last man, and beyond that again.
Soon we arrived in London, to report ourselves im- '
mediately to the War Office. But London amazed and
appaUed us. She was so vast. Taxi-cabs, motor-buses,
and pedestrians thronged the streets as never before,
or so it seemed to us. We hesitated to cross the street,
the traffic seemed so dangerous and formidable. We
were hustled off the pavement by constant streams of
people going this way and that, none of whose faces
seemed to speU war. One saw practically no people in
mourning, whflst in Germany one sees them every
where. Men in umform passed by in thousands. Tom
mies looking at the sights and standing in groups at the
street corners — why, there must be enough men in
umform here to form an army! Surely, H we were in
need, these feUows would aU be out at the front.
Things must be going very weU, and we had heard
nothing but a piece of colossal impertinence. And so
we more or less found it to be.
Every hotel seemed crammed; it was impossible to
get in anywhere. The theatres, too, were running at
high pressure; one must book seats weeks beforehand.
In fact, everything looked as if there was no war going
on at aU, and yet organization relative to war was evi
dent at every turn; and we began to feel a great reHef.
The Old Country was big enough to give her utmost to

LIBERTY AND BLIGHTY! 259
the war and yet carry on her Hfe of business and gaiety
at the same time.
Some time in October, 1917, an Escaped Officers'
Club was formed in London. For the present it is a
dinner club, since we have no clubhouse as yet. Our
aim is to make it an international affair — Americans
do, of course, automaticaUy become members of the
British Club, but we hope to get the French to amal
gamate with us on the same basis.
We boast that it is the most exclusive club in the
whole world, for the entrance fee is "Escape, with the
odds at 600 to 1 against a man." And the motto of the
club is —
"Freedom, but not Forgetfulness."

THE END

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CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS
U . S . A

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