Letters From the Front

Dated: September 1, 1918

After being brought back from the front, where we were quite well treated, I was sent to the hospital at Cologne. The hospital was full of Russian soldiers, suffering from various things, and a few English men and officers. The treatment here was quite good, though it was perfectly obvious that a badly wounded man would never recover. The Russians used to die every day and all of them were quite apathetic. There were two classes of food; first and second. The first was quite good in comparison with the second, which was served in a way which made it unfit to eat; all the stuff for the second class was put into a kind of bucket and then stirred round until it looked like a pig's trough. The bread was awful stuff, very dark brown, and sour and hard; it is difficult to eat the best kriegsbrod (war bread) as the effect on a person unaccustomed to it is always bad. The food (first class) we had was quite eatable, though I expect our hospitals would have shuddered at it.

I left Cologne at the end of July and had my first real experi­ence of travelling in Germany. British officers in Germany travel third class (that is to say in cushionless carriages) and sometimes fourth. The carriages are the most uncomfortable things I have ever met and only compare with the almost obsolete carriages on some of our local lines. In addition to this, I have known British officers stand for hours in one of these awful things, because the train was full, women had crowded in, and in Germany it seems to be an almost unknown thing for men to get up and allow women to sit down.

I left Cologne at 11 a.m. and practically the whole journey to Mainz was by the Rhine. The scenery is splendid, with wooded hills on one side and principally vines on the other, while castles are perched on the tops of rocks at every few hundred yards. However, the scenery in Germany never seems to vary, and I don't think any prisoner of war wishes to see a fir tree again. I reached Mainz at six p.m., and was put in a quarantine room for the night. As I had had nothing but some soup since early morning, I was very hungry and ate the whole of the food they brought me, which consisted of potato soup and my day's ration of bread and cheese. As a consequence I did not get to sleep until 6 o'clock the next morning. The bed was made of iron with wooden slats, on top of which was a straw bag called a mattress, and which was full of holes. Of course there were sheets and blankets, but by morning I simply smothered in straw.

Mainz is a large fortress camp for French, Belgian and Russian officers, so I only stayed there a couple of days, when I went on to Friedberg (in Hesse, not Freiburg where there were so many bombing raids). I was lucky enough to be travelling with an officer as escort, so I travelled second class. Friedberg was a mixed camp of French, Russian and English. It was built as a training school for German N.C.O.'s, so there was a parade ground which we turned into a small football field, shower baths, and a gymnasium without apparatus. It was a very dirty place, and like all German prison camps the sanitary arrangements were very bad. We built two tennis courts, and the remainder of the ground was allotted to various people as gardens. We were extremely lucky in German officers there. The captain of our building was very fond of the English officers; his father or grandfather was English and his wife was Russian, and though he was an old man and not very capable, yet he did his best for us. We were similarly lucky in some of the other officers, one of whom was of one of the highest families in Germany; his mother was English, he had been educated at Eton and had spent all his life on his mother's English estate. There was a well-managed canteen where we could buy most things at a reasonable rate. The food was awful and quite uneatable, even two-thirds of the potatoes were bad. We had our own cooking stoves, which we purchased at the canteen, and though there was usually a shortage of coal, we managed to get along all right with the assistance of a rustling orderly. Parcels were very rarely lost, and we used to live very well as regards food. Rooms were crowded of course, but were absolutely palatial in comparison with our later experience. The messing was an absolute swindle. According to the Hague Convention, I believe, an enemy country is not entitled to make any profit out of a prisoner of war; goods at the canteen are to be sold at the same price as in the town, and any extra profits are to go to the prisoners of war. Well, we had an allied messing committee of which one of our majors was president, and every month five or six thousand marks disappeared; he made a big fuss and was told eventually that if he continued his enquiries he would be sent to the local ‘jug.' We had two walks a week, as many theatrical shows as we wished, and though we were searched occasionally after a fashion, yet we were left alone. Apart from the fact that the rooms were disgraceful, and the whole place was filthy, we had. not a great deal to complain of. The fact that we were getting our parcels and that we were able to cook our own food was quite enough to make us contented.

When the winter came we flooded part of the football ground and made a small skating rink which caused a lot of fun. It was just after this that the trouble started and we had orders to leave for Clausthal on the 20th March, 1917.

We were sorry to leave Friedberg, though we had not the slightest idea that we were leaving the best camp in Germany; while we were there we were always grousing and usually with very good cause, but the 1914 officers thought that the improvement of this camp over others was owing to the fact that the Germans had at last realized their mistake in treating prisoners badly.

The 1914 officers were mistaken.

We left Friedberg at 7 o'clock on the evening of the 20th March with the assurance that the journey was one of twelve or thirteen hours. We were actually in the train for about twenty-seven hours in unheated carriages. The carriages were the usual cushionless third class, and every mile we went the cold got worse. Two of our senior captains skipped off the train and managed to reach Holland. This occurred soon after we started. Before we reached the end of our journey it was snowing hard, and I suppose the temperature was a little below zero, or between thirty and forty degrees of frost. During the whole of the journey we received, no food or drink from the German authorities, excepting one luke­warm cup of acorn coffee each, for which we paid one mark per cup (without milk or sugar). Fortunately we had brought a certain amount of food with us. When we reached Clausthal the snow was about a foot deep and it was still snowing. We were in awfully bad condition by this time, half frozen, so stiff that we could scarcely move at first, and tired out, yet the first news we got was that we had to carry our own suit-cases through the snow to the camp about two miles away. There were several men with us who were lame or ill, but no conveyance was provided. A lot of us dumped our bags down on the platform and refused to carry them, so they came up next day.

We reached the camp finally and were ushered into a large dining room, where we were treated to an astounding speech by the commandant in the best Prussian manner. This consisted of yelling at the top of one's voice in the most insulting way imagin­able. We were then stripped and searched, and were not allowed to go to bed until three o'clock the following morning; we received no food during this time and were unable to obtain water. Then most of us were sent down to the huts, which were icy cold, and we went to bed with all our clothes on.

We had our first view of the camp next day. It consisted of a wooden hotel, built in the shoddiest German fashion and three wooden huts divided into rooms. In the hotel the dining-room was heated, but all the other rooms were unheated. The winter lasted about six months and we sometimes had forty degrees of frost. The huts were supposed to get two buckets of coal every three days per room; the buckets were half the size of an ordinary bucket. The consequence was that 250 officers had to spend all their time in a dirty dining-room, which was much too small even for its avowed object. We used to bribe the German soldiers, and get coal by this means, but even then we could rarely get enough. For the winter of 1917-18 no coal was allowed.

The grounds of the camp were extremely small, and part had an additional wire fence to separate it from the rest of the camp; this wired off piece, which was shaped like a leg of mutton, held two tennis courts and a piece of ground which in area was equal perhaps to three tennis courts, and which we turned into a miniature golf course. The rest consisted of a tiny plot of grass, where a few bushes grew and where we occasionally sat out in summer. Inside the camp were little bits of garden and grass all surrounded by barbed wire, as also were the huts. Their idea apparently was to save the grass and trees from being injured, and the sentries had orders to shoot any officer who went through this wire to get anything. I hope I have made it plain that this had nothing to do with escaping. Of course, things were dropping out of the windows of the huts continually and balls would go in the forbidden areas, yet if any officer fetched them he was liable to lose his life. One officer was actually shot at, but the sentry missed him and his effort was greeted with howls of laughter. It would not have been at all surprising if he had loosed his rifle off at us for laughing; if he had killed anyone he would have got the Iron Cross undoubtedly.

In addition to the two tennis courts, we built two squash courts, so we got a certain amount of exercise, though our arrange­ments did not go far amongst over 250 men.

To return to our arrival at Clausthal. After we had been there a week, the issue of tins was stopped for eight days and that of parcels for two weeks. This was a pure schweinerei, and we were given no reason for it. It was particularly annoying in the case of bread which we knew was being ruined, apart from the fact that the camp was swarming with rats and mice, which always went through every parcel which was not opened immediately.

We had no walk for four months; as a matter of fact we had one, but some days after this had taken place, three officers escaped, and the Germans said that they would probably be charged with breaking their parole, as they must have used their eyes during the walk and seen the surrounding country. We all handed in our parole cards the following day.

The 'jug' was next door to the pigsty and had been condemned even by the German inspectors; nevertheless one man was kept there for months. Eventually a hut was built containing sixteen cells and those were always kept full during the summer months. It was impossible to avoid 'jug.' Major-General Ravenshaw was given eight days for saying at a conference with the German Commandant that he considered collective punishment for individual offences was 'unfair.' I was very lucky and only collected three days during my stay in Hunland. I was never caught in the usual things, such as swiping parcels which contained contraband or cigarettes, and getting out tins by means of false keys, etc., but I was exceptionally fortunate.

For a long time our cigarettes were stopped, the reason given being that the French had poison for the crops sent in theirs.

We used to find that the Huns had been in our rooms during our absence, and of course we missed a lot of things. We even caught a German officer feeling in the pockets of a coat when he thought no one was in the room.

Men were continually stripped and searched. Any contra­band such as a map, compasses, etc., resulted in eight days. As a matter of fact I was found with a map, but for some reason or other my name was overlooked, so I escaped.

The beds were of iron, wooden slats and 2-inch thick mattresses and two blankets (with the thermometer below zero), in addition to which the two together did not make one decent English blanket. One cupboard (assigned to one German soldier in ordinary times) was only allowed to two officers, and no box that would not go under the bed was allowed in the rooms. Sitting or lying on the bed in daytime was not allowed, and any clothes found on the bed or chairs were thrown on the floor. As you can imagine we had no room for anything. A German officer used to spend all day going round the rooms and putting clothing on the floor, etc., but after a few months of this, when the Germans found that we paid no attention to orders of this description, they gave up trying to enforce many of the rules which we tacitly refused to obey.

The rooms in the huts were disgusting places and not fit for officers at any time. The overcrowding was scandalous, and at least twice as many men as there should be were in each room. No curtains were allowed; one or two rooms purchased them and they were torn down (not taken down).

For a long time we were not allowed to have the windows open at night even in the hot summer months, but eventually the Dutch Ambassador made a fuss, and we were allowed to keep them open on condition that we paid for wire screens to go over the window.

Just before I left Clausthal, three officers attempted to escape and were captured. The commandant rushed up to the guard room and commenced bullying in his usual manner. He told one man to go down on his knees to him, and when he refused to, he ordered the guard to force him to his knees, which they did.

Remember this occurred at the end of March, 1918, and not 1914.

One officer (also in 1918) who had appealed against a sentence of two months by court-martial for some alleged offence, was successful and the sentence was dismissed. He came to the camp highly elated, the first man to win an appeal in Germany, and, I imagine, the only one. However, the same week he received a sentence of eight days' imprisonment from General von Hanish, the Commander of the 10th Army Corps, for the same offence, despite the fact that the court-martial had dismissed the case. The 'jug' was stated to be for disciplinary purposes.

According to the Prisoners' Agreement drawn up in July, 1917, no officer was to be kept in 'jug' awaiting a courtmartial or sentence, but this did not matter to the Huns. In October a big search was held, and everyone was ordered outside in the 'appel' ground. One officer was ill and had been ordered to stay in bed by the German doctor; he explained this, but was made to go outside, and the next day was charged with assaulting one of the German soldiers. Of course it was a lie, as he had not touched a man, but despite the fact that he had a number of witnesses, he was put into 'jug' and kept there for ten weeks awaiting trial. This only happened about two months after the agreement had been signed.

According to the same agreement, all prisoners undergoing confinement for anything except escaping, were to be released on the 31st July. Strangely enough the Huns kept this part of the agreement, but the following week every cell was full again, so they broke the spirit of the agreement within a few days.

Imprisonment for escaping was limited to 14 days, but in the tenth Army Corps, an officer never does less than a month, usually much more. The way they work it is like this; 14 days for escaping, 8 days for having a compass, 8 days for having a civilian hat, 8 days for a civilian coat, etc., 8 days for having a map (16 days for two maps), 8 days for a ruck-sack, 8 days for tins, etc. You will no doubt appreciate the absurdity of making any agreement with people like this.

After every attempted escape our 'playground' was closed for at least a week and sometimes two, while we would have 'appels' at 4 o'clock in the morning whenever the wire was discovered to be cut.

Searches were an absolute 'schwein.' A regular army would come down composed of civil detectives, policemen in gorgeous uniforms, and soldiers, and were always greeted with howls of laughter much to their annoyance. The rooms would be taken three at a time, and no officer was allowed in his room until it was his turn to be searched. The waiting officers were locked in the dining hall and on one occasion they had to stay there all night. Nothing was ever found in these searches. Occasionally an odd map or compass would be discovered, but we had so many that it did not matter. In addition copies of maps could be made any time and home-made compasses were turned out by dozens, so all their work was unnecessary and nothing but a 'schweinerei' (I hope you understand what this word means. It is a very expressive German word which has been adopted by prisoners of war).

Every room was turned upside down and special rooms were selected for severe treatment. Some of the rooms had been made to look quite decent, with the aid of brown paper and wall paper, photographs, pictures, etc., and one of these rooms was invariably selected by the Huns. The whole of the paper was torn off the walls, pictures taken to pieces or smashed and everything piled up in the centre of the room. On one occasion when the officer in charge of the search was drunk (a very common habit with the German officers on duty), he drew his sword, cut down some curtains he saw and commenced hacking at things on the wall. Searches of this description took place twice a year and were altogether unproductive.

Everything in our parcels was cut to bits; shaving soap often into three pieces, washing soap smashed up, bread (from the Dutch and Swiss Red Cross) cut into four and sometimes six pieces, and as far as possible everything ruined. Our parcels were stolen systematically—I was a very bad sufferer—and our tins also. Occasionally 'verboten' articles were discovered, but if we had received advice letters beforehand we usually got the stuff if it was properly packed. There was no object in all this business, as the Germans knew as well as we did that we could get anything we wanted in the escape line in other ways.

The Commandant, yclept [Heinrich] Neimeyer, who has a twin brother in charge at Holzmindenlager, was one of the biggest blackguards it is possible to meet. He spoke excellent English with an astonishing accent; he had lived for some years in America, hence his knowledge of our language. A large part of his time he was half drunk and even at his best he was insane. It is very difficult to give a description of his actions. He was the biggest liar we met in a nation of liars; he was a thief, and in short, what the Germans call a 'schweinhund' - the English translation being 'pig-dog.' He was hated by his own people quite as much as by us, because he used to make them do so much unnecessary work.

He used to spend his day walking round the camp making annoying or insulting remarks to officers, and certain officers he hated, he put in 'jug' continually for no reason at all. He was continually devising petty 'schweinereis' to annoy us; one of his choicest amusements was to have officers stripped and searched, not because he suspected them of concealing articles, but because he enjoyed it. I can't describe him properly, it is an impossible task, but, if he ever leaves Germany after the war, he will be killed.

As regards escaping, we were extremely unfortunate. No one has ever escaped from Friedberg or Clausthal. Quite a lot of men have got out of the camp, but the distance is so great that they have always been caught. Some camps are ridiculously easy to escape from, as they are within a comparatively short distance of Holland, but so far Clausthal has proved quite impossible. We started a tunnel at Clausthal under one of the huts; the huts were raised two or three feet above the ground and we cut through the floors of various rooms and got below the hut. We actually started another tunnel under another hut, but we had to give it up owing to trouble with water. The big tunnel we started in the second week of May, and we worked daily from 9.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. without any stops. Towards the end, owing to the winter coming on, the 'appels' were altered, and we were only able to work during the last few weeks from ten to four. At one time there were eighty of us in it, but we did not finish the show until the 3rd of November, or six months' hard work. We were divided into gangs with regular time-tables. The tunnel was only 71 feet long, but for a long time we had to work through solid rock, and it took us two months to dig a 10 foot shaft. Eventually the work became a little easier, but it was always hard, as the ground further on consisted of shale. Some days we could not work owing to rain, and towards the end we had to bail every morning. The stuff we took out was distributed over the ground so that the same level was maintained, and though the Huns and dogs were often under the hut at night, they never found anything. The opening was nearly two feet below the level of the ground, and every night we put the lid on and covered the hole up carefully, replacing stones, etc., until it was impossible to find. We had an 'intelligence' working in various places above ground, to give warning of any danger. We worked by electric light and had an excellent air pump, while the stuff we took out was dragged on a sleigh running on boards, from the end of the tunnel to the shaft. The show was given away on the day before we were going out. At this time only twenty-five were left, as it was quite cold and some did not think it worth while continuing, while others expected to be changed to Holland. We know how it was given away, and there will be trouble for a certain Sinn Feiner (an orderly) after the war.

It was awfully bad luck to lose the result of six months' extremely hard work.

The Germans only found the boards cut in two rooms so they charged three officers with the show. Some of them were innocent, but it was decided by the committee that for anyone to take their places would be a confession of guilt, so I, much to my annoyance, missed the fun of the legal proceedings. Seven months were given, against which an appeal had been lodged.

I have not told you about the dogs yet. Three or four dogs, trained to attack everyone they saw excepting one man who had charge of them, were turned loose inside the wire every night That this is against the Hague Convention does not matter, of course.

The dogs were also taken in the house and huts on a short leash, but as the passages are very narrow it was quite dangerous enough. One officer going into his room one night, was jumped at by one of these brutes and bitten. He was immediately charged with inciting the dog, though he has everyone in his room to swear that it was a lie. I expect he was court-martialed and jugged.

I will not give you any information about the treatment of our men, as evidence is being taken here by Court of Enquiry, and I expect the result will be published. As you know, dozens of our soldiers have been, and are being, deliberately murdered, apart altogether from the vindictively cruel treatment they receive in many parts of Germany.

It is impossible to talk of peace with Germany, and it is inconceivable to prisoners of war that anyone can dream of the Germans keeping any kind of treaty or agreement.

A German has not the slightest sense of honor; he never speaks the truth if he can lie; he is treacherous in every possible way, and he has the manners, customs and ideas of a pig.