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[Page 44]
would come through with potatoes and cabbages, usually stored in open trucks, and well packed up, as soon as one of the boys saw cabbages he would give the "signal" at which we would all drop shovels or picks, and take up forks, spreading ourselves along at intervals on either side, and as the trucks of cabbages came past, would knock them off. These we would secrete until knock off time, throwing our great coats, or jackets over them to hide them as much as possible, and would carry them home. It was not so much the sentries as the civil population we had to hide them from, for our work led us through the town. The Sentries we "squared" by giving them some of the spoils, so that they rather liked us to get a little extra for them they also scored. A little food means so much to everyone in Hun-land. As everyone knows cabbages need a lot of boiling and our greatest trouble was to find ourselves oven space, the stove being occupied until 11 or 12 o'clock at night. This extra cooking made great demands on our coal supply, and to cope with it we used to knock off lumps of coal in just the same way as the cabbages from passing trains.
On a Commando, the Interpreter is not supposed to work, but a number of them do, because they do not know any better, and because, perhaps, the Sentries have told them that they have to. A very funny incident was told to me by one of the party who had been sent back sick from Russia. He was one of a number who had been sent there as a reprisal, and had receiving some very rough treatment. The interpreter on this party wore a broad, red arm band, and just strolled along among his fellow prisoners, pretending to see they were doing what was required, but really not caring a rap. To even things up as much as possible they used to take it in turns to be interpreter, thus getting a day's rest once a fortnight, and unless some fresh work, or a visiting officer came along, could act their part alright. One day when this chap was having his day's rest, the contractor shouted for 'Dulmecher" or "Interpreter." The contractor it appears wanted something altered. The interpreter listened attentively and said "Ya Ya!" and moved across to the real Interpreter, but he could not for the life of him remember what had been told him, so he went off in another direction. The Contractor yelled out to him but he knew was useless to go back, so pretended to be deaf. Meanwhile, he tried to get off his distinctive band, and to hand it to one who understood their lingo, but Fritz spotted him, and there was trouble. He tried to make himself scarce, but Fritz called him up, gave him a pick and shovel, and made him do the work himself while he watched him.
Our interpreter used to fill in time 'pumping" the sentries and wandering over the shunting yards, collecting coal, that had been bumped off trucks, so we generally managed to get fuel enough to keep the kettle boiling.
A Serious disaster. The sentry pinches our chart.
We had an awful shock one evening when one of the boys came in and said "The Corporal has got our map." It appears that two of the six were sitting on a bed studying and fixing their route, when in marched the Corporal ! One of them folded the map, and put it under the mattress just in time. He was ordered to go below, but on standing up the release of his weight on the bed, caused the map to drop to the floor. The Corporal turned and saw