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[Page 13]
(later when the revolution started he was the first to try and run away, but he was wounded trying to get into Denmark)
We stayed on board the "Wolf" until the 2nd March, during which time I saw several things really worth seeing, such as U. Boat practice. The U. Boat submerge and fires a torpedo (you can see the wake of it but the torpedo is fifty or sixty yards ahead). Then a fast torpedo boat destroyer starts off to pick up the torpedo as soon as it comes to the surface. I also saw different Admirals and High Officers, but we took no notice of them than of a dustman.
On the 1st March we were told to get ready to move off at 2 a.m. the following day, and I was told that we would get plenty of food on the way.
Well we were transferred into a ferry boat a 2.30 a.m. on the 2nd and Oh Lord wasn't it cold. Enough to freeze anyone to death. We reached the landing stage and marched to a station with a row of sentries on each side of us. It was a funny feeling to feel my feet on solid land again after seven months, and to make matters worse the cobble roads were coated with ice, and I nearly went down on my face. We arrived at the station and we were formed up in fours, with sentrys all around us. We were still standing at the station at 6 a.m. By this time we had quite a crowd of working people gaping at us and laughing. It took the sentries all their time to keep the crowd back. At 6.30 a.m. we were marched on to the platform, and put in a train with all 4th class carriages. Each carriage has three compartments and each compartment holds twenty persons. 9 sitting and 11 standing. There were two sentries in each compartment with us. Well the train started at 7 a.m. and I can tell you we had a nice very breeze through a couple of broken windows. We were travelling stopping and shunting all the way. It was 3.30 p.m. before we got anything to eat and when we did get it we had to march nearly a mile