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[Page 15]
asked if there were any Australians. Some of the chaps sent him over to me. He was a chap from Mount Druit by the name of Frank Abbott. He told me to come to his barrack the next morning for breakfast. I turned in without undressing, and as bad as the bed was I slept through, but the next morning didn't we all feel rotten. Every man in the barrack had a terrible cold (which I for one never lost the whole time I was in Germany). Then the Huns marched us to the bath house, clipped our hair as close as possible. The rest of the hair on our body was burnt off by a chemical like blue grey paint. We then had a hot bath. Meanwhile our clothes were being fumigated, then we were marched back to barracks. That bath didn't improve our colds. Well I went and had dinner with Frank. I had a fine dinner. He was with four other English, all very nice chaps, and I can tell you I had a jolly good time while I was in the camp. I had all my meals with them.
The first two days in camp I went out with the others to work, and hard work it was. We were used as horses, pulling big wagons about, with 18 inches of snow and slush on the ground.
On the second night Frank Abbott told me to drop out of the ranks as soon as we were counted and come up to his barrack. This I did and escaped work.
On the 19th March we were marched to a clothing magazine, and the Huns told us to take off our civilian clothes and they gave us paper clothes with brown stripes down the trousers and a brown band on the arm in exchange for our good clothes. They made us change in the open in view of everybody, and by jove it was cold.
On the 20th March we were formed into transports of twenties to go out and work. Of course Bill Brookes (my mate) and I got together as usual, and at 4 a.m. on the 21st March we marched off. It was raining and it was as cold as ice, and pitch dark. We arrived at the station,