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[Page 45]
Hun prisoners in British captivity. This is deliberate cruelty in disguise. Retaliation is merely an excuse to ill-treat British. About thirty of the unfortunate men returned during April and May. Each They are awful wrecks; frostbitten, injured and starved. One would think it impossible for men to survive and awful treatment meted out to these unhappy men; quite a number have lost limbs and fingers. There are two who have lost all toes.
When I first heard the truth I discredited the story, however, many have told me of their experiences; in each case they agree. I am positively convinced that the man speak the truth. They worked under shell fire, cut ice from rivers; and suffered other inhuman impositions. Boots and warm clothing were taken from every man; the food was not fit for human consumption; parcels were confiscated; men were shot and whipped unmercifully; hundreds were knocked down in the snow, unconscious, and left to perish. Human bones and refuse were eaten to sustain their miserable, starved bodies. I know of even worse privations and suffering but they are too awful to describe. When these men are liberated, they will undoubtedly tell the exact circumstances of the Hun imposition. These disclosures possibly appear incredible, nevertheless every word is true.
11th. My knee is still septic. Since the torture I suffered in Valenciennes, nothing has been done to remove the remaining fragments of shattered bone still embedded in my leg. The Russian dressed me this morning and told me that an operation is necessary. The Hun refused to touch my wound perforce I must await his pleasure. I discovered this morning that men wearing iron leg splints were allowed linen bandages. I saw a large assortment of bandages in the operating theatre; on close inspection I noticed that they are mostly strips of window curtains and dress materials. They are mostly stained with blood and pus. One man told he had worn one bandage for six weeks; despite the pus and his persistent requests for a clean bandage, he is refused. The scene in wards and operating theatre, would disgust British surgeons and nurses. The place is