Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 44]
pectingly. She was lying on the surface waiting for the Turquois when they were surprised to see a torpedo coming toward them before they could move the torpedo struck them amidships practically cutting her in two she sank immediately only 9 being saved. Rumour says the Torquoise was sent to Constantinople fitted out throughly and a German crew put on board but afterwards she was lost. (Note on Torquoise- it was not destroyers that sank E 20 but a German Submarine)
(Continuing my narrative)
The AE 2 crew received £4:10:0 more. This bucked us up greatly because Xmas was nigh at hand. This sum with the £1:0:0 per week which Turks now allowed us permitted us to purchase necessities.
December 12. Twenty nine other prisoners entered this abode of the desolate. Four of these were part of E 20 crew. These told of their experiences when torpedoed by the German submarines. By this time the weather was so extremely cold and wet that more clothing had to be issued to us.
I don't know how the Reader spent Xmas Day of 1915 but it was the first Xmas I'd ever spent in prison. Our heathen captors allowed us out to do some shopping and even went so far as to recognise "The Day" by giving us more wood to do extra cooking but strangely enough we had no ovens to cook in. However we did the best we could under the circumstances.
It was a day of Remembrance and many a prisoner had an unaccustomed lump in his throat when he drank to the toast of "Absent Friends". After this Xmas Dinner, it was noteworthy to see how the different nationalities sat in groups and quietly talked of old times and old pals and their thoughts turned to their own vacant chair in the home land.
In the afternoon a football match was played between Army and Navy. A Turkish Band, save the name, of three instruments, string fiddle, cello and tamborine came to liven proceedings. The effect upon the football players was instantaneious. It seemed to make them play harder to drown the row. Any way if the band got as much fun out of their efforts as the spectators did they were well repaid. We thanked them for their honest intentions and good will towards us. In the enemy evening we had a dinkum European Concert.
December 30th. Was a red letter day, for I amonst others received my first mail for over 8 months, since I left Malta. The general verdict of the lucky recipients was that it was a good finish to a hard luck year, 1915.
1916
January 7th. This was a day of great rejoicing by the enemy. Flags flying, bands playing, processions in galore The explanation given was "The English have been driven off the Dardanelles." They no doubt had heard of the evacuation on the cold winter morning of Dec. 20th when the last of our men was taken off in boats from Suvla Bay & Anzac. We soon found out it was not more bluff made in Turkey this time. (This was the first time the populace