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[Page 75]
a very poor finish to our Xmas holiday.
This episode strengthened our resolve to escape. Our temper was often at the breaking point, through the constant jibes and refined cruelty they subjected us to. They tried in every way possible to break our spirits. It was only the hope of escaping that kept us up at all during that wretched persecution which lasted nearly five months from Oct 17 to April 18 whilst we were collecting material for our collapsible boat. No doubt the German task-masters thought their slave driving each day would leave us little strength or inclination when we were locked up for the night to do anything else but sleep. But we worked on past midnight very often and before sleeping we hid the stuff in a cave we dug to avoid detection.
Our feelings can be better imagined than described when everything was ready. The suspense of the boat being discovered and the knowledge of which awaited us if we failed was nerve wracking. But at last the long prayed for chance came on 29th April, and we resolved to put the result of our five month secret, midnight toil to the test. The failure of my first attempt and the consequent punishment only made me more desperate and I secretly determined that if I were caught again and brought back, death in any shape was better than a continuance of the slavery and degradation of the last six months. There seemed to be no end to the war. In fact it seemed to be getting further away. It was as well to attempt an escape as die of fever if we remained in the Camp.
Note:- on Gelebek.:- Of all the different camps I have been in Gelebek was by far the worst both for work food and fever. All these camps became worse as time went on, because of the shortage of food and the great increase of prices of local grown stuff owning to the Turkish notes, depreciating in value. Early in 1918 it was possible to sell a Turkish sovereign for £6:10:0 in notes. Of course we were always paid in notes and money coming from England was always paid to us in notes. At the end of 1916 silver went completely out of circulation. The Turkish government printed notes as low as 2d which I suppose is a record. The Turkish livre i.c.£ is worth 16/8 [18/2] in normal times.
[see photo notes of Turkish money for photos.]
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[Page 74]
Note at top of page crossed out: Is this narrative to film on page 36?
Account Of Second Escape From Gelebek On 29th April-1918
Ever since my return from the first attempted escape, I had made up my mind that I would try again, only that I would go about it differently next time., i.e. I would construct a portable boat which we would be able to put to sea in and reach the coast of Cyprus 60 miles distant. After my return from previous attempt I have said that I started work again at Belemedik. Not long after I had a bad attack of Malaria and had to be shifted inland as I was in such a bad state of health that I was unable to work. I was shifted to Bore where we soon recovered. During the latter part of my stay there Corporal Sloss of the Australian Flying Corps suggested that we might escape from the camp and walk to the Russian Front at Sivas, 300 miles distant, but my previous experiences told me that this would be a terrible difficult undertaking owing to the shortage of food everywhere, so we cast this idea aside. We thought the best thing we could do would be to volunteer for a working party on the railway where we would be able to steal the required material to construct a canvas boat and we would not be far from the sea. We did not have to wait long for in about 3 weeks from the time we had decided on this plan a Doctor came to the camp and picked out a working party for Gelebek. I was picked but my friend was not accepted although he tried hard to get away with me. I was delighted to hear that it was Gelebek we were going to, as I knew that it was only 35 miles from the coast and we would not have very rough country to travel over. About September 20, 1917 a party of about 30 left for Gelebek arriving there about September 22. After we had been there a short time and got to make friends with a few Greeks and Armenians, I commenced to get all the information I could . There were now three of us in the party, James Cullen (stoker) AE11., Private S. Samson A.I.F., and myself. The three of us vowed that we would exert all our energies in the next 7 months in procuring the material for the boat; At the end of that time we reckoned that the weather would have cleared up and the Summer set in. However we went very carefully about our business and through some of our agents we procured all the material we needed in about three months. The next difficulty was the construction. This we used to work on during the night generally putting in about two hours in the evening. In about three months from the time we had procured the material we had constructed a fine little canvas boat, 12 feet long 4 ft 6" wide, 2 feet 3" deep. We reckoned this would hold us easily. All the frame work we made in sections. The canvas would be the heaviest part making one man's load. The only thing we were in need of was some tar to put on the outside of the canvas, and sure enough a few days before we