Primary tabs
Transcription
The guards [crew] consisted of the Commander, 4 officers, 75 men of the Shropshire
Regiment, 7 gunners, 1 doctor and 1 nurse.
The doctor, Dr Fitzwilliams, administered his treatments through the iron bars, pulling teeth, dressing wounds, etc in that manner. Once, when a more thorough consultation of a patient became necessary, all men had to clear the deck and go into the room, so that the doctor could safely approach the sick man.
The food was very bad and insufficient. German cooks had to take over the preparation of the meals. Although there was no canteen at first, the chief steward, anticipating a roaring trade, had stocked up in abundance. However, the Commander had confiscated all the German money at the beginning of the voyage and did not release it for the first
3-4 days, and then only after much persuasion. Now trading with the chief steward began in earnest, through the iron bars and at horrendous prices. Protests about insufficient quantities or bad quality of the goods were summarily dismissed and had no chance anyway since the trade