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[Page 18]
Very shortly after our arrival we Colonials formed a sort of union amongst ourselves and set about making preparations for escape in acquiring Information as to the lay of land towards the Holland border. Naturally enough we looked to our interpreter as our leader, and he in keeping with the old time adage "all's fair in love and war" managed on a certain occasion to get in conversation with a young "fraulein" who was working in a factory close to the railway line. Things went on smoothly for a while and letters used to be smuggled through the fence when the sentries weren't around, but unfortunately for us the most hated sentry or rather workman on the job got one in on us for he got away with the girl — and so we lost our first chance of acquiring the knowledge of vital importance to ourselves.
Our parcels were the absolute mainstay of our existence for decently clad, and with a contented stomach, we were not only better off than the average German, but when it came to a point it gave us spirit to defy them.
While a party were working loading a truck with building material the stationmaster put in an appearance and ordered the men to "go faster" — as it was Sunday the men were not altogether in their "element" in working for the "Fatherland" and Pitts,(one of the Australians) lost no time in telling the stationmaster,in good old Australian style, just what he thought of his Government, his army, not to mention his own personal shortcomings. Luckily he wasn't understood, though the stationmaster probably saw the attitude of the men and lost no time in beating a "hasty retreat".
From that time on we were left to our own resources and were very rarely interfered with when at work so "Jimmy Pitts" eulogy on what would be done with the Stationmaster and his nigger-driving methods if he was in Australia, certainly did some good.
The German rolling stock was in a very bad condition as also were the points. It was a common thing for a goods train to jump the points and thereby delay traffic considerably.
The male shortage was very noticeable. Women were to be seen firing on the railway engines, doing navvying work and all manner of heavy manual work.
I may be wrong in my conjecture but with the majority of the women we came in contact with at Dusseldorf, always at a distance, there seemed to be a strong feeling of sympathy existing between we Englishmen and them, although in