Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 20]
Conditions at the barracks went on more or less
harmoniously for a few months, except for occasions when
the men went on strike because of the delay of the parcels,
the parcels would then be hurried up in transit by the Corporal in charge of us.
Letters from home used to arrive every couple of months usually they would be at least three months old, but none the less next welcome to our food parcels. Our parcels upon arrival were always censored all tinned goods being held over and drawn by us when required.
One thing our captivity did for most of us was made us excellent thieves, for no matter where we were, if we could put our hands on anything that would be useful in any way to us - it went.
The two Canadians were working unloading salvaged war material at the Station and amongst military gear they handled were large quantities of harness, so that it was a common thing for both flaps of a saddle or a breast collar to be brought home to the barrack to be used for repairing boots. The only thing in the eating line that we could
put our hands on were potatoes, cabbages and beetroot which would be removed from a goods train if ever it chanced to pull up anywhere close to where the party was working.
It has been said that everyone in Germany over war time was a thief, i,e, they would steal anything to eat. The civilians we were working with helped themselves whenever a goods train pulled up and it was mighty certain we lost no time in taking our "cue" from them. On one occasion we had poultry for dinner, caught and cooked under our sentrie's nose — a stray fowl was seen running about our yard and one of the Canadians neatly skittled it with a stone and then cooked it on the stove provided for our cooking.
We were never short of fuel the coal having been procured in the same manner as the vegetables.
Our sentries must have been mighty hungry for every day they would strain the soup for the minute portions of meat
or potato that we wouldn't look at when our parcels were on hand.
By this time a very intimate acquaintance had been made