Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 48
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[Page 48]
had soon become foul and septic with crawling maggots which made an unpleasant business still more unpleasant. The remaining German surgeon was sadly rattled and was not of much use, and the bulk of the work fell upon the Australian surgeons who were not unwilling to gain the surgical experience.
The wounded, considering the heart-breaking conditions, did very well, tho' of course many came on board in a hopeless condition and died before we reached Colombo.
One cannot help thinking that the German Naval officer as an individual is a good fellow, if the Emden's officers at any rate were fair samples of their kind - it is the people who pull the wires in Berlin that have made accursed the name of the sea going Hun.
In conversation with our prisoners we learned something of the cruise of the Emden and of her depredation in the Indian Ocean since the outbeak of war.
The Emden was at sea when war was declared, and arrived back at Tsingtao on August 6th. She was ordered to join the Scharnhorst and Geisnau, then cruising under Admiral von Spee's command in the East Indies.
She was however soon sent on detached service and began to play havoc on our Indian trade routes. Ships were plentiful in these days, and the Emden soon got a bag. Her system was to capture a ship