Experiences of a English Prisoner of War', by Ludwig Bauer (prisoner 1196)
On the 7th of August 1914 after finishing my days work at Aldershot, where
I had employment at Tolley Bros as under-manager & Rounds foreman, a gentleman
came in the office & asked after my name. After telling him my name he
told me he was a officer of the police & asked me to come with him to
the police-station. Arrived there he conducted me under all manner excuses
to the inspectors office, where I found this worthy gentleman & a military
officer. After a lot of questions & arguments they found out that I was
one of the Huns & they said: I am very sorry we have to detain you, but
we shall let you of tomorrow morning. I was rather surprised, but had to go,
so they took me first of all by motor to the Provost marshall from there to
the Detention Barracks, Aldershot, & I found there already 7 more pals
in adversity.
Now we soon closed friendship & we all hoped that we should be soon dismissed,
but wrongly, as we soon had to find out, that we had to stop. We were allowed
to read write smoke & so on, but time hung very long & we passed our
time as best we could playing cards & so on.
The Food was fair & we had no cause to grumble & so passed the time
away, we were reading about the German defeats, which made us very downhearted,
but still we hoped that our country made a good show. Now after being a 14
[fortnight] in custody, we were informed that we were being sent to a Camp.
About 3 days before we went to this camp we first of all encountered the men
from the Königin Louise II crew, who already had tasted a little gunfire.
They told us that they were about 30 miles from Harwich lying 150 mines &
were sunk by an English torpedo, afterwards being saved by the Amphion, where
they went up in the air again & saved a second time. They were treated
very kindly at Harwich & were sent on to Aldershot, to go together with
us to that famous place at Frith-Hill, which will be a eternal disgrace to
England.
Frimley camp as painted by Heinrich Schmitz
First when we arrived there, we were given 1 blanket each & every 12 man
together in one tent with 8 waterproofs on the wet grass & so we had to
sleep our first night there, & nothing to eat all day up till 8 in the
Evening, when we all received a small piece of Bread.
Next morning we had to start cooking our own food, which we managed fairly
well, after we had the chance of Buying Rice & Onions and so on.
So went the time, changing comander about 3 times, and the last we had was
the limit, who treated us as dogs.
Now, I must relate a affair which made a deep impression upon us all &
is annother point to show us the kindness of the English Government.
One of the men of the Königin Louise a Engine Room artificer who had
not quite recovered from his injuries which he received by the sinking of
the Amphion got inflamation of the lungs & we asked the com Officer to
give us some more blankets for the man, which we got after a lot of persuasion
& some gents that were in our Camp let us a chair so we could lay the
poor man of the wet Grass, and he said he would be shifted the next day, which
he really was and the next we heard was that he was dead.
I will not mention the fights we had to get food, wood & everything else,
but it will be a everlasting disgrace for a cultivated nation, as well as
the dirt and arrangements for washing & sanitary perposes, water &
so on. We did no more look like human beings we became rude and rough, it
is not to wonder. So we passed another 3 weeks, then we received at last boards
to sleep on. Annother step forward.
Every day arrived new lots from all parts of England, up till at last the
monotony was broke by the arrivals of prisoners of the cruiser Mainz, were
we at last heard some true news about the war, where we heard about the fall
of Liege & Namur & that Englands Cause was not so just as we were
always let to believe.
I have forgotten to say, that we had nothing to eat our food with for 3 weeks
we had to eat it with our 5 fingers & put our meat & potatoes on pieces
of paper.
So the time passed along another 2 weeks, & by that time we at last received
plates spoons & knifes, in the meantime we had 75 soldiers in our camp,
where we at last heard of the deeds of our army & became convinced that
our country was going to win, which made us very highspirited again &
who told us of the treachery of the Belgian populari [people]. Meanwhile they
had build annother Camp, where they brought about 2000 German soldiers, fine
looking man and not by any means halfstarved.
Another week we became a second blanket after we were pretty near perished
by the cold.
We were all getting nicely used to it as all of a sudden one Friday evening
we had the information to get ready, we had to go to the Isle of Man, we were
pleased of a
change.
We started on Tuesday morning on our long journey & arrived at Fleetwood
about 5 o'clock & started on our sea voyage on the Duke of Corwall to
the Isle of Man a - beautiful Spot & we were transported under strong
escort to Cunningham Camp a place generally used for Holiday makers &
for the first time in our 9 weeks imprisonment we had the pleasure of sitting
on a table again & were having a good breakfast Tea Porridge Bread &
Butter. Afterwards we were parted of in Compagnies & sections & received
our numbers & had [deleted] were put 8 together in tent received a strawsork
to sleep on & 2 blankets a great improvement to Frith Hill.
We found the comander here quite a gentleman & In general found the conditions
greatly improved. We could go out for walks & everything was there, to
make us feel more like human beings.
We heard some news from the war & only always hoped that everything may
go well.
Now I will start my diary.
Okt. 31. News: Boers start a rebellion. Calais in German Hands [untrue
rumours].
Went for walk/ last of Tobacco gone/ long entertainement.
Nov. 18. Hungerstrike & great patriotic Demonstration. In general general
trouble
