Other rank escapers

[chrrip]

Thank you very much for the account from Drope - he was awarded the MM for escaping as well LG 20.1.20

[GrandsonMichael]

Name, Rank, No. and Regiment.

Stowe, Edgar, Private, No. 51417, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Home Address.

Viking, Alberta.

Place and Date of Capture.

Zonnebeke, 8th May 1915.

Nature of Wound, if any.

Shrapnel bullet in the upper part of the right arm, shrapnel or rifle bullet in left shoulder. I am 31 years age, and before I enlisted I was employed as a labourer on a farm, but I have also been engaged on the Canadian railways. On the 8th May 1915, about 9 a.m., we were being attacked by the enemy near Zonnebeke, and I was with the supports. A German shell exploded behind me and I was wounded in the upper part of the right arm by a shrapnel bullet, and in the left shoulder by a bullet which may have been either a shrapnel or rifle bullet, , I do not know which. At the same time I was either struck with a sod of earth or heavily shaken by the concussion of the bursting of the shell and was unable to use my legs.

I did not, before I was captured, witness any case of infraction by the enemy of the laws and usages of war.

After I was wounded I was carried into a dug-out in our own lines, but men could not be spared to carry me to the rear, and when we retired I was left. There were with me in the dug-out three men of the Yorkshire Light Infantry, all wounded. I do not know their names.

Before our troops left, some of the men in my section brought me three bottles of water, but I had no food with me. I was in the dug-out until the third day, 11th May 1915.

On the morning of that day the Germans came and took away the other three wounded men in the dug-out, who were comparatively slightly wounded and were able to walk to the dressing station.

Later in the day they brought a stretcher and took me to the first field dressing station. I was well treated there and given some black bread, cheese, and wine. My wounds were dressed, and from there I was carried to another dressing station a mile or more in the rear of the first dressing station. At the second dressing station I was put up on a motor ambulance with four of our men and two or three Germans, and were taken to a building filled with German wounded, where we stayed the night. The next day, 12th May, we were taken in a train to Ghent. We were put in baggage wagons and had a slow journey to Ghent, leaving at 11 a.m., but not arriving at our destination until 6 p.m. We had some soup before we started but got no food in the train.

On arrival at Ghent I was taken from the train, the others being sent on. I was given some bread and coffee and kept in the station for about two hours and was then taken to the hospital in a motor ambulance.

Ghent Hospital. May 12-16, 1915.

The hospital to which I was taken was a building which had been converted into a hospital, and here I was given sufficient food and a proper bed. I have no complaint to make of my treatment in that hospital. My wounds were dressed and attention was given to my back which was black and blue and badly bruised. My legs were rubbed, but at that time I had no strength whatever in them. I did not attempt to write from this hospital.

Journey. Ghent to Cologne Hospital. May 16, 1915.

After four days I was taken in a Red Cross train to Cologne Hospital. The journey took about four or five hours. We had food in the train and I was properly looked after by the German Red Cross. We arrived at Cologne between 12.30 and 1 o’clock in the middle of the day.

On arrival at Cologne station we were put into electric tramcars. I was with a party consisting of six Britishers and one Frenchman, all wounded and all on stretchers. We were taken round the town for four hours. The only reason I can see for this was that we might be shown to the people. The tram went slowly. When the tram stopped, people would ask the conductor, who was one of the ordinary tram conductors, who were on the tram, and he said “Englander, Gefangene.” He would then allow people to come and look at us. They did not touch us at all, but made remarks. It must have been at least a dozen times that people came into the tram to look at us. If we had gone direct from the station to the hospital it would not have taken us more than 20 minutes on the journey. We reached the hospital about 5 o’clock.

Cologne. Festungs Lazaret, No. 1. May 16-early July, 1915.

The name of the hospital to which I was taken was the “Festungs Lazaret No. 1.” This was a military hospital situate right in the centre of the town. It is a large hospital and the building is a brick one, to stories high, and it appears to be well equipped. I do not know how many prisoners were there. There were about 12 or 15 British prisoners and a number of French, Russians, and Belgians. There were Germans in the hospital also. I believe that these were suffering from venereal diseases, but they were kept separate from us and we saw nothing of them.

I remained in this hospital for about six weeks. While here my wounds were dressed every other day, and my back was bathed with hot water. I do not know whether there was anything in the hot water. This was the only treatment I had for my back. I had no medicine. The nursing was done by German orderlies. I have no complaints to make of the treatment of the prisoners by the orderlies. We had comfortable beds with mattresses, sheets, blankets and one pillow.

The food seemed good enough, but there was not enough of it. The first meal was about 7 a.m., when we got black bread and coffee; the next meal at 12 o’clock, when we got meat (very little) and potatoes; the bread served out to us in the morning was the ration for the day and consisted of about 150 grammes. We had another meal about 6 in the evening, when we usually got rice or meal. This was a sort of soup, well watered. At about 10 a.m. we were served out with a small piece of butter. We had no fish, eggs, or cheese; but on Sundays we had stewed fruit for tea, and vegetables with our potatoes. We had no sugar at all.

Once a German officer came round and served out two cigars or four cigarettes per man.

The sanitary arrangements were good. We had waterclosets in the building. There were no baths. Those who could not get out were allowed to use a wash-bin in the room for washing; but those who could walk used a wash-house in the building.

The dressing of the wounds was in the hands of medical students. They used, if they got the opportunity, and the officers (who were very strict with them) were not about, to try to make the prisoners shout when they were dressing the wounds, and if they succeeded in making them shout (as they sometimes did with the French prisoners) they used to laugh amongst themselves. I know this, having seen men roughly treated in this way myself. I do not think this would have been allowed by the officers.

I did not have any doctor to attend to me at this hospital, but was entirely in the hands of the medical students. I do not know the name of any doctor in this hospital; they were generally regarded as being very skilful. There were some very bad cases there and they made good jobs of them. The doctors themselves were very good to us and treated us kindly, but, after I had been examined the first day, I think they came to the conclusion that all I required was rest. I had no operation and the bullets are still in my arms.

After I had been in the hospital about a week I was able to use my legs and could walk about slowly with the aid of a stick. I gradually grew stronger and by the time I left the hospital had gained the full use of my legs. In this hospital we had hospital uniform served out to us. This consisted of one shirt, a linen jacket and linen trousers. We also had socks and a kind of sandals.

Our bed linen was changed about once a week, and our clothing was taken and washed at the same time. One or two of the other men received letters and parcels while I was in this hospital. They were men who had been there some time. I myself did not receive any letters or parcels. The parcels were opened in the hospital in the presence of the men to whom they were addressed. The letters had been censored before the men received them. As far as I know nothing was removed from the parcels. No one made any complaint of anything having been taken out, but if there were letters in the parcels or English newspapers they were taken away. I was allowed to write four postcards and two letters per month. I have no complaint to make of my treatment in this hospital except that the food was insufficient. I do not know of any cases of cruelty to nay of the prisoners.

The discipline of the hospital was strict. There were regulations posted up in English; these chiefly provided for the keeping of the times for meals, going to bed, &c. and the cleaning of the hospital furniture; which was done by the prisoners and prohibited prisoners from passing from one block of the building to the other. Nothing was said as to punishments and I do not know of any punishments having been given.

We had no visit from the American Ambassador or his representatives while I was there. I do not know of their being any prisoners who went insane in this hospital. There was no change in the treatment whilst I was there.

Journey. July 1915.

In the first week of July I left the hospital and went to Stendal, in Saxony. By this time I was able to walk about, but my wounds had not healed. I left the hospital at about 7 in the morning and arrived at Stendal in the evening.

I was one of a party of 15 to 18 men, 10 of whom came from my hospital and the remainder from two other hospitals. The majority of these were British and the remainder French. We were accompanied by an armed guard and were put in ordinary third-class carriages. We had no food for the journey. The train stopped at Hanover and the guards got out and had some food. A Red Cross man brought us water at Hanover. We were properly treated by the guards on the journey and were allowed to smoke.

Stendal. July-early Sept. 1915.

Stendal is a very large camp situate in very open country, at the back of which is a large sandy plane on which troops drill. The soil is dry and the camp appears to be healthy. I think that before the war it had been a military camp. The prisoners were devided into eight companies, and each company was accommodated in four huts. They were not all full. There were about 40 men to each hut when I went there, but later the number was increased to about 150. There were very few British in the camp when I was there; the prisoners were mainly Russians and French.

This camp was a sort of convalescent camp to which men were taken after being in hospital. It was under military discipline, the prisoners there being men who were, at the time, unfit for work but who were recovering, and the majority did not require medical attention. Those who did were kept in a company together. There was a camp hospital, but the only times that I was in it was when I was inoculated, which occurred six times.

The huts of this camp were made of wood, roofed with cemented slabs, and the sides also were faced with similar slabs. We had wooden flooring raised above the ground, with an air space underneath. The huts were dry and were fairly comfortable in the warm weather. I do not know the name of the Commandant or the second in command. Each company was under the command of a Feldwebel and we did not see much of the officers. I do not think I ever saw the Commandant or second in command, and I never heard of any complaints of their treatment of the prisoners.

At this camp we had regular bath-houses in which we could get shower baths. The authorities were very particular about washing and we were taken to the bath-house sometimes twice a day – we had hot and cold water. We were served out with small pieces of soap about an inch square. This was the only washing accommodation we had. Each company had two tanks of cold water which we could use for washing our hands in if we liked.

The sanitary arrangements were very good, we had closets with water flowing trough them.

At Stendal endeavours were made to get us to work, but we always refused. The men did not mind doing a little gardening, but we found that this led to their being asked to do work outside.

Men were asked to volunteer to do work at a brewery in Stendal and at ironworks, but nobody volunteered. We were in no way threatened with any punishment for not working.

The food was a bread ration, about 150 grammes, and soup. At Breakfast time (6 a.m.) we had a kind of skilly (every other day), on the other days we had coffee. It tasted more like watered molasses than coffee. The next meal was at about 12 o’clock, and this consisted of vegetable soup, but there was never any meat in it. The last meal was at 6 p.m. and this was usually fish and potatoes stewed up together. One day a week we had potatoes (boiled separately) and a raw herring; this was pickled.

The food was insufficient in quantity; it was usually fit to eat, but one was hungry again immediately after eating it.

There were two canteens in the camp where we could buy honey at 60 pfennigs for about half a pound; cigarettes costing about 20 pfennigs for 10, very poor. We could also buy writing paper, pipes, penknives, tobacco and chocolates. I got two parcels and they arrived in good condition.

My uniform had been taken from meat Ghent, and when I left Cologne I was supplied with a pair of French boots, A French cap and French or Belgian military trousers, an ordinary civilian jacket and a shirt and socks, but no other underclothing.

The only exercise we had was walking about in the ground belonging to our own company’s huts. There was plenty of space between the huts. Each set of buildings was separated by barbed wire. One company had a football ground, but we had no outdoor games. Indoors we played draughts and card, which came in our parcels. We were allowed to smoke out of doors and it was never stopped for any reason.

There was no epidemic in the camp, but three men who came from Wittenberg camp were put in a quarantine hut. I think, however, that this was only a precautionary measure. We had heard from these men that there had been typhus at Wittenberg.

One day a preacher (English) came from Berlin and conducted a service in one of the huts. He used to go round to several camps. I do not know his name. He was a Church of England clergyman.

Letters and parcels arrived regularly in this camp. Letters had already been censored when given to us, but parcels were opened in our presence. Letters and newspapers would be taken out, but nothing else. We were allowed to write two letters and four postcards per month.

I have no complaints to make of our general treatment in this camp.

I do not know nor did I hear of any cases of cruelty to prisoners. I do not think there was any very different treatment of the various nationalities. I cannot remember ever seeing any regulations posted at Stendal.

When we first got to the camp an interpreter read us notices to the effect that we must not smoke in the huts or go into the next company’s ground, but I do not remember any other regulations.

We had a visit from the American Ambassador or his representative on one occasion. He spoke to the prisoners in the presence of German non-commissioned officers and they could overhear any conversation. No special preparations were made for his visit, and I did not notice any difference in our treatment after his visit.

I myself complained that I had only one shave in the camp and had no razor. Other men complained of the poor clothing served out to us.

I know nothing personally of an Irish Brigade except that I heard from some of the men that there was a camp (the name of which I do not know) in which the Irish were concentrated in the hope that they would be induced to fight for the Germans.

A Russian in my company became insane while I was there, and it was believed that this was due to his having insufficient food.

He had no parcels at all and had to live on the food supplied by the Germans. This was the only case of this kind that I heard of. I was never asked to assume German nationality, and the treatment did not vary during my stay at Stendal.

At the beginning of September 1915 we were told that we should be moved to another camp. We were taken before the doctor and stripped to the waist, and carelessly examined to see whether we were for work. All the men examined except one, were passed. At the end of three or four days we were taken to the camp at Münster. On leaving Stendal we were given a second shirt each. Some of the men asked for boots and were given old jack boots.

Journey. Beginning Sept. 1915.

We had a journey of about 16 hours in the train, and were taken in freight cars, in which there were seats. There were 18 British prisoners and a large number of Russians and French. At Minden, where we arrived about 1 o’clock, we were given soup. We had an armed guard in the cars with us, but they treated us all right.

Münster. Early Sept.-Sept. 26, 1915.

The camp at Münster is a large one, but I do not know how many prisoners are kept there. There were a good number of British, but I cannot say how many. We were put in what is called a Punishment Company’s building, not as a punishment, but because the rest of the camp was full.

I do not know the name of either the Commandant or second in command. The Commandant was a general and a veteran of the war of 1870. I hear no complaints of the way in which the officers treated the prisoners. I was, however, only in the camp a fortnight.

We were put in huts which were made of wood. These were not so good as those at Stendal, as they were not properly ventilated. There was one stove to each hut, which would hold about 100 men.

The washing arrangements were much the same as at Stendal. We had shower baths and there was a place where we could wash our clothes.

The sanitary arrangements were poor. There were pits which had to be emptied out by the prisoners. I was not employed at Münster. Some men were employed in attending to the wounded horses from France in the stables, and others were mostly employed on working parties during the day. I do not know if they were paid. I was not asked to make munitions nor, as far as I know, was any other prisoner.

The food was much the same as at Stendal, but we got a little meat sometimes. This was in the soup. There was a canteen in the camp, but we had no money, so it was no use to us. I did not myself go into it. I do not know anything of the parcels there as I did not receive any.

We had no opportunities for any recreation whatever. All we could do was to walk about in our part of the camp. Smoking was allowed out of doors only and was never stopped.

I do not know of there being any epidemics, nor was I ever in the camp hospital. On one of the Sundays I was at this camp we had a religious service conducted by a prisoner. I do not think he was a clergyman. The service was in English and was well attended.

I have heard that the postal arrangements were the same at Münster as at Stendal, but, personally, I did not receive any letter or parcel whilst there.

The treatment in the camp seemed to be all right. We were not troubled much by the N.C.O.’s or officers. I did not see any regulations posted up. No one ever went out of the company’s ground except to the religious service on the Sunday. We had no visit from the American Ambassador.

On the 26th September 1915, I and 15 other British prisoners and about 24 other prisoners (about 15 Russians and the remainder French) were formed into working party under the charge of a corporal and five or six men. We were taken to Castrop, a small place n the province of Westphalia, about 11 kilometres from Dortmund, and about three hours’ train journey from Münster, the parent camp. We were employed in working at the coal mines there.

There was another party of about 40or 50 prisoners there when we arrived. The mine at which I worked was called the Graf Schwerin.

We were lodged in huts built for the prisoners. The huts were built of wood and were capable of holding 250 men. All the prisoners were in the same hut. The huts were not so comfortable as those at the camps. They were very leaky and very cold in the winter time. The walls were 2-ply walls, but the wood had shrunk in the summer time and you could see through them anywhere. The roof was boarded and had tarred paper over, but still leaked. We had wooden beds, with short boards crossways, to lie on. The beds were built one above the other, two stories high. We had straw mattresses and two blankets and a straw pillow, but no sheets. The building was devided up by partitions into two sleeping-rooms and a dining-room. There was a stove in every room. They were first lighted with coal, and then coke was used. They were alight during the day only.

We had a bath-house, and used to have a bath when we came back from the pits. We also had a small wash-house in the hut, but we could not wash our clothes there as there was only cold water.

The sanitary arrangements were very poor. We had tin buckets with a seat on them. These were not kept clean as the cleaning had t be done by the prisoners in their spare time.

All the prisoners were employed either in the mines or at the coke ovens. We worked in the mines in 8-hour shifts. The men at the coke ovens worked a 12-hour shift. There was no provision for a break in working in the pits, but we took our ration with us and used to eat when we got a chance. We received 90 pfennigs a day for working, both in the mines and at the coke ovens. We were not required to make munitions nor to do any other work than in the mines or at the coke ovens.

The food at this working camp varied. When I first went to Castrop it was much the same as that in the camp I had previously been in, but later it was uneatable. At the present time the food is dirty and of very poor quality, and a man who had been used to decent food would not touch it unless he were obliged to do so. This is what I mean when I say the food varied. I will deal later with the falling off in the quality and quantity of the food. We were issued with bread tickets and could draw our bread at certain times of the day. We had coffee in the morning, and on our return from the mine were given soup, but it is difficult to tell what it is made of. It might be cabbage or sometimes pickled potatoes, but seldom any meat. The last few months there has been practically nothing but turnips. Very occasionally butter or jam would be supplied.

The civil population have only be getting half a und of meat a week, and those would only be the schwer-arbeiters, or heavy workers; the other workers got none.

There was a canteen in the working camp where, when I first went there, we could get sugar, tobacco, pipes, chocolate, matches, cigarettes, fruit, writing paper, penknives, forks, jewellery, &c. A small quantity of sugar used to cost 20 pfennigs, and everything was very expensive. We could get wine but no beer. The wine cost 3 m. 20 pfg., and was poor stuff. It was in quart bottles. The food from England mostly arrived in good condition, but there might be a parcel broken. The bread often arrived mouldy, as did some of the cakes.

When we got to the mine we were supplied with working clothing consisting off a pair of boots (good army boots), a jacket and trousers ( a kind of overalls), with a red stripe down the seam of the trousers and up the back of the jacket. Our underclothing consisted of a shirt only. We had no overcoats until the winter. We did not want any opportunity for exercise after working in the mines, but none was given to us.

Indoors we had books, sent from home, cards, draughts, chess, &c. We were allowed to smoke anywhere except in the mines or at the coke ovens. Smoking in the coke ovens was stopped in March 1917, but I do not know the reason.

There was no fever or anything of that sort at the camp. I was surprised, myself, that there was so little illness. There was no hospital in the camp, but any man who was ill was taken to the hospital at Castrop. I was never there myself.

We had no religious services for Protestants. The Catholics went to the church in Castrop.

Parcels and letters did not arrive very regularly at the working camp. They would come in irregular intervals. You might get perhaps 15 parcels in one delivery, and then none would be delivered for three or four weeks. We could not find out the reason for this. The parcels were opened in our presence, just the same as in the camps. They had not been censored first at Münster.

If the parcels contained tinned food we used to pile the empty tins in the yard, and after a time they would be taken away. Some time last winter the tins were taken from out parcels for examination, and after some time they would be returned to us unopened, but numbered with a pencil mark with our prison number.

I cannot say that parcels arrived satisfactorily at any time while I was at Castrop. We could never be certain when they would be coming, and it was often very inconvenient, as we had too many at once, and then had to wait a long time for the next supply, and in the interval we had to eat the German food.

I myself received 12 American express cards for parcels which never arrived. The things in the parcels are generally better now than they used to be, as most of the stuff is tinned. Letters as well as parcels arrived irregularly. I do not know where they were censored. Nothing was taken out of the parcels and kept.

The only things that I know off that which we were not allowed to have in the parcels were letters, newspapers, and Black Cat cigarettes. We were allowed to write two letters and four postcards a month.

There was no resident Commandant of the camp. We were under the Münster II. Command, and a Lieutenant came round occasionally. The general treatment was bad from the point of view that we were overworked, and a man must be very badly injured before he was allowed a day off from work.

We were working 7½ shifts a week, making 60 hours a week, at the mines. At the coke ovens men worked six shifts of 12 hours each, then a 24-hours shift on alternate Sundays, the other Sunday being free from work.

There was no general cruelty to prisoners at Castrop. If a man would not work because he felt ill, he would be “stood at the post,” that is, he was kept standing to attention by the side of the sentry. If a man were ill he might be released at the end of four hours; but if he were simply refusing to work, he might be kept to attention the whole shift. Whether or not he would be allowed to stand easy during that time would depend upon the individual sentry.

We used to find that the guards who had been sent back from the front were the easiest to deal with. Every German. Whether on leave or not, has to do some kind of work. He could not get anything to eat otherwise.

I think the British were worse treated than the French. One instance of this is, that the British were supposed to supply their own underclothing, whereas underclothing was served out to the French and Russian prisoners.

There were all sorts of regulations at the working camp. Damaging property or tools was an offence. Being late on parade was another. The punishment for the latter would be standing to the post, but for the former the punishment was death. A new order to this effect was issued a few months ago.

Attempts to escape were at one time punished by 14 days’ imprisonment, commenced by 24 hours at the post, but it was found that men preferred imprisonment to work, and punishment now consists of 24 hours’ standing at the post, 14 days’ imprisonment on bread ration only, with soup twice or three times in the period; in addition the man has to do his full shift.

We had no visit from the American Ambassador or his representative. Two Russian prisoners became insane at the working camp. One ha complained about being sick for some time, but they would not let him go sick, and he then tried to cut his throat, without success, and he was then removed from the camp. The other was sent to Münster. There was no improvement at the working camp while I was there in the treatment of the prisoners. Some of our party were accustomed to coal mining, but I was not, and the work was very hard. If we did not turn out a good day’s work, we were stood at the post for four or five hours. The work was compulsory, and at first 10 of the 16 British prisoners refused to work, but after being stood to the post for 16 hours without food, they had to give way.

Escape. Sept. 22, 1917.

-On the 22nd September 1917 I escaped.

I have never heard of any camp in Germany where prisoners are not allowed to write or receive letters.

A party of about nine men came to our camp at Castrop in June 1917. They were men who, before coming to Castrop, had been at Dülmen for about a month, and had prior to going to Dülmen been kept behind the German lines on the Western front (I cannot remember where), unloading barges and road-making under shell fire. One of them was Private Underwood, of the East Yorkshire Regiment. He was captured in November 1916, and had been working behind the German lines until he went to Dülmen, that is for about five or six months. He told me that there the men were very badly treated. I do not know of any men being kept at work on the Eastern front.

The food supplied by the Germans was altogether better at the beginning of the time of my imprisonment than it is now. It is very difficult to say at what times one could notice any difference in the food, but the soups were gradually watered down more and more, the supply of meat became less frequent and the quantity smaller though it was never big. The bread issued was much the same in quantity but of inferior quality, and at the present time the food is considerably worse than it was two and a half years ago.

When I first went to Castrop it was possible to buy sugar, chocolate, tea, soap, tinned fish and sausage, but none of these things are now obtainable, and it must be 20 months since we were able to get practically any of these things.

All that we can get at the canteen now in the way of vegetables is fruit, tomatoes, and garden produce at an enormous price. A pound of tomatoes would cost 2 m. 60 pgs.

The men employed on guard are older than those who were employed on guard at the camps when I was first imprisoned, except that sometimes young men who have been wounded or are on leave, mostly the latter, are now so employed. Some of the men on guard duty are from 45 to 55 years of age.

I did not hear anything from the guard concerning disturbances over food questions, nor have I heard anything of preventive arrest, and I do not know the name Liebknecht. I heard nothing about aged men training in depôt battalions.

While in the working camp I had the opportunity of hearing something of the life of the civil population from German civilian workmen (mostly German Poles) working in the pits. From what I can make out they were hard pressed for food , and they used to try to buy food from British prisoners, knowing that they had their parcels. They told me that they were hard up for food, and that milk for the children was very scarce. It was they who told me that the working population got half a pound of meat a week.

We ourselves used to see the food distributed to them at the mine. They would get very small amounts indeed of cheese, peas, beans, butter, bacon and other food. They got between 150 and 200 grammes of bread per man per day. They are now able to get potatoes, but for seven months of last year , and this year from November onwards, they had no potatoes at all. The potatoes were shipped into the camp in cars when they were available again.

I did not see much in the way of livestock. On my way back to England I saw one herd of cows which had, I suspect, been commandeered by the Government., and these looked in fair condition.

If the people want clothing or boots they have to get tickets for them. In Castrop a number of shops were closed, but those which were open seemed fairly full of stuff. The shops were principally shoe stores and drapers.

We sometimes went to the Post Office at Gastrop to carry the mail, and then had an opportunity of noticing the condition of things. The people do not look at all well fed. Those at the mine with whom I had an opportunity of speaking were afraid to say very much, but generally I gathered they were in a bad way, and I could see this for myself.

Opinion of Examiner.

This witness appears to be of moderate intelligence and made this statement very willingly, but he did not enter into much detail, and I found it necessary to put a number of questions to him upon the same point in order to obtain sufficiently complete replies. He seems to have a fairly clear recollection of the facts stated by him and, if he felt any uncertainty upon them, did not hesitate to express it.

In my opinion the witnesses’ statement may be regarded as absolutely reliable, and I believe it to have been made carefully and conscientiously.

R. C. SWAINE.

23rd October 1917.

Source: National Archives, London. Catalogue Reference: wo/161/99/162, pages 2019-2027, Nos. 1022 & 102..

Cheers,

Michael

[chrrip]

Michael

Stowe is another MM winner!! -"escapers' gazette 20.1.20

Thanks Chris

[Wee-Bairn]

Did you know that your grandfather was awarded the Militay Medal for his escape; and was Wood in the Cameron Highlanders? His file WO161 page 274 if it was him

Hello Ernie,

Wood is Pte H.G. Wood 11376 2nd Wilts or Harry George Wood Wiltshire Regiment. I have the medal index cards for my grandfather . He recieved the Military Medal as you said date of the gazette is 30. 1. 20 however I didn't know what the award was for.I also know he recieved the Victory, British and 14 Star with Clasp and Roses. Again I have only the information from the medal index cards and know nothing else on this. I would like to get more information which is another reason for joining this site in hopes I will read how others have done their research. I know the records are at Kew however they are not availlable online so I will need a researcher to do the leg work for me as I am on the other side of the great pond in Canada. I would be very thankful to anyone who can point me in the right direction so I may find out if I'm one of the lucky ones whose rellie is in the Burnt records at Kew.

All the Best,

Heather

[chrrip]

Hello Ernie,

Wood is Pte H.G. Wood 11376 2nd Wilts or Harry George Wood Wiltshire Regiment. I have the medal index cards for my grandfather . He recieved the Military Medal as you said date of the gazette is 30. 1. 20 however I didn't know what the award was for.I also know he recieved the Victory, British and 14 Star with Clasp and Roses. Again I have only the information from the medal index cards and know nothing else on this. I would like to get more information which is another reason for joining this site in hopes I will read how others have done their research. I know the records are at Kew however they are not availlable online so I will need a researcher to do the leg work for me as I am on the other side of the great pond in Canada. I would be very thankful to anyone who can point me in the right direction so I may find out if I'm one of the lucky ones whose rellie is in the Burnt records at Kew.

All the Best,

Heather

Hi Heather

I am an exile in France but all you need do is put a post on the Forum asking some kind pal to look your grandfather up; lots of help like this here

best wishes

[Max (UK)]

I have a little ditty here relating to one of my ancestors, John James Bass, who served with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

I often wonder why wasn't he awarded a medal?

[chrrip]

I have a little ditty here relating to one of my ancestors, John James Bass, who served with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

I often wonder why wasn't he awarded a medal?

Thanks Max; I agree with you; seems that MMs ( generally ) were awarded for escapes from enemy countries and there are many examples of escapes nearer the lines eg Cambrai; where no awards made. having said that I know of two DCMs awarded to blokes who were captured at Gavrelle, killed their captors and got back the same day

[Max (UK)]

Thanks Max; I agree with you; seems that MMs ( generally ) were awarded for escapes from enemy countries and there are many examples of escapes nearer the lines eg Cambrai; where no awards made. having said that I know of two DCMs awarded to blokes who were captured at Gavrelle, killed their captors and got back the same day

Ye olde medal conundrum. But my ancestor escaped carrying a comrade on his shoulder.....I dunno. I think he should have got a VC myself.

Still, he survived - that's pretty good.

[SPotter]

Did the Lady in question above get her father's MM ???

[SPotter]

For further reading about awards to successful and attempted escapers, I would recommend the Fourth Supplement to the London Gazette of 27th January 1920, dated 30th January 1920. This lists many awards...

"...in recognition of gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity, which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919. To be dated 5th May, 1919, unless otherwise stated:-"

Any one have 1919s Army Orders who could expand on what 193 contains?

Regards

Steve

[Jon6640]

There were two men, Ernest Green of the Gloucesters and Randall of the South Staffs., who were sent to hospital and no one ever heard from them again.

Green and Randle as mentioned:

Name: GREEN, ERNEST WILLIAM

Initials: E W

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment/Service: Gloucestershire Regiment

Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Age: 29

Date of Death: 31/03/1915

Service No: 7203

Additional information: Son of James Frederick and Anna Green (nee Carpenter), of Gloucester; husband of Emma Elizabeth Green, of 8, Lawrence Avenue, Manor Park, Essex.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IX. G. 11.

Cemetery: NIEDERZWEHREN CEMETERY

Name: RANDLE, THOMAS

Initials: T

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment/Service: South Staffordshire Regiment

Unit Text: 1st Bn.

Date of Death: 23/04/1915

Service No: 7734

Additional information: Son of Thomas and Martha Randle, of Wolverhampton.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IX. G. 12.

Cemetery: NIEDERZWEHREN CEMETERY

RIP

Jon

[SPotter]

Before someone beats me to it, it seems Army Order 193 of 1919 is old ground.

Should anyone be interested the answer is here.

Regards

Steve