On a Bright Summer’s Day (3)

After being interviewed by a divisional officer I was marched with a sentry to a place called (I think) Phelmagne. Here we took a train for Lille. This was my first experience of being paraded around like a polar bear on a chain. I was squeezed into a compartment supposed to hold about seven but, counting myself, we had fourteen besides the big pack of the German soldiers equipment. I felt relieved when at last we pulled into Lille Station. A beautiful, large depot it is, too. Lille is the fifth largest city in France and before the war, quite an important one. The platform was crowded with German soldiers. At that time, I must admit that seeing so many almost made me feel down-hearted, although I was doing my best to keep cheerful under all conditions. Marching away from the station with my guard I met quite a number of French civilians who had remained in their homes during the German advance of 1914. I got many a friendly smile in passing these people, and it helped a lot to cheer me up. I was marched from the Station to the old French Citadel. Here I was searched. It was in this room that I wrote my first card home. When it arrived at its destination, so far I do not know. During all this time I had only a cup of tea at the place of my capture and I certainly felt hungry. I was marched up an old flight of stairs inside a courtyard to my cell. It was a small room with double barred windows looking out into the courtyard. With the exception of an old table and five iron beds, there was no other furniture of any kind in the room. When my sentry closed and locked the door it was nine o’clock. I lay down on my bed and fell asleep on my first night in captivity.

My first night of being a prisoner of war will always be very vivid in my mind. Although so tired and weary I could not go to sleep. The whole night I gave myself up to thought - thinking “If I had only done this or that I might still be free". Besides my thoughts to keep me awake, there was the never ceasing tread of my armed guard outside my cell. About eight o’clock a German orderly brought me in some coffee. I will never forget my first taste of this. I believe it is made from acorns. At least I know it is a substitute for coffee and is very poor stuff. At noon I had my first bowl of soup. I did not eat it the first day, but on the second day I was not quite as particular. For nine days and nine nights I was alone in my prison room. I spent the anniversary of the fourth day of war there, August 4th 1918, and for want of something to do, I inscribed my name on the stone ledge of the window. During the time spent at Lille the city was under the heaviest bombardment that I have yet witnessed. For three nights in succession, our machines dropped bombs near Lille, and this explosion of these combined with the noise of the "Archie" Batteries was deafening.

After nine days alone, I was put into another room with two other officers. I never realised before what it was like to have someone to speak to. One of the officers was a chap by the name of Shell. He was in the same training Squadron in England as myself. The other officer was from the Infantry and had been captured during a daylight patrol His name was Pearson. We were together only a few days before we were sent to Germany.

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