大象传媒

Chapter 7

I was taken into Benghazi to the Headquarters and was interrogated; I must have looked an unholy sight with my beard and being unwashed, in any case they took me for an Indian and at first refused to believe I was English. While waiting to be interrogated an Italian officer spotted my leather jerkin under my greatcoat and told me to take it off, feeling very truculent I made out that I did not understand and then a young squirt held a tommy gun at my chest but at that I had to burst out laughing because the gun was loaded, I was soon put on my back by five of them and the jerkin removed. After this I was given a drink of brandy but although it burnt my throat and made me feel dizzy they didn't get anything out of me. After this I was taken to a farm building and put under guard, who kindly gave me some cold 鈥渟billy" which though cold was most acceptable. I that tried to sleep but was interrupted by a visit from the Italian Commanding Officer who cross-examined me but found it was useless. I again lay down but as usual sleep was a long way away as were my thoughts. Later I was taken outside and put on a lorry with a lot more prisoners who included my own men. Padre Jones and Jack Green and we were all taken to Benghazi POW camp. It was here I thought I was at my lowest but worse was to come, conditions were awful, no water, no food, no latrines or cooking arrangements. I was looking forward to a hot drink this being the 1st February 1942 I had not had a hot drink since the evening of the 27th with the exception of the 0X0 taken while on the coast. One of the first persons I met in the camp was Mick Allden; altogether there were 30 officers in one small room and about 1000 troops, including Indians, who were in other buildings. There were about 10 beds in the place but they were naturally all taken before my arrival. No blankets were issued while we were in the camp and on the first day no food either. Never shall I forget that first night lying on a cement floor with just my greatcoat over me, it rained and the wind blew the whole night through, sleep would not come although I was tired out. I thought of all kinds of things, how long would it be before Kit knew that I was safe, what would happen to my pay, my future career and so on through the long night. On Monday the 2nd February 1942 I was up and about early trying to keep warm and looking forward to a hot drink but it was not forthcoming, we were all issued with a tin of Italian bully and a biscuit for the days ration, in our room we made a wood fire although there was no fireplace and made ourselves a stew such as it was and so passed the second day. I can still visualize that evening, the room full of smoke and some 33 officers sitting around the fire all silent and one could see them thinking of home, that night I spent alternatively lying down and getting up to have a warm by the fire. I certainly did get a bit of sleep that night but still I was restless. The following day Tuesday the 3rd February was much like the previous, rations were the same, it was cold and raining. I visited the troops and they were like me, downhearted cold and hungry.

Midway through the next day the 4th February 1942 we were moved and only given two Italian biscuits for the days ration, we were then herded into lorries, 36 to a lorry and moved to Ghemins where we stopped for the night in an old fort, but out in the open. I tried to sleep in the lorry but couldn鈥檛 owing to the cold and there being very little room so I got out of the lorry and walked about until I met Mick Allden who had scrounged 3 blankets so we lay down together under a lorry from which we got a bit of shelter. At dawn on the 5th February 1942 we moved on again this time to El Agalia, a distance of 200 kms, we reached there late in the afternoon stopping only once on the way to fill our water bottles. I am afraid I was very quiet and hardly said a word the whole journey. Here the officers were separated from the troops and were searched everything of value and our knives were taken away from us, after the search we were given a very small roll of bread as our days ration. The officers were then herded into a small room for the night there wasn't sufficient room to stand leave alone lay down, the troops were put into a compound and could dig holes in the sand, never shall I forget that night. The following morning, the 6th February 1942 I went into the troops compound and Sgt Smith gave me 20 cigarettes for which I was most thankful, in the early hours we were issued with a roll and a small tin of bully, Italian bully is not like ours its about a third of the size and looks like very bad brawn. I saw a soldier here barter a Rolls razor complete for a bread roll. I also saw a disgusting exhibition by 鈥渟o called鈥� officers who joined the troops queue for an extra issue of rations and thereby making the troops short, I had much pleasure in letting off steam for once. By 9 am we were on the move again travelling all day until 10 pm to a place called Baurat, how I ever managed to complete that journey I do not know, standing up in a lorry for the whole day with nothing to drink and just the one roll, I was able to keep the wind off because Mick Allden had given me one of the blankets. That night we slept in a wooden hut, it wasn't particularly warm and I was far too tired and hungry to notice anything I simply lay down and pulled my greatcoat and blanket over me and went to sleep.

The following morning before it was light we were called and counted and marched to a cookhouse and given a hot cup of coffee, what a blessing although it had no milk or sugar I never appreciated a drink more, I had been without a hot drink since the 27th January and this was the 7th February 1942. We were given our usual ration and by 9 am were on the road this being the last day of the journey we arrived at Tarahuna Camp at about 4pm that afternoon. (Tarahuna is about 30 miles from Tripoli). The only incident on the last day鈥檚 trip was that our lorry nearly overturned and we were all thrown out. One can imagine that I was not feeling too grand; my memories of the trip are vague but can one wonder at it when one is low in morale, and smokeless and hungry my head was aching with migraine. However we had reached a staging camp and conditions might improve. On arrival we were not allowed to get out of our lorries for some time owing to the non arrival of an officer so had time to view the surroundings, barbed wire everywhere, one building on its own which appeared to be the Officers compound and in it I saw Charles Woodbridge, how the devil he had got there I do not know. I also saw an orderly disappearing into the compound with a lot of cigarettes, thank goodness I thought, but later on I was terribly disappointed. We eventually received the order to get out to be checked and counted, whilst this was in progress an Italian went up to Mick Allden, who was wearing a mackintosh, and tore his coat apart to see if he had any 'pips' up, at this Mick said "Take your hands off me you bugger" at this the Commandant who was standing about 10 yards away took offence and with a very loud scream just rushed at Mick swinging his arm with the intention of hitting Mick, he missed and pushed Mick up against an Italian who in turn gave Mick another push and so he disappeared into the cooler for 7 days solitary confinement After the incident all the officers were marched to a building, not the officers compound and locked up for the night. When we asked for food, we were told that we had had rations for the day, blankets we would get them tomorrow, cigarettes we had to be in rations for a week before we were entitled to any - that was a WEEK to go. The room in which we were put was just sufficient for us all to lay down hard up against one another, the floor was tiled so the least said the better. In the same building I met RSM Newton and some of his platoon. During the night the bloke sleeping next to me urinated himself which also included me, he had the sauce to say his cork had come out of his water bottle, I told him that his flies was a funny place to keep his water bottle.

Sunday the 8th February 1942 dawned, I looked forward to breakfast not knowing then that Italians do not eat breakfast but we were called out for coffee such as it was, it was served from a copper, we had to wait while about a thousand troops were served and of course by that time it was stone cold. Then followed a very strict search at which they took all my money and also all our blankets, we were then ordered to complete a Red Cross form with all our particulars etc, and to complete a blue post card which I sent off to Kit. After being issued with 3 blankets, a mess tin and a spoon, we were moved into the officer鈥檚 compound. Here we were unlucky for beds, as there were already about 70 officers in a very small area however I was used to hard lying by this time. Reaction now set in, I had nothing to do, very little to eat, no smokes and lots to think about, after my very busy time this was all very strange to me. I was at very low ebb and couldn鈥檛 find anything to do, I just lay on my blankets and thought and what didn't I think about. A few days of this I realised that I must pull myself together or I am certain that I should go out of my mind, gradually I pulled myself round, I attended church regularly, watched all games of bridge and attended all the impromptu lectures that were arranged. It was hard to keep oneself clean, the water was always being turned off and the lavatories did not work. The lack of smokes hit me the hardest, the issue was 35 a week but of course we only got 30 but I rationed myself successfully saving all my fag ends for my pipe, I am pleased with myself that I have refrained from walking round picking up other peoples stub ends as a lot did.

Food was scarce, we each received 2 rolls a day, every morning at 9 am, we had a cup of coffee at 12 noon 陆 a dixie of macaroni and water and another 陆 dixie at 5 pm, once a week we had a very small portion of meat, Camel, I think, mixed in pasta, sometimes in lieu of pasta we received rice. At times we could supplement this, advances of cash were made to us and a Padre was permitted to proceed to the local village and purchase what he could but he was only ever able get dates at an exorbitant price, they were worth it, I eked out more with my bread but hunger pangs were for ever there. About 14 days after my arrival a lot of officers were moved out and I promptly claimed a bed and some more blankets, that night I had a real good rest, the beds were of a canvas pattern I had 3 blankets under me and 4 over me and did I sleep. And so this type of life started to roll by, I have been used to dealing with men all my life but now I was mixed up in a different class altogether, the usual spirit that is common among the troops was entirely lacking among these officers, it was self first all along the line, very senior officers took advantage of their rank to obtain extra food. However life had its amusing incidents, I remember two, the first when a party of us went for our first bath, we were lined up and marched off, we undressed in a room separate to the bathroom and issued with a towel about the size of a pocket handkerchief and a piece of soap the size of a caramel, we then entered the bathroom which was of the shower type each standing under a shower in our nakedness, we were then kept waiting some time whilst a doctor inspected us for flea marks, he found some on a colonel and a major, of course giggles from the subalterns and then came the funny part, the water was suddenly turned on for not more than 1 1/2 minutes, at the start it was freezing cold and by the time we got a lather going the water was turned off so one was left standing half lathered up, never did the water get any warmer than tepid. The second amusing incident was the fitting of clothes, for this we were conducted by an American speaking Italian with a proper Yankee twang; he also performed the duties of interpreter for us. The chap in front of me wanted a pair of braces, the Italian could not understand so it was explained they were for keeping his trousers up, "Oh" said the Italian "You mean suspenders why don鈥檛 you talk English". I purchased 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants which I never had the nerve to wear, they were made of calico and came down below the knee where they were tied with tape, they were shaped just like a pair of riding breeches. I also got 2 shirts, green in colour these I had to wear because I had nothing else but I used to feel very conspicuous in them and dumped them at the first opportunity. For these I was charged a most exorbitant price, after the transaction I found I was broke.

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