大象传媒

Chapter 8.2

By this time I left Capua I was quite ready for our new camp of which we had heard all kinds of glorious things. On the morning of the 23rd March 1942 we moved, I looked quite smart in my new suit, my greatcoat was rather creased still, my baggage consisted of my small haversack with my cleaning and washing kit and a cardboard box, which I scrounged from the cookhouse, was my attach茅 case for my pyjamas etc. For rations I had an apple, orange, slice of cheese, hard-boiled egg and a bread roll, I felt as if I was off on a Sunday school treat. It was a glorious feeling to be outside the wire again on the way to the station which was managed without incident We were very comfortable in the train, we passed through Naples, had a close up view of Vesuvius, the Isle of Capri and Pompeii and so up into the mountains to a place called Padula. Our camp here was a brand new one, No35 and I was among the first arrivals, it was a very old building, rooms on the ground floor and a huge dormitory on the top, it was built in a hollow square. We soon made it comfortable, spring beds, sheets, 2 pillows, 2 mattresses, 1 chair each, 1 table and cupboard between two and 3 very thick blankets, but oh so very cold. Previously the building had been a monastery but now electric light and water had been laid on, neither very strong, the supply of water was very bad as was the latrine accommodation. The cooking facilities were very bad, but I could see a way of improving them but as the only food we could get was macaroni and onions there was no need for immediate improvement Later on the food improved when a contractor arrived but for about 3 or 4 weeks we nearly starved. The dining room held 250 and was an old Chapel by the monastery, very old but must have been beautiful in its day. There were 500 officers in camp and as time went on everything improved especially when Red Cross parcels arrived.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.