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Oct 27th Apple issue in, No coffee. More mail in, but none for me
Oct 29th Medical inspection, those who don’t look after themselves, go into isolation building. Got mud heap again. Canadian parcels
Nov 1st Clouds well below the mountains. Top coats come in from the Red Cross for those who haven’t any. Clocks put back one hour. I get a vest from Red Cross. Make a lovely pudding, Biscuits, raisins and marmalade.
Nov 2nd Have hair cut, also cold shower, and believe me it is cold, out in the open with no clothes on, but it’s the only way to get a good wash. Days seem to go quicker now. Still do de-bugging. We go out and sit in the sun, take shirt off, de-bug it, put it on, then off with trousers, and do same. Meals now consist of cabbage leaves, the water that are boiled in, and if lucky, will get a little maccoroni or rice. We have no lights in the hut, so we have our evening meal outsider evening meal outside, where the lights are, with top coats on.

I go to bed about 8.30 p.m. each night. Apple and soap issue. Nov Fatigues today. Oh boy I’m happy, received my first letter, dated Sept 6th, all is well at home, I thank God with all my heart. Canadian parcel, we are getting one between two now. Make a cake to celebrate my first letter, burn the bottom a bit. Electricians start wiring the tents.
Nov 6th POW news
Nov 7th On fatigues. Evening service.
Nov 8th Monday Lights on at last, what a difference, can have supper in the tent now. Move bed into better position. Start wearing the vest I got, it’s cold now at nights, it’s my only one, so don’t know how long I’ll wear it before washing it. Make a bubble and squeak with mace, cheese, cabbage leaves, turnip bread and corn beef.
Nov 11th Parade for two minute silence. Receive my second letter,( but the first you wrote,) how happy I am to get them, not very well tonight, ache all over.
Nov 12th White frost. What a laugh, we get a roll of toilet paper, between two of us, also a pile of old newspapers, for use at the latrines.
Nov 13th Much better, with not being well yesterday, I did not de-bug, so today I caught 36! A record so far. Got a book to read. Biscuit out of Canadian parcel made into porridge, it’s my favourite now.
Nov 15th Good news, here that Tobruck is back in our hands ,somebody managed to get the Itie paper into the camp.
Sunday 15th Next compound give a good concert. Service
Mon 16th Real cold and rain. These bulbs in the tent now only two
Tues. 17th First snow to be seen on the hill tops, it sure looks cold up there. Lovely sunset, snow on hill tops, with clouds below in places, the sun shining in between , and makes it look like the Pyrenees, very cold and still have only one blanket. See about teeth again, M.O says I’ll get a new set.
Nov 19th More S.Africans come in. Boxing, first contest in this camp. Good news still coming in. Roll call lasted three and a half hours, What a do!
Nov 23rd Some of the men go for a walk. A bit cold for de-bugging, the little devils like your nice warm body at nights. Receive letter from you darling, the first direct to this camp, also receive insurance papers, to sign, witnessed by W.White Loughborough
Nov 27th Parcels news, not so good. Beautiful sky tonight. Send Xmas greetings home.
Nov 28th Lovely day for Nov. are able to sit outside with shirt off for a couple of hours. Water is nearly always off these days.
Nov 29th Morning service.
Nov 30th Get a new pair of boot

Dec1st No wood for trench fires, and still no parcels, all hoping they won’t be long arriving. Paid for first time in this camp, even so there is nothing to spend it on, pay 7 lire for fruit we had in Nov. Parcels arrive once more (smiles)
Nov 5th Canteen opens; my first purchase is two razor blades. Play in a crib match.
Sunday. Raining all day, miss service.
Monday Dec 7th. Have a solo whist drive, which I win and get 9 cigs. Hot showers, but out in the open.
Tuesday No parcels but get 25 cigs each.
Dec 9th Things are getting worse, no wood, parcels one between two per week in future. The food is mostly water. The latrines are a disgrace. They are like this — a big hole dug in the ground, then planks placed over with holes in, and there we squat like wogs out in the open, no screen, clod and rain at times, when they get full, it overflows down into a field, on the other side of the wire, the smell is terrible. Exchange cig for loaf.
At last we get another blanket. We each send one of the sheets to be washed, first time since getting them. December, but take off my socks and put patch on the heel. Lovely day. Get issue with towel; start making a belt with cellophane paper.
Sunday Dec 13th Musical Quiz, lovely day again. Make a rice pudding, start saving a little bread each day, so I can have a good bust up at Xmas.
Tues. 15th Showery. POW news. Get two oranges out of canteen
17th Dec. Raining. Fatigue day
Dec 20th What a day. Rain and mud, but manage to make a Yorkshire pudding, it’s really a sight to see us making things the way we cook them. We now have homemade fireplaces made with tins; they have ovens and chimneys on. Some have ovens at the side, some underneath, there are some clever chaps, and can do almost anything with tins. There are all kinds of men with different trades, bank clerks, down to labourers. There is a piece of spare ground at the bottom of the camp for making fires, and these little stoves are dotted all over the place.
All the lads in our tent start decorating for Xmas, and what good ideas some of them have. Paper chains, made out of meat roll labels, same on cig packets, cocoa tins, milk, labels off every tin what comes out of the parcels. Horse shoes, lanterns, Father Xmas, made out of packing what has been in parcel boxes, and many other things, and it sure does look good.
Make my Xmas cake, it contains - Bread, plums, raisens, orange, biscuits, butter, sugar, tinned milk and coffee to darken it. Still Dec 20th. Best of all today, I receive a letter from my darling with photo of you both, what a difference in our little Julie, but still got that lovely face, I can also see mischief in those eyes, and you my darling, look as lovely as ever, it’s the best photo I’ve ever seen of you. It’s the best Xmas box I could have had. I am much happier already. Rainy days soap issue.
Dec 21st. PPX11 sends his best wishes to all POWs, also gives each one of us a Xmas calendar, with hymns and verses in, a very nice present, and I hope to keep it. Make my Xmas puddings.
Dec 22nd. First fine day for a week, it’s been just a mud heap.
Dec 23rd. Ice my cake. We all get a Xmas parcel each. They are grand. Contents are sugar, tea, milk, chocs, Xmas pudding, Xmas cake, chocolate biscuits, steak and tomato puddings, braised steak and macaroni pudding, sweets, pure English butter, cheese, and marmalade.
Dec 24th Ice my parcel cake, and put a little decorating on them. Service and carol singing, a lovely night for it, for we have all services outside, tonight the moon is shining, and its frosty, a real ideal Xmas eve, but in the wrong place!
The decorations are now complete, and it looks great, its bedtime, and ready for Xmas day, we are going to make the best of it.
I’ll not be filling Julie’s stocking tonight, I’m just going to sleep thinking of my darlings, of the past Xmas’s we have had and hoping I’ll be with you next year. So here’s a happy Xmas to all my darlings at home with big kisses for Mary and Julie xxx
Dec 25th The day has arrived for big eats. We start with an early cup of tea with biscuits 6.30a.m. Stay in bed until 8.30 a.m. Roll call. After roll call 9a.m. We brew again and have fried meat roll and toast. 11.30 a.m. meal from cookhouse which is boiled cabbage tops and macaroni (lousy stuff) 1.30 p.m. Tea, some of my homemade pudding cold, and a piece of cake. Intended eating more, but full up. 4.p.m. cook house meal, same as dinnertime, but worse if anything could not eat it all. 8.30 p.m. steak and tomato pudding followed by parcel cake, then a few bits and pieces, after that lot I don’t feel to good. With having such a little to eat for such a long time, a little extra has made a lot of us ill.
We took our beds down, made a table, put a sheet on for a cloth, and this afternoon, put all our cakes on show, it sure was a sight to see, they were all lettered and iced, all coloured, better than many I’ve seen in shop windows. I do wish you could have seen them dear. There were some beautiful cakes; we all tried to see who could do the best. I reckon I did a good one myself. I shall have to carry on in the next book--

Lovely letter from Elsie, saying it won’t be long now. Hair cut, not before time
Feb 10th visit a chap in Hospital. Pleasant evening, band was on giving a concert. E Read has his boots pinched during the night. I expect they have gone over the wire by now for bread. The chaps here would pinch your false teeth.
Feb 13th have a cold shower, and boy was it cold, it will have to get warmer before I have another. Have my sugar ration pinched.
Feb 11th Sunday Lovely day, best this year so far. Have a letter from you dear. Oh I wish that I could hear our little Julie sing, as you say she can now. Poor old Peggy is dead; she’s been a good dog. Attend service. Les is a Mutual aid man now. One of the new buildings collapses, two civvies taken to hospital.
Feb 15th P.T. Sergeant gives talk on unharmed combat, says we may need the knowledge of it yet.
Feb 16th Rain; Send letter and card to you dear, only one page, I could write 20.
Feb 17th Better day but no water to wash. Next of kin parcels are coming in now; they were sent off in Sept and Oct, nearly six months coming.
Feb 19th Onions in the canteen. Ities admit that care of us had fallen. Roll call at 1.0p.m. that’s the time I wish it were always.
Feb 20th A lovely day, and what a lovely sunset, a real victory v red glow in the sky. Band gives concert. Eclipse of the moon last night.
Feb 21st Sunday Ities find the wire cut, a lot of excitement. Attend service, 7.30 held under one of the lamps, outside, a little cool. Some of the tents are taken down, and the men move into the new huts. Jerry Mason gives talk on boxing
Feb 22nd wash my Itie pants, a shirt for first time.
Feb 23rd trouble with group Commander, they call him P.O. Edmonds. Knock out quiz. The band is to give more concerts, or get no more double rations. Lots of next to kin parcels in, roll on mine.
Feb 27th Red Cross representative pays a visit, he sure has plenty to report, Sanitary is terrible, and some bad tents got taken down yesterday. So he did not see them. The water as also full on because he was here, but there was plenty to report if he wants.
Feb 28th A chap has malaria, tried to escape today in daylight. Of course it was hopeless, but the poor chaps out of his mind, it’s a wonder he didn’t get shot, he also had a go in the night, only his shirt on.
Feb 29th Lovely day. The next compound gives us a concert. Stop having coffee in a morning now. A few fresh things have come into canteen. Braces in English money 10/- Fork 3/- Watches 400 lire coloured pencil 1/- Padre ill no service
March 2nd have a good wash, the sun is getting some heat in it now, it’s also warming the bugs up. Oh’ won’t I be glad to get out of this louse bound place, there is one creeping up my leg right now, shall have to knock off to hunt for it. Have a lovely letter from your mother dear, It’s grand to know I have such a lovely wife, mother, brothers, sisters and friends, who write.
March 3rd We move into the huts, they are about 50 yards long, 8 yards wide, hold 100 men, much cleaner and healthier, they are damp, and don’t look to safe, no lights in yet.
March 5th Parcels, some oats in so will be having porridge for breakfast.
March 7th Sunday Roll call at 8.0a.m. now. We have been having it at 8.30.a.m. all the winter.
March 8th was hoping to have lights in for weekend, but no…- There was a rumour going that we were having extra food when March came, but if anything it is worse. Rumour of the day. Peace talks with England and Italy, we hear that many rumours, that when the war is over, we won’t believe it. A man in the camp taking photos, but I’ve not enough money.
March 9th The sheets are taken off us, for a reprisal for something we have done to their P.O.Ws, anyway they can have them; they are as black as ink.
March 10th Raining- No parcels. Dinner late because of no wood for fires. Still no lights. We have our olive oil ration put in little tins with a hole in the top for light.
March 11th Rain. Everybody looks miserable. No parcels. Send you a letter dear, one page, I could write a book! Light in at last, much better, but poor really, eight bulbs 15 watts. Then M.O. here gives the life of a P.O.W.
Three years on this food…including parcels… I know it’s bad, but if parcels came regular I think I would manage longer than that, BUT if there wasn’t parcels, well, I don’t think I’d be writing now.
Spelling bee tonight
March 12th This lovely day, drying the mud up. Have a letter from Brother Alan, saying he’s on leave, how I envy him, here I’m stuck in this hole. A lot of civvies are working in this camp, now a Donkey brings water in, two barrels, slung over its back.
March 14th Sunday Attend service. Get a book to write hymns in, for future services.
March 15th get a lb. of sugar for two packets of dud tea. New officer takes over. Have an inoculation jab, so don’t feel too good, also got a cold. A spell without parcels, don’t half miss them.

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