My German Prisons / Being the Experiences of an Officer During Two and a Half Years as a Prisoner of War

by Horace Gray Gilliland

Later we learnt that the ground-floor quarters of the fortress were occupied by a number of native troops, and on the following day one of my brother officers paid them a visit, and found them living in very unhealthy conditions, suffering greatly from the cold, owing to the fact that the Germans had relieved them of their great-coats. These poor fellows were clad, therefore, as for their own climate, and were suffering acutely. However, they had been treated fairly well in other respects, and had plenty to eat. In the afternoon of the same day there was a great hubbub amongst them, owing to the fact that a Baboo (a professional agitator) was haranguing them in the fortress close. One of their subahdar majors expressed to us his extreme disgust at the German attempt to tamper with their loyalty. The gist of the agitation was to induce the native troops to throw off their allegiance to the British Crown and fight against the Russians on the Eastern Front.

Throughout the day I continually asked for medical attention, but was always put off by the reply that the doctor was expected every minute. This farce of medical attention continued during the whole period of our stay in Lille, but no doctor ever arrived. A Red Cross dresser did visit me, but on examination declared that he was not competent to deal with the case and must leave it to the doctor.

On the night of the 25th of December we were removed with a lot of men, consisting of British, French, Belgian, and a few native troops, from the fortress to the main station at Lille. When we arrived there, the whole place was found to be brilliantly illuminated with decorated Christmas trees, exactly as one sees at a children’s party, the whole German populace being in holiday attire. On this occasion we were fortunately kept well away both from the civilians and others, so that the chances of being insulted were greatly reduced.

Almost immediately we were marshalled down a long platform and halted opposite a line of filthy-looking cattle-trucks, with the usual sliding-doors in the centre and two small trap-doors high up on the side. I mention the latter, because it was through these that we were stoned later on in the journey by some of the chivalrous enemy.

Into these trucks we were bundled. In our truck there were fifty-one of us, including officers, British Tommies, some French, and a few Zouaves. The interior of the truck was disgustingly dirty, and not even provided with straw.

Of course it was not possible for all to lie or sit. The wounded did, but the others mostly stood. Personally I do not remember very much of that terrible journey. My wounds were giving me so much pain that, with the jolting of the truck, the extreme cold, and the want of food, I became mostly and mercifully oblivious to my general surroundings. A few of the incidents remain in my memory, however. For instance, on several occasions, when the train was pulled up at small stations, the big sliding-doors of the truck were opened, and German soldiers entered and robbed both officers and men of any sort of warm outer clothing that they might have saved from the clutches of the Hun on the field itself, Burberrys being their particular aim. It can well be imagined how exasperating it was not to be able to do anything to defend oneself against such inroads. Also we suffered very much from hunger and the cold. Personally I did not suffer so much from the former, probably owing to the condition of my wounds; but I know that my companions were ravenous, as we had had very little whilst in Lille, nothing in the trucks all the first night, and nothing all the next day. Also during this period no sanitary arrangements of any kind were made for us.

Early in the morning of the second day two German guards were put in with us, also a small bench for them to sit upon. These two fellows turned out to be extremely kind, insisting on standing, and letting some of the wounded sit on the bench provided for themselves, also dividing some of their rations with a few of us.

Unfortunately these men were only with us for a few hours. Soon after they left us we were provided with a lot of jam or fish tins, containing yellowish warm water to drink. It was eagerly scrambled for, but on sampling the same it was evident that it had been polluted. At the same time, through one of the small trap-doors before mentioned, a ration of sour black bread was thrown in on top of us, just as one might throw scraps to a caged jackal.

That same evening, I think it was, we arrived at Cologne, where we spent the night in a siding. On the main platform of Cologne we saw some members of the German Red Cross, from whom we demanded food, and who immediately went away to fetch it. On their return the German sentries placed at the truck door would not allow any of it to be passed to the Schweinhund Englanders. A little was, however, distributed to the French, who very liberally shared it with us. My particular portion consisted of about two inches of a small raw sausage.

I forgot to mention that on this last day on two occasions, when the men were bustled out to a latrine, such was the diabolical cruelty of our guards that they allowed no time for the men to complete these necessities, and in one case exposed a man in view of a crowd of jeering civilians whilst in an undressed condition; also that several times on the way we were stoned by the populace through the small trap-doors of the truck, one or two of the men being severely hurt.