One of the officers, a lieutenant, was in the sailors' foot regiment the first time the Germans entered Antwerp, and told of the civil populace throwing large rocks, flat irons and cooking utensils down on the soldiers' heads while they were marching into the town, and spoke as if this was a grave breach of the Marquis of Queensbury's rules as to how to conduct a war. After many of the brave Teuton soldiers had been wounded in this undignified and unwarlike manner, they withdrew and the artillery bombardment followed. From other sources I have heard that this regiment marched up the street taking pot shots at anybody, male or female, who happened to look out of a window or door. I judged from this man's conversation that this sailor regiment shipped to stop bullets and not flat irons and other nameless weapons.
One afternoon I asked Commander Nerger for permission to talk to some of the men, saying it was not healthy for a man to sit around all day and not say a word to anybody. This he granted, so after that I could hold short conversations with a good many members of the crew, and in a short time had practically the run of the ship. It was absolutely forbidden, however, for me to talk to any of the other prisoners who had been on board the Wolf for a long time and knew of its various mine-laying activities.
Our meals were served in our cabin, on dishes taken from the Beluga; in fact, for the first month a good deal of our food was Beluga's food. Little delicacies that I had bought for our own use, such as potted meats, jellies, crackers and a case of wine, were reserved for our own use by the purser of the Wolf at Commander Nerger's suggestion. One of the most valuable foods to us, taken from the Beluga and reserved for our use, was four cases of canned milk of the liquid variety, which proved very beneficial to the wife during her sickness, and also was greatly appreciated by Nita. The doctor, thinking probably that the black bread would prove too strong for Nita's stomach, endeavoured to have the ship's baker make a small quantity of white bread for her, but unfortunately the baker could not make a success of the wheat bread and the effort was given up. As far as I could see, this black bread, while being far from palatable, was very wholesome and nourishing.
I should like to state here that my family and myself were treated with the utmost courtesy and consideration by the Commander himself and his officers while we were prisoners. I am not speaking for the poor devils down below aft, nor of our treatment while under the charge of Lieutenant Rose on the Jap prize ship Hitachi Maru, or later on the Spanish prize Igotz Mendi, which was decidedly different.
On the Wolf our meals were regular and methodically worked out, so that at the end of each day a person had received just so much rationed nourishment. Myself and family received the same food as that served in the Officers' mess. Our breakfast usually consisted of "near" coffee, syrup or treacle and three slices of black bread. I have seen the cook's department roasting this alleged "coffee," and believe it to be nothing more nor less than wheat roasted until it is scorched or burnt, the larger kernels being saved for this purpose. Some years ago I was on a sailing vessel and the supply of coffee gave out. The cook used to take burnt bread and make a substitute for coffee from it that was identical in taste with this coffee on the Wolf.
Dinner at midday consisted of a soup, a meat-ball composed of canned beef ground fine and mixed with bread crumbs, plenty of preserved peas and carrots. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we had a dessert, usually stewed prunes or a corn-starch mixture. For supper we had tea, bread, and sardine paste, or pickled, cold corned beef. Quite often rice in various disguises was given instead of the "bully beef" at noon. But on Sunday—oh, joy!! A regular, honest-to-Grandma dinner, consisting of asparagus soup, real fresh meat from the refrigerator, evaporated potatoes, a vegetable, prunes and a sweet. This for a regular menu, day in and day out, doesn't look very good, but considering that we were prisoners I don't believe we had any cause to complain. The food we received was the same as that which the Commander and deck officers had, and superior to that of the warrant officers and seamen.
SHOWING "MANNLICHER" TYPE TORPEDO TUBE, PORTSIDE FORWARD ON "WOLF".
