PRISONER IN GERMANY.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 62, 13 March 1919, Page 5

PRISONER IN GERMANY.

FLYING MAN'S EXPEHIENCE. TREATMENT BETTER THAN FOOD. After sen-ing a term as prisoner ot war in Germany, Lieutenant A. Lindsay, of the Australian Flying Corps, is returning home by the Niagara. Relating his experiences to a "Star" reporter this morning, Mr. Lindsay said that throughout hie period of internment he was treated fairly well, except in the matter of food, which was of very bad quality, and served out in exceedingly small allowances. Once away from the front line, he was subjected to little actual hostility of an open sort. Mr. Lindsay was captured on March 2G, near Roye, and was taken to Nesle, and afterwards to Ham and St. Quentin. For several days he was given no food or water by the German officials, but managed to obtain enough to subsist upon from German soldiers and from civilian inhabitants. At St. Quentin the rations consisted of one-sixth of a loat of bread and a plate of soup per day. He was next taken to Origne and L,aundreees, and during a march of 170 kilometres he was given only two meals ol a very poor sort. Small portions ot bread, soup, and coffee made from burnt barley made up the list of rations. He was taken to Karlsruhe, where the rations were somewhat better, being; supplemented by supplies from the British Red Cross, and then to Landshut j in Bavaria, where the prisoners were allowed to buy food from a restaurant for four marks per day. He remained here for five weeks, and was then shifted to Graudnz, in West Prussia, where -for four weeks the only food given the prisoners consisted of a loat of bread per week and three plates ot soup per day. At the end of four weeks parrels began to arrive from England, and the prisoners were better off, few ol the parcels being tampered with.

-Sixteen of the prisoners, including Mr. Lindsay, escaped from the camp en September 7, by constructing a tunnel thirty-eight feet long. To do this they had to burrow through a brick wall three feet thick, and the only tools used were a table knife and a piece of iron. With the exception of a Canadian and himself all the escapees were captured soon after. Mr. Lindsay and his companion succeeded in getting about 200 miles away from the up rap. They were cauiiht early one Sunday morning, a civilian informing a stationmaster, who arrested them. The only other persona they encountered during their period of freedom were some Russian prisoners, who supplied them with cucumbers, apples, and water. When they returned to camp they were sentenced to twelve days' solitary confinement.

Tivo other attempts were made to| escape, but the first of these was dis- j covered, and the second was about to be carried out when the armistice was signed. The authorities were very anxious to obtain possession of a number of compasses that were in the possession of the prisoners, and for this purpose obtained the services of detectives from Berlin. One of these in-! dividual*, Mr. Lindeay says, had a very impressive professional manner. He entered the room, and prior to commencing hie search, took off his coat and rolled up his shirt sleeves after removing the cuff-links. A couple of minutes after he had completed this preliminary operation he discovered that his gold; sleeve-links had been stolen. He did not: recover the links, and out of 100 compasses in the camp, only one was discovered. •Mr. Lindsay was released from internment when the armistice was signed.