Times Change For Prisoners of War

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 169, 19 July 1941, Page 11

Times Change For Prisoners of War

p G. WODEHOUSE writing a " novel in a padded cell at an Upper Silesian prison camp—that is the curious picture provided by > news item. Overtaken and captured during the German advance on Le Touquet, the creator of Jeeves is stilly cheerful, it seems, and i s now president of the prison-camp library.

By G. B. Wood

His case, like that of every man mentioned in those lists of prisoners occasionally circulated by Britain and Germany, brings into the limelight a problem that has always conronted military authorities when their respective nations are at war. How should prisoners of war be treated? To what kind of work should they be put?

mioliKi ne time was considered perron?/, and ex Pechent to kill such hJy n ' esfi an exchange could u the opposing forces. p"? r J° the Great War, however, the Prisoners had been a mum, feature of warfare for alirvwo,* ears - . Thc Mosaic law hnnc.fi? a " clent Hebrews to select takln • r. s ' aves from prisoners natPo v, m i but these unfortuWere Jii f ri /? hts and Privileges that enartm . y safe g<-iarded bv legal enactments and by tradition. Nonet At Heirs

toarrv coul(1 ' for example, evon iJu - , e . master's family and alwav'l « ent • property, and was in tVwf Permitted to leave his work sharp in e lu S 2 r tlie house so as to a Dart in Sabbath rest and take parUn the great festivals. cenfvo^t 8 ? aßue Conventions of recinipq'A"s have codified certain principles this matter—prininternatWini *1 now recognised as humane ♦ t • P rnv jtle for the nan's rotl rG ? Prisoners, a 'oneine* r? n of Personal bettilftarv ni ? 1 arms, horses and beneHK-^?i?f rs !' nd —amongst other certain til i t0 payment for ork that might be during v • e enemy country T. Period of captivity. PrisonerWfe l^ 31 asr ! ect l of a war " Wlv Htfii .x as received comparaatte ntion, yet it is full of

Great iVJftanding product of the which h-J " ls - ttlo splendid road Ferrv' iL cuttln £ oul " Hallachulish r ®ach'nf iri r '?iTT. < - > ' san ' ntn quicker badly needed V f lliam ' Thc road was Part of Loph't on circles the larger some of thi fi Ven ' careers through Western Hi . ? nest scenery in the ky - an • and was made . ue rman prisoners. n wol OWn convkt Prison at Bc commnH=,y S er ected in 1808 to Prisoners I? rencll and American Which i= war, a circumstance tiver the I, e( ' t() in the motto quished " T^ vay —"Spare the Vanfctually' hniu i P ris!,n church was tythe'"vin! ' n , leisure hours OWr was u • (>ast winprovided by the United

States Society of Daughters in 1812, and the' Stars and Stripes hang in the building as a sharp reminder to those men of the New World who first worked and worshipped here.

In order to see the handiwork of their forbears, American visitors often include Princetown in their pilgrimage to England.

The most productive of all wars— in the prisoners' quarters—was probably that perilous set of engagements between this country and France when Napoleon was rampaging through Europe. Among the thousands of French captives secured, there were innumerable craftsmen of many kinds and. once established in prison camp, they quickly turned their skill to account. Their share in the building of the Princetown prison church has already been mentioned, but the chief depot for the French prisoners-of-war was at Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. Specially erected for their internment, the prison was demolished soon after their release nearly two decades later. But those long, dark years, 1796-1814, made Norman Cross into a hive of amazing industry. Prisoners' Hobby Straw marquetry was the speciality of many prisoners. Tea-caddies, fire-screens, snuff-boxes, desks, workboxes, cabinets, were favourite subjects, and the variety of design was enhanced bv rich colourings whose origin puzzled the prison guards for a long time. At first it was thought that the men used their tea as dyes, but probably these—along with the tools and other requisites—were brought from outside.

Such communication was quite regular, for the Frenchmen were allowed to set up shops within the prison, and visitors flocked to them to buy the beautiful articles either for actual use or as souvenirs. Frequently these visitors would place

orders for special articles and would occasionally supply some of the material and the dyes.

Pictures in straw marquetry were frequently produced, some of the scenes depicted being French, others English. A fine view of Peterborough Cathedral survives. Executed by Corporal Jean de la Porte, who fought against the British at Trafalgar, it exhibits admirable attention to, detail, and this suggests that parole was granted him for the purpose of sketching the cathedral, which was a mile or so distant. Bones /4s Material Bone was another popular medium with the "Frenchies." Salvaging the bones from their dinners and augmenting the supply by rummaging about in the prison cook-house, they worked these into the most astonishing articles. Domino sets and cribbage boxes—often decorated with pictures of French soldiers or with l'ural scenes of the homeland; chessmen, watch-stands, apple scoops; these indicate the range of the prisoners' bone-work.

More ambitious subjects included a model stage complete with actors; beautiful ship models; a replica—2s inches high—of the guillotine, with all its ghastly company of soldiers, executioner and victim; and a great variety of working models, such as spinning jennies and knife-grinding machines.

The guards, it -is recorded, looked upon all this industry with a kindly interest, and occasionally offered help and encouragement.

Some of the prisoners worked in wood, horn, and even paper, fashioning articles that were readily sold to the public. The money earned breach man was either hoarded in his cell or'banked with the prison-agent until the great day of release should be announced.

Many of the purchases were handed down as heirlooms, and eventually given to the Peterborough Museum, where they can still be seen. A few articles found their way to Hull Central Museum, but the article with the happiest memories is preserved in a Paris museum. It is a large model of Norman Cross prison peopled with figures representing prison guards and French prisoners joining in their acclamation of the newly-signed Treaty of Paris.