PRISON LIFE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 221, 18 September 1942, Page 4

PRISON LIFE

N.Z. MEN IN ITALY INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS (0.C.) WELLINGTON, this day. "I hope that I may by what I am about to tell you do something to allay your fears regarding the treatment that your relatives are raceiving," said Lieutenant-Colonel A. Tennent when addressing a gathering of relatives of men who are prisoners of war in Italy. Colonel Tennent was one of the New Zealanders recently repatriated from Italy. In describing the battle of Sidi Rezegh when he and so many other New Zealanders had the misfortune to be taken prisoners, Colonel Tennent paid a tribute to Brigadier G. H. Clifton, who was recently reported missing. There were about 300 men in Camp 75, the transit camp in Italy to which Colonel Tennent and his fellow prisoners were finally transported. Here they lived in draughty wooden shelters. Snow was thic' - on the ground and they had no heaters. A well-disposed little Italian general had visited the camp and had asked them if there was anything in particular that they required, to which they had promptly replied. "Yes— heaters." In due course a stove was installed in each hut, but as the men were never given any fuel to put in the stoves they were quite useless. In other ways, however, the prisoners were treated finite well by their guards. In the matter of food and clothing the international convenron was something of a double-edged sword, said the speaker. Actually the men did rather better than the officers in this respect, as the officers were expected to pay for their rations and clothing out of the allowance made to them by the authorities, and this allowance, which was in the form of a credit, was quite inadequate. whereas the men were provided with uniforms, boots, etc., a? required, and those doing work of any sort received extra rations of food. Colonel Tennent said it did not seem fair that officers who were prisoners of war should have the cost of their keep deducted from their pay, as this did not happen when they were in the army. This had been pointed out to the New Zealand Government, and it had agreed in principle to pay a certain amount towards the cost of rations. He went on to describe the method of transit of the parcels of food and clothing sent to prisoners of war and gave it as his opinion that the chances of the parcels being pilfered were small. After being thanked for his address by Mr. Justice Callan, whose own son is a prisoner of war in . Italy, Colonel Tennent talked with many of the visitors.