BRITISH NEWS.

Mataura Ensign, 25 February 1918, Page 5

BRITISH NEWS.

THRILLING ESCAPE. FROM GERMAN PRISON CAMP. Received February 25, 1.30 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 24. The South Australians, W. Choate and J. W. Potts, of the 63rd Battalion, who recently escaped from Ger-: many, belonged to a working party of 40 prisoners near Dusseldorf. It included seven overseas prisoners, six of whom attempted to escape. Five sue- . ceeded, and one'has since been repatriated. Choate copied a fellow-pris-oner’s rough map from Dusseldorf; Ito \ the frontier, showing the towns, rail- ‘ . ways and waterways. He studied the stars nightly for two months by the aid of a stellar map, which he picked up, for guidance in night travelling to the frontier,. The six escaped simultaneously in September, climbing down ■ a lightning rod at the prison. They • divided into two parties and slept ,ip „ the woods in the daytime. Choate’s party was awakened one afternoon by ; a gunshot and falling leaves and saw S, a sportsman who missed a, bird overhead. The bird, if - shot, would havefallen into their hiding-place, resulting, in discovery. The party suffered severely from thirst, the brooks being jdry, it being the end of summer. They were captured the third night within a mile of the. frontier, where they _Van into the arms of a sentry, who said.ho had been awaiting them. ; Civilians surrounding the party necessitated the; abandonment of the idea <ff overpowering the sentry. The other party crossed.! . the frontier safely. Choate Pitts made a second attempt during December. They got through an eight-inch aperture of a barbed window of the prison and climbed d6wn 40 feet by the aid of a rope which had been secreted. They saw the married prison sentry - making love to a girl. The sentry, desiring not to be observed, turned his face away on hearing footsteps. Choate in passing brushed the sentry’s arm. The escapees followed the same route as on the previous attempt; They hid in a roadside ditch for three hours on the second night, awaiting the end of ; a soldier’s prolonged good night to his Sweetheart. It rained almost incessantly during the three days they were escaping. They became aware that, they were nearing the frontier on the third night owing to the distant barking of dogs in Poland. There are no dogs in Germany, all being eaten or 1 killed off owing to the food shortage. They crossed the frontier at daybreak while it was raining heavily so that the sentries were unable to see more than a few yards.