IN A PRISON CAMP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 13 February 1942, Page 4

IN A PRISON CAMP

NELSON AIRMAN’S LETTER MAIL DAY AND PARCEL DAY ARE GREAT OCCASIONS The great day has arrived. What a thrill! My first mail yesterday (after ten months’ imprisonment), comments Pilot Officer 11. M. Kimber-j ley, who was captured on the Rangi- | time in November, 1940, in a letter* to his parents written in October 1 from Stalag VIII B, Germany, the camp which sent a Christmas card to the King. Your letter of 14th July and photograph. Grand to get some news. All going well here. Rather a nice autumn spell of sunshine. Could you send me toothbrush, nail-brush for washing clothes, etc., and boot brushes? Also tooth powder. Expect I suppose by now you have received some of my mail. Mail from your end arrives all out of order. Nodoubt the same occurs at your end. One letter arrived here the other day I written on Bth September, On the 1 other hand another arrived forwarded j from New Zealand House which was: 1 written before we left New Zealand \ (November, 1940). PLENTY OF MUSIC The season for football is just' coming on here. The autumn spell 1 was lovely and fine and quite mild,' | but to-day it is blowing an icy gale! ; .and sleet is falling. Have been issued with army greatcoats which supple- | ment our blanket at night. A lot of ; New Zealanders about the camp now ( ! although we get little chance to mix j and see who’s who. In our R.A.F. 1 compound we are getting regular re-' : citals by the dance band, military j band and orchestra, all of which are j amazingly good. To give you some I j idea of size: the other day the military band contained nine clarinets, I one flute and piccolo, four trumpets, two french horns, two saxophones, ; one euphonium, two trombones, basj soon and two double bases with I drums, etc., and believe me they can j play, all experienced players, though (of course young. Same applies to . dance band and orchestra. We have 'formed a choir in R.A.F., singing at jour church services, etc., and am singing in the bass. Also hear snatches from a choir Tcensored] across the ! wire. They sing wonderfully. So we | are not musically starved. 1 Life still goes on. This week have ! received information from the Inter--1 national Students’ Relief, and hope [ to get some Mathematics bonks and | try and sit for a diploma under a j scheme instituted by some Oxford Dons. It will give me something more i definite to do. the northern lights Winter is drawing nearer. On Fri- | day night we had our first fall of I snow. Not much, and it had melted j away by evening. The fir trees looked I just as you see them in pictures with snow settled on them. Rather beaui tiful. Snowed a little again last night i and now the ground is rather slushy, i The other night saw my first Aurora ! Borealis, a faint deep-red glow in j the northern sky. , Last Thursday came a Godsend. ! Received a personal clothing parcel : from a New Zealand organisation ! in England. In it were shirts, one I undershirt and pants, towel. 1 pair ! of pyjamas, some soap, shaving gear, etc. Also Hlb of chocolate which is lovely. Chocolate is a good food here. The parcel just arrived at the right time. Quite a number of us have had parcels from England now, all the same, and very useful. Lots of Rusj sians apparently coming in. Our compound has been halved, and ln- ! dians put in the other half to make way for them. As 1 write an old gramophone here is grinding out some ! tunes. Have got some good classical records too, swapped from compound to compound. Have some quite nice 1 evenings listening.