GERMAN BRIDES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 8 December 1925, Page 2

GERMAN BRIDES.

AND SCOTS GROOMS. ROMANCES NEARLY ALL FAILURES. That in the majority of cases the marriages contracted between Scottish soldiers and German women have proved failures is an interesting fact revealed by Inspector Campbell, of the British Women's Auxiliary Service, an Edinburgh lady, who has been in charge of the Women's Force of Constabulary sent to Cologne on the invitation of the British Army Council to do patrol work in the area on the. Rhine occupied bv our troops. Inspector Campbell has- had two years’ experience, of police work in Cologne, and lias just returned with the force of women police whom she commanded there, after having witnessed the establishment of a similar body of German women for the training of whom she was responsible. “The nature of our work brought, us into the closest contact with British soldiers and their German wives,’’ she said, “and there were few cases of such marriages in which our assistance and ■ advice were not invited. Sometimes it . was the soldier who asked us to inter- j vene on his behalf: at other times it was the fraulein whom he married. ••'Our time was mainly occupied in doing patrol work, but he also had . a great number of matrimonial enquiries To deal with. If we were convinced that nothing but happiness was likely to result from the friendship which a British soldier had formed with a German girl we did nothing to impede maitiafre°apart from impressing bn both parties that, while their wedded existence might be happy enough in Coloerne, a different tale might have to be told when the soldier was required to evacuate that area. Naturally, wc did not interfere in such cases until we were invited to do so, or the cireumsftancca were such that a little enlightenment was necessary for one or other of the. parties. “How many hours of my tune were spent ,in acting as a kind of Cupid s messenger it would be difficult for me to siy Often soldiers would biing tersto mo which they had received from German sweethearts, and ask m© to translate them, and at -other times - should be visited for a similar purpose by n young fraulein.

“But I can say from mv experience of such mint tors that in the ot cases AVliei'C marriages were contractc/l between, say, young Scottish soldiers and German women, they have proven anvthing but ideal number of instances the' men have, known little or nothing about their wives. “Several new cases came under mv notice of German women who, having married Scottish soldiers, had gone to | Scotland to reside with their husbands, hut, because of the antipathy shown to .them, had been obliged to return to their parents. They were unwanted i» Scotland- or any other part of Britain. ! and the Germans themselves had no sympathy with them. I never heard on a ease in which the German wife, of such a union was subjected to any Indignity or insulted in any way, but generally they were made to feel that they were not wanted 'by people who had lost husbands, sons and brothers in the war. Of course, that same thing would have manifested itself in Germany in similar circumstances if the boot had been on the other foot. “Of late there have not been so many unions between Scottish soldiers and German girls, for the simple reason that with the stabilisation of the mark, German girls have not had the same incentive to marry. "When the British troops first took up residence in Cologne they found themselves so much richer than the rest of the inhabitants that they were a decided catch matrimonially. One of the most interesting 'experiences which befell Inspector Campbell in the course of her social work in Cologne was a meeting with a German (adventuress, who spoke with the 'blondest of Scottish accents. This young 'lady was encountered late one night without an identity card without which ao one could be abroad in Cologne at;,.v a certain hour, and when as?kc--l for this, she replied: “I've left it at iiame.'" Continuing to affect the Scottish accent when asKed about herself, she silted that she belonged to Scotland, and was resident with her aunt in Cologne. “As we were not satisfied with her .eplies,’’ Inspector Campbell said, “wo decided to accompany her home. She readily acquiesced, and proceeded to conduct us there. But she took us a very long way round, so that by the tinio we reached her home not only were we leg-weary, but we had lost oui last tram back. “Being a very garrulous type of person she conversed freely, using the Scottish accent so well that we comd tuive sworn that, she was a native. ‘Where do you live in Scotland?’ I ahKed. ‘I come fra.© Falkirk,’ she replied. She added that she was one of seventeen children “When eventually wo reached her koine she. asked! us if we would remain outside. We did so, and as the minutes began to roll on without her returning, wc became suspicions, aiul made enquiries. Apparently the girl liad entered the front door of her home and made her way out at the back “We had consequently to abandon our enquiries that night, but the following morning another officer was detailed to intake investigations about her, and discovered that she was a real adventuress. It seemed that she had picked up her Scottish accent from soldiers, of whose company site was obviously very fond, and It ad actually visited one of them in Falkirk. Mot only was it the accent that made us think she was Scottish, but her story vas told- as if it had come from a

.Scottish mind. This lady eluded us to tho very eud. " Inspector Campbell said that the unit which, she represented in Cologne was first of all invited to stay there for six months bv the British Army Council, but tho work which they did l was so valuable that their stay was prolonged for two years. She is convinced that when the British occupation ‘of tiie Rhine ceases there will be universal regret- on the part of the Germans, who have nothing hut the warmest praise to bestow for the manner in which they have borne themselves in fulfilling their difficult task.