POW diaries - Captain Percival Lowe, item 171
Transcription
Transcription history
-
84.
The German method of cleaning a room is as follows. Sprinkle
the floor with water to lay the dust, then run over with a
hard brush. This is the only cleaning I have ever seen done.
except the during Room at Clausthal which was washed
out once a week- (Constance hospital certainly was not)
Also of course when we had an English sleeping room, our
orderlies kept it out & cleaned when ordered.
But to continue. The Baron was accompanied by the camp
commandant an ancient major with more or less gentlemanly
instincts. No tins of food stuff were allowed to leave
Germany; this we knew from previous searches - I had brought
a fair amount with me- but all the decent food such
as hams. jam cocoa ^[insert] etc [/insert] had been looted out of my box
on the journey to Constance. I had a few tins left
then I carefully punctured. The Baron said I could send
them back to a camp- and I sent about 2lbs of tea
saying the few tins they could do what they liked with. I
hope they may poison a German a two.
This talking of food is most illogical, as a percentage of
parcels which were forwarded to Clausthal after I left,
were sent on by the Germans unopened to Switzerland.
However I lost all my food, all my soap, every scrap
of paper with writting on it. That is to say all the
careful notes I had made in French when I tried to study
the language . My shorthand notes- all financial &
private notes- My tennis balls were taken there the
Baron said could be sent back to a camp. My whistle
which I had been permitted to keep so far was taken
"as spoil of the German army".
A great many of my drawings were also removed. I do
-
84.
The German method of cleaning a room is as follows. Sprinkle
the floor with water to lay the dust, then run over with a
hard brush. This is the only cleaning I have ever seen done.
except the during Room at Clausthal which was washed
out once a week- (Constance hospital certainly was not)
Also of course when we had an English sleeping room, our
orderlies kept it out & cleaned when ordered.
But to continue. The Baron was accompanied by the camp
commandant an ancient major with more or less gentlemanly
instincts. No tins of food stuff were allowed to leave
Germany; this we knew from previous searches - I had brought
a fair amount with me- but all the decent food such
as hams. jam cocoa ^[insert] etc [/insert] had been looted out of my box
on the journey to Constance. I had a few tins left
then I carefully punctured. The Baron said I could send
them back to a camp- and I sent about 2lbs of tea
saying the few tins they could do what they liked with. I
hope they may poison a German a two.
This talking of food is most illogical, as a percentage of
parcels which were forwarded to Clausthal after I left,
were sent on by the Germans unopened to Switzerland.
-
84.
The German method of cleaning a room is as follows. Sprinkle
the floor with water to lay the dust, then run over with a
hard brush. This is the only cleaning I have ever seen done.
except the during Room at Clausthal which was washed
out once a week- (Constance hospital certainly was not)
Also of course when we had an English sleeping room, our
orderlies kept it out & cleaned when ordered.
But to continue. The Baron was accompanied by the camp
commandant an ancient major with more or less gentlemanly
instincts. No tins of food stuff were allowed to leave
Germany; this we knew from previous searches - I had brought
a fair amount with me- but all the decent food such
as hams. jam cocoa ^[insert] etc [/insert] had been looted out of my box
on the journey to Constance. I had a few tins left
then I carefully punctured. The Baron said I could send
them back to a camp- and I sent about 2lbs of tea
saying the few tins they could do what they liked with. I
-
84.
The German method of cleaning a room is as follows. Sprinkle
the floor with water to lay the dust, then run over with a
hard brush. This is the only cleaning I have ever seen done.
except the during Room at Clausthal which was washed
out once a week- (Constance hospital certainly was not)
Also of course when we had an English sleeping room, our
orderlies kept it out & cleaned when ordered.
But to continue. The Baron was accompanied by the camp
commandant an ancient major with more or less gentlemanly
instincts. No tins of food stuff were allowed to leave
Germany; this we knew from previous searches - I had brought
a fair amount with me- but all the decent food such
as hams. jam cocoa ^[insert] etc [/insert] had been looted out of my box
-
84.
The German method of cleaning a room is as follows. Sprinkle
the floor with water to lay the dust, then run over with a
hard brush. This is the only cleaning I have ever seen done.
except the during Room at Clausthal which was washed
out once a week- (Constance hospital certainly was not)
Also of course when we had an English sleeping room, our
orderlies kept it out & cleaned when ordered.
But to continue. The Baron was accompanied by the camp
commandant an ancient major with more or less gentlemanly
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- ID
- 3963 / 243480
- Contributor
- Toby Backhouse
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