sswein_ soon bought up.
The Germans put an illuminated Christmas tree in the dining-hall, but
unfortunately counteracted their display of good feeling by decorating
the large portraits of the Kaiser and Hindenburg, who stared down at
us from the walls and quite spoilt our already nasty food. On New
Year's Night we collected on the stairs, and joining hands with a few
French and Russians, sang "Auld Lang Syne," and scampered back to bed
before the wily Huns appeared on the scene.

One day when drawing our parcels we received some little cardboard
packets of compressed dates as usual, but this time a small white
strip of paper was pasted on the outside of each bearing the words,
"Produce of Mesopotamia under British occupation." This must have been
pleasant reading for the Huns. At last, one morning we were informed
that in three days' time we were to proceed to an "All British" camp
at Clausthal. Before our departure our Allies gave two farewell
concerts in our honour, which were a great success, for when we left
they knew that they were losing most of the "life" of the camp.

Living on our floor with a room to himself was a French captain of
extremely doubtful character; he was a heavily built, bearded man of
middle age whom nobody liked. I was told that in civil life he was a
professional agitator! Now he confined his energies to making trouble
between the different nationalities. He was always hanging about where
he wasn't wanted, poking his nose into other people's business, and
what was even more suspicious, he appeared to be on the best of terms
with the Germans. He wore a long row of medals, which were inclined to
change from day to day. Some senior French officers inquired if he had
the right to wear them, but he refused to recognise their authority.
Some Britishers had also been caught in a mysterious way just before
attempting to escape. The last night before our departure we thought
we would at least show him that he was not popular. Over a dozen of us
burst into his room, armed to the teeth, and holding him on to his bed
covered him from head to foot with treacle, jam, coffee grounds, ashes
and water, at the same time doing him no bodily injury. I expect he
thought his plight more serious than it really was, for the whole
place echoed with his shouts for help. Unfortunately for him the
French on the floor above, being greatly pleased at the proceedings,
only turned over and went to sleep again. When, after a