Soldier Record

My father was a regular soldier, a sergeant, and was captured very near the beginning of the war at Mons. He said that they were never given the order to retreat. He continued to serve his country as best he could by setting up a spy network in the prison camps. He and his father who was a minister worked out a code so that any information gleaned could be sent back to the UK. His father sent messages back to the men in the camps in cocoa tins in the food parcels. My father was nearly caught on at least 2 occasions. I have a copy of his account of his exploits. He ends it by saying that he did not know whether it did any good but it helped to pass this most miserable time. Towards the end of the war he was repatriated to Holland and my grandfather was asked by the War Office to go and speak to the men who had been repatriated with him. I have copies of their accounts which were written down as the men spoke, mostly Gordon Highlanders but some other regiments as well. They give a fascinating account of conditions in the prison camps, what was needed to escape, etc, and some tell of the sheer brutality while others are more humorous.