sh prisoners
and others would certainly have given way and have gone under. But his
infectious good spirits, his abundance of jokes, his inexhaustible
fount of humour, and his readiness to exchange reminiscences effectively
dispelled our gloom and relieved us from brooding over the misery of our
position.

Although the medical officer was charged with the express duty of
keeping the camp healthy and sanitary, unfortunately Dr. Ascher was not
an autocrat in his department. His powers were limited, and he was for
the most part completely subservient to military decrees. Time after
time he protested energetically and determinedly upon the quantity and
quality of the food which was served out to us, and struggled valiantly
to secure more nourishing diet for invalid prisoners than the cuisine of
the camp afforded. But his labour was always in vain; the food which he
laid down as being essential could not be obtained, or else Major Bach
firmly refused to move a finger to get it. As the Commandant's position
was paramount, and nothing could be done without his authority, Dr.
Ascher was denied a court of appeal. At times there were some spirited
breezes between Major Bach and the medical representative, but the
former invariably had the last word. On one occasion, to which I refer
later, Dr. Ascher tackled the Commandant so fiercely upon the sanitary
arrangements of the camp, and was so persistent and insistent upon the
fulfilment of the orders he expressed, as to compel the inexorable
superior to relent.

When a man fell ill and became too weak to perform an exacting task to
which he had been deputed by the tyrant, Dr. Ascher did not fail to
intervene. He could not be deceived as to the true state of a sick man's
health and his physical incapacity. Thereupon he would issue what was
described as a "pass," which excused the man completely from the heavy
work in hand in favour of some lighter duty. The doctor's "pass" was
safe against the Commandant's savagery; even he, with his military
authority, dared not over-ride the doctor's decision. However, the
British prisoners were not disposed to trade upon the doctor's good
nature. They would refuse a "pass" until necessity compelled unequivocal
submission.

Dr. Ascher was also an effective buffer between a prisoner and any
soldier who was disposed to assume an unwarrantably tyrannical attitude.
If he detected any brow-beating which was undeserved he never hesitated
to bring the