er and only wished to go
to the neighbouring building. Whereupon he repeated his words in a
still more offensive tone, and brought his rifle to the ready. (Even a
German sentry is supposed to be reasonably polite when addressing an
officer prisoner for the first time, but this man was purposely rude.)
I replied that if he addressed me as a British officer and not as a
dog I should obey him at once, otherwise I should remain where I was.
After a few more unintelligible threats he advanced, brandishing his
weapon, at which I turned sideways to call to a German N.C.O. and
protest against such treatment. The kindly sentry aimed a smashing
blow at my left foot, which I was luckily able to partially deflect by
a slight movement of my knee. Things were certainly quite disturbing,
for the next instant he stuck the bayonet almost through my right
thigh. The proceeding was not particularly pleasant, feeling very like
a sharp burn, but I was almost too surprised to realise fully what had
happened, so consequently remained standing where I was. Vaguely I
realised that the sentry had withdrawn his bayonet for another thrust,
this time evidently intended to enter my body. Glancing down I saw
that my trouser leg was saturated and streaming with blood, which was
even welling out of my shoe on to the ground, showing that an artery
had been severed. Not being particularly partial to bayonet thrusts, I
decided that I could now abandon my argument without loss of prestige.
I succeeded in hobbling a few yards to the rear, at the same time
holding the artery above the wound in an endeavour to check the flow
of blood. This, however, did not prove very successful, the sand
continuing to turn red behind me. Just as I was in the act of falling,
a number of our fellows, seeing what had happened, rushed up and
carried me hastily into the camp hospital, where a tourniquet was
applied and the doctor sent for. The time was then a quarter-past
three, and the doctor did not arrive till after seven o'clock. I
rather fancy if an accident of that sort had occurred in an English
prison camp containing over four hundred German officers, it would not
be necessary to wait almost four hours before the arrival of a
qualified doctor.

At the best of times a very tight tourniquet is distinctly
uncomfortable. The medical orderly thinking that I should lose
consciousness and seeing the commandant enter the room, explained the
circumstances and asked if he might gi