Deeds of heroism and bravery : $b The book of heroes and personal daring
History
Deeds of heroism and bravery : $b The book of heroes and personal daring
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
“We finally began to rumble across the desert in a very slow train,
and I decided to drop off at the first convenient way-station and cut
across lots for Jaffa. We were quite near Constantinople before an
opportunity came, and then, at the psychological moment, there was a
very opportune train wreck, and I walked away and hid in among some
rocks.
“When night came I met a Turkish officer dressed in a German uniform,
and then worked the popular game of bakshish, which is really the
national game of Turkey.
“I gave the officer a couple of Turkish pounds and he peeled the
uniform. He put on mine and I have no doubt he was duly captured by the
guards. I went to Constantinople and was saluted very regularly by
Turkish and German soldiers. It took a lot of dodging to keep clear of
the Germans in Constantinople, but I managed to get along, having a lot
of fun sometimes in the cafés, listening to the gossip and plotting.
A STOWAWAY ON A “HELL SHIP”
“It appeared at that time that Turkey had been ready for quite a while
to sign a separate peace, but the Allies couldn’t get the idea. My
greatest desire was to get out of Constantinople, and I finally stowed
away on a little rusty cargo-steamer bound for Odessa. We were rolling
around the Black Sea one day when the crew were seized with Bolshevism
and went on strike.
“It was great on that ship with the engines dead. We rolled and rolled
for days on end. I had bought a Russian sailor’s uniform by that time
and so could go about without fear of capture. The main thing was
to get a crust of bread and cup of water. It was a hell ship and no
mistake, with the sun beating down all day and the officers and crew in
continual fights.
“Finally they patched up a truce and we made Odessa, the trip taking
almost three weeks. It was bad in Odessa and when we heard that
Bulgaria had made a separate peace I decided to make a try for the
Bulgarian coast. I stowed away aboard another cargo steamship and
finally reached Bulgaria and my British countrymen.”
A DARING PURSUIT
In An Ordinary Plane Aviator Bone Chased a German Sea-Plane Over Sea
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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