I did not hear of many complaints of parcels being undelivered, though in some cases parcels were missed. But so far as I could ascertain they were not withheld in any deliberate or systematic manner; and when one comes to consider the enormous number handled and the probability of parcels getting lost through insecure packing, the number of complaints I heard of seemed comparatively insignificant. The Russian prisoners seemed to be the least provided for, and parcels for them were very rare. They lived or rather starved on the German rations; and when men have to work or remain in the open air all day such a ration was a form of torture. When the watery liquid of potato water called soup was issued from the kitchens fatigue parties were paraded to draw the issue for each mess. The British prisoners were not altogether dependent on this ration, and would let the Russian prisoners carry the dixy for them, and in return they would be given a cup of soup by the British Tommies. So hungry were the Russians for this little "extra" that hundreds of them would wait for hours in the cold on the off-chance of a few getting the job. One cannot speak with these British Tommies and hear of their hardships without feeling a profound admiration for their indomitable spirit. You can take a British soldier prisoner, send him far from the protection of his country, but he is British wherever he goes and his courage and resourcefulness cannot be broken. Whenever I met a man who had been a prisoner since the beginning of the war, I made a point of getting his story to ascertain the truth about the barbarities I had read of. There was no mistaking these men. I could not see them but I seemed instinctively to recognise, and whether it was my imagination or not I cannot tell; but their manner seemed distinctive and they spoke like men who had suffered much and were harbouring a just grievance, and lived for the day when they would revenge themselves. As one man put it to me: "If we ever see a German in England when we get back we will kill him." These men were taken at Mons; captured, most of them, by sacrificing themselves in rear-guard fighting to save the main British army. These men have been in captivity for two and a half years. Just think of it! But do we think of it enough, or have we forgotten it? The British Tommy has an individuality which is not always understood. Ask him in an official way to give evidence of his treatment, and he will sit tight and say not a word. Take out your note-book to write down his evidence and he can think of nothing, but all the same he knows a lot.