FourFifty Miles to Freedom 8
Although attempts were made to play football, no suitable ground
existed in or near Yozgad, and four-a-side hockey became the form
of recreation which for the majority in the camp provided the best
means of combining pleasure and hard exercise. Hockey was available
at any time of day, as the ground was within the precincts of the
camp, being in fact the lowest of a series of terraces in one of the
gardens belonging to our houses. It was a bare plot, with a hard but
dusty surface, and surrounded on three sides by stone walls: the area
available for play was, perhaps, the length of a cricket pitch and
about ten yards across, so that there was not room for more than a
total of eight players.
[Illustration:
_From a sketch by Capt. E. B. Burns, E. Kent Regt._
COUNTRY KNOWN TO THE LOCAL HUNT CLUB AS "HADES."]
The equipment consisted of a soft leather ball, and for each combatant
a stick made from selected pieces of firewood, shaped according to
fancy, subject to the finished article being passed through a 1½-inch
ring. The resultant game was always fast and often furious, its only
drawback as a means of training for would-be escapers being the not
inconsiderable risk of losing an eye, finger, or portions of an ankle
or knee. The excitement created by such matches as the old camp,
Yozgad, _versus_ the newcomers from Changri, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
and 5th teams, reached at times a pitch rarely attained in the most
hotly-contested house-match at an English public school.
For those debarred for any reason from this strenuous form of exercise
there were walks each evening, except on hunting days and Wednesdays.
On the latter days there were, during the summer months, weekly picnics
in the neighbouring pine woods, to which about 50 per cent of the camp
would go.
During daylight intercommunication was allowed between the two groups
of houses: nominally an escort was necessary to accompany such visitors
along the intervening road, but in practice this rule was a dead letter.
So hard-won, however, had been these few privileges, that the prospect
of any one attempting to escape and thereby causing their suspension
was looked upon by the majority of the original camp almost with
horror. And this was not altogether without reason, for some of them
had gone seriously into the question of escape, and had come to the
conclusion that, from so hopelessly inaccessible a spot, all attempts,
at least without outside assistance, were doomed to failure. Those
of us who had come from Changri, however, were not likely to give
up our long-cherished hopes without a struggle, but in the meantime
kept our nefarious intentions to ourselves, except for half a dozen
Yozgad officers whom we knew for certain to be keen to escape. The
arrival of Cochrane had more than countered the additional difficulties
involved by our move from Changri to Yozgad. While at Kara-Hissar, he
had arranged a scheme with the powers that be in England by which a
friendly boat should remain off a certain point on the coast of the
Mediterranean for a definite number of days at the end of August 1918.
Cochrane now placed this scheme at the disposal of the Changri
division. There was some reluctance to give up old plans, but in
the end four parties decided to take advantage of "Rendezvous X,"
as Cochrane's meeting-place was called--suffice to say that it was
on the Adalian coast nearly due south of Kara-Hissar. Of these four
parties ours was one. Our route to the island of Samos--our original
scheme--would now be some 450 miles. Actually this was only 50 miles
farther than to Rendezvous X, for the only feasible route to the latter
was _viâ_ Kara-Hissar, owing to the desert and mountains which would
have to be crossed on a more direct route. Cochrane's scheme, however,
promised an almost certain ending to the march to any one who reached
the coast; whereas, even if we reached the western shore of Asia Minor,
we should still have the problem of getting across to the island, and
that from a coast which must inevitably be very carefully guarded.
Our six therefore decided to give up the old plan, and soon after
were joined by Cochrane himself and Captain F. R. Ellis, D.C.L.I.
This was a tremendous advantage to us, as Cochrane not only had the
experience so hardly gained by his previous attempt, but had actually
seen some of the country over which we should have to march if we
succeeded in passing Kara-Hissar. It was of course impossible for him
to do guide to all four parties, as large numbers marching together
would be immediately tracked; so he gave what suggestions he could,
and the other three parties were to make their way to the rendezvous
independently.
Our party therefore numbered eight, all of whom have now been
introduced to our readers. We were the largest, and may claim to have
been the most representative party, including as we did one naval
officer, one gunner, one sapper, one British Infantry, two Indian
Army, and two Territorial officers. The other three parties making
for Rendezvous X numbered in all nine officers and Gunner Prosser.
Besides these there were two parties having other schemes. The first,
consisting almost entirely of Yozgad officers, intended marching for
the Black Sea and crossing to Russia, the full facts of whose chaotic
state were not known to us at the time. There were six officers in
this party. Lastly, a party of two more officers determined to set
out eastward, and hoped to make their way into Persia.[8] There had
been three or four other officers beside these who had seriously
contemplated escape while at Changri, but who were now forced to change
their mind through sickness or temporary disablements, such as crocked
knees, &c.
The 26 starters--25 officers and 1 man--were scattered over five out
of the six houses comprising the camp. It was necessary, therefore,
for those in each house--in no case all of them members of the same
party--to devise their own particular means of getting out of the camp
precincts, and then for a committee composed of a representative from
each party to co-ordinate their respective schemes as far as possible.
The first thing was to settle on a definite date for the attempt. As
the majority were to make for Rendezvous X, to fit in with Cochrane's
prearranged scheme, the date had to be later in the year than had
been our idea while at Changri. It was decided that the night chosen
should be the one towards the end of July most suitable as regards
the moon. To enable the members of the various parties to join up at
some convenient local rendezvous, and then put as great a distance as
possible between themselves and Yozgad before the following dawn, the
ideal was for the moon to rise an hour or so after we had all left
our houses. Great credit is due to Captain T. R. Wells for correctly
computing the times of rising and setting of that irregular planet. The
only material available was a Nautical Almanac some four years old.
From his predictions, the 30th July was eventually fixed upon as the
best night. The moon would rise about 10.30 P.M., and 9.15 was
fixed upon as a suitable time for all to leave their houses--if they
could. This meant all would have been present at the evening roll-call,
which took place during dinner at about 7.45 P.M.; and their
absence, if no alarm occurred, would not be discovered until the check
taken at dawn next day.
The advent of Cochrane to our party led to a reconsideration of the
whole question of the food and kit we should carry on our momentous
journey. His previous experience and that of Keeling's party was that
35 lb. was about as much as one could expect to carry across country
consistently with making reasonable progress. In the end, however,
we found that there were so many essentials that we should have each
to take about 43 lb., exclusive of the weight of packs, haversacks,
&c., to carry them. The following list gives some idea of our final
equipment. Each member of the party was to take the following:--
_Food_--
Sixty-eight biscuits, made by "Escapers Ltd.," five to the lb.
Six soft biscuits, four to the lb.
Sultanas, 4 lb.
Cheese, ½ lb.
Fresh meat (for the first two days only), ½ lb.
Rice, 2 lb.
Cocoa _or_ Ovaltine, 1 lb.
Soup tablets (Oxo), 12 cubes.
Chocolate, 1 lb.
Tea, ¼ lb.
Salt, about 1/8 lb.
Emergency ration of chocolate, Horlick's malted milk tablets, _or_
Brand's essence, about ½ lb.
_Clothing_--
Spare pair of boots, or several pairs of native sandals.
Spare shirt.
Towel.
Several pairs of socks.
Felt mufti hat or service-dress cap.
Vermin-proof belt.
Spare bootlaces.
Handkerchiefs (mostly in the form of bags round the food).
_Miscellaneous_--
Share of medicines, mainly in tabloid form.
One large and one small bandage.
Matches, two or more boxes, one being in a water-tight case.
Flint and slow-match cigarette lighter.
Cigarettes or tobacco, according to taste.
Soap, one piece.
String.
Mug and spoon.
Wool for repairs to socks.
Spare razor-blades.
Compass.
Clasp-knife.
Whistle.
Tooth-brush.
Comb.
Notebook and pencil.
In addition, the following were to be distributed in more or less equal
weights among the party as a whole:--
1 pair of field-glasses.
6 skeins of ¾-inch rope.
2 boot-repair outfits.
1 housewife.
3 chargals (canvas bags for water).
Map, original and copies; and enlargements from a small map.
Cardboard protractors.
"Sun compass."
Book of star charts.
Extra tea in the form of tablets.
1 aluminium "degchie" or "dixie" (cooking-pot).
1 very small adze (a carpenter's tool used in the East).
2 pocket Gillette shaving sets.
4 candles, } for giving red-light signals at
red cloth } Rendezvous X.
2 pairs of scissors.
2 iron rings, for use in the event of having to tow our kit across
an unfordable river.
1 sausage of solid meat extract.
Opium.
1 bottle of "Kola" compound.
1 lb. tapioca.
Small reel of fine steel wire.
One ½-pint bottle of brandy.
Fishing tackle.
The actual clothes to be worn on starting were left to individual
fancy. It was a question first of what one possessed; secondly, of what
one anticipated would suit the temperatures we should meet, and best
resist the wear and tear which our clothing would have to withstand.
Some decided on Indian khaki drill, others on home service serge
uniform; others again on a mixture of the two. One had a rainproof
coat cut down and converted to a tunic, which in practice was found to answer well.
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