Activities

The humorous poem “A Letter of Lament” expresses the difficulty encountered because people were so absorbed in activities that they never had any time to spare¹. There were certainly many opportunities for people to keep themselves busy, especially as the relatively liberal regime meant that people were not constantly behind barbed wire. In addition to the activities detailed in the following sections, people who had occupations in civilian lives - “blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, bookbinders, watchmakers, bakers, photographers, barbers” etc. were able to practice their professions within the camp². Within the boundaries of the camp there were two ponds, and there was even a “shipyard” which made small boats to sail there³. Many ship models were displayed in the exhibition.

One which was made subsequently was singled out for particular praise in the newspaper⁴.

A team of men dedicated themselves to building bridges – three in all – in the surrounding area. The first one was made of wood, while the second and third ones were stone-built ⁵.

Starting in February 1918 as a result of increased costs, it was agreed with the authorities that the men would be permitted to fell trees to provide the wood needed for cooking and baking⁶. This proved to be a strenuous but popular alternative to peeling potatoes⁷. Once the wood had been felled, the whole camp turned out to transport the logs down from the woods.

On Ascension Day 1918 the woodcutters’ work party was turned into an excursion ⁸. On the 21^st of June 1918 one of the woodcutters sadly died as a result of a heart attack while swimming in a reservoir to cool down⁹.

Although the camp apparently did not possess the means of letterpress printing, they made the best use of what they had¹⁰, even producing coloured prints¹¹.

In addition to the informative articles in the newspaper, the camp provided a number of educational courses, including the teaching of Japanese.

All the entertainment in the Camp was provided by local initiatives. From October 1918 onwards there were four slide-shows on civilian topics, and there were three film shows – two of which related to the war, but most of the entertainment took the form of musical and theatrical performances. Sporting and gymnastic activities were also popular, while others developed a practical interest in agriculture.

Footnotes

• 1. #2.12(38): A Letter of Lament, Page 6
• 2. #1.15: The Town and Fortress of Bando, Page 1
• 3. #1.23: At the Barrack Window,Page 1
• 4. #4.02(81): S.S. Elida, Page 49
• 5. #4.06(85): Two Years of Bridge Building, Page 32
• 6. #3.18(71): The Woodcutters' First Anniversary, Page 5 (February 1919)
• 7. #2.11(37): Ode to the Woodcutters, Page 13
• 8. #2.08(34): The Excursion to the Mill Valley on Ascension Day, Page 8
• 9. #2.14(40): Fritz Hubbe (an obituary), Page 13
• 10. #2.05(31): On our Printing Office's Birthday, Page 1
• 11. #4.01(80): Our Printing Process, Page 18

◀ ▶