TCD MS 10823 folio 19 recto
[April-Sept 1918] be displayed in making what was wanted for dinner: various curries of bully beef, pastry for a Machonachie pie or a fruit tart, and in many ways we learnt to become quite good rough cooks.
The great excitement every day was the parcel cart which used to arrive in camp about ten o’clock every morning. The parcels were at once unloaded and taken down into the parcel room, where they were sorted by a parcel committee of British Officers, and a list was then put up shewing who had got parcels and at what time they were to come and draw them. At the appointed time, the lucky officer would come to the Parcel room, call out the number of his parcel, which would be then opened by a German N.C.O. who would take out everything, have a look at them and then hand all the contents to the officer, who would take them up to his room or locker. This was I believe the only camp in Germany where this system prevailed, in all others the tins were confiscated and the contents opened out <& searched> before they were handed over, and then only after much trouble and annoyance. Once or twice the German authorities thought of starting a tin-room at Furstenberg <where they would store all officers tins>, but they found that <this system> would cause them too much trouble, so on each occasion they dropped the idea.
There were two “Appels” or Roll Calls in the day, one at nine in the morning after breakfast and the other at four in the afternoon just before teatime. They never took very long, as the numbers only were counted: but if any were missing an N.C.O. would be sent round the rooms to find out who was the culprit, and on his apologising for being asleep, or for