In the Hands of the Enemy

The author of this brief but fascinating memoir of being a POW in Germany early in the Great War was an army Chaplain taken prisoner with the Coldstream Guards at the Battle of Landrecies on August 25th 1914. O’Rorke was imprisoned at Torgau, and the fortress of Burg, as well as at Halle and Magdeburg in eastern Germany. He describes the attitude and habits of his German guards, relations with Russian prisoners held alongside him; and his hopes - at first dashed, but eventually fulfilled - to be repatriated. Published soon after his release in 1915, the little book is also charmingly illustrated with drawings of his guards and fellow prisoners, and a plan of the Torgau camp. Fellow prisoners are named throughout. For anyone interested in POW literature, this intriguing volume is an absolute must.