The Escape of a Princess Pat

In order to remove all question of doubt in the mind of the reader it might perhaps be well to state here that the facts as given are the bona fide experiences of Corporal Edwards, Number 39, Number One Company, P. P. C. L. I., and as such were subjected to the closest scrutiny both by the author and others before it was deemed advisable to give the account to the public. In particular great pains were taken to do full justice to all enemy individuals who figure in the story.

Recognizing the seriousness of the charges implied by the recital, all those concerned with it are extremely anxious that the correctness of the account should constitute its chief value: In short the intention has been to make of the story a readable history.

The main facts--having to do with the destruction of the regiment on the eighth of May, 1915, the identity and activities of the individuals mentioned and the more important of the later happenings, including the final escape into Holland--are matters of official record and as such have frequently been mentioned in the official dispatches. The more personal details are based on the recollections of Corporal Edwards' retentive mind, aided by his very unusual powers of observation and the rough diary which he managed to retain possession of during his later adventures.

For the events preceding the capture of Corporal Edwards on the eighth of May the author has relied upon his own recollections; as he too had the honor of having been "an original Patricia."

G.P.

Sept. 1, 1917. Toronto, Canada.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I Polygon Wood 14

II The Fourth of May 20

III Corporal Edwards Takes up the Tale 23

IV Major Gault Comes Back 28

V The Eighth of May and the Last Stand of the Princess Pats 33

VI Prisoners 45

VII Pulling the Leg of a German General 61

VIII The Princess Patricia's German Uncle 70

IX How the German Red Cross Tended the Canadian Wounded 76

X The Curious Concoctions of the Chef at Giessen 81

XI The Way They Have at Giessen 86

XII The Escape 104

XIII The Traitor at Vehnmoor 115

XIV Away Again 123

XV Paying the Piper 140

XVI The Third Escape 158

XVII What Happened in the Wood 177

XVIII The Last Lap 185

XIX Holland at Last 194

XX "It's a Way They Have in the Army" 203

The Evidence in the Case 210

ILLUSTRATIONS

Corporal (Now Sergeant) Edward Edwards, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Frontispiece

PAGE

British wounded waiting for transportation to a dressing station 26

The Princess Patricias in billets at Westoutre, Belgium 26

German prisoners bringing wounded men down a communication trench 42

Wounded Canadians receiving first aid after an attack 64

Recipes from Corporal Edward's Diary 84

Fellow prisoners at Giessen 98

Fellow prisoners at Giessen 98

Record of second escape and recapture 126

German prisoners at Southampton 136

High explosives bursting over German trenches 136

Salient details of the third escape 170

Private Mervin C. Simmons, C.E.F. 192

The cemetery at Celle Laager Z 1 Camp 206

Corporal Edwards after his escape 206

Homeward bound 220

THE ESCAPE OF A PRINCESS PAT

THE ESCAPE OF A PRINCESS PAT

CHAPTER I

POLYGON WOOD

Ypres and Hill 60--Preparing for the Gas--Why the Patricias Cheered--The Retirement--The Thin Red Line.

The Princess Patricias had lain in Polygon Wood since the twentieth of April, mid-way between the sanguinary struggles of St. Julien and Hill 60, spectators of both. Although subjected to constant alarm we had had a comparatively quiet time of it, with casualties that had only varied from five to fifty-odd each day.