Colditz Castle: Room 217 : Everyday Life in OfLag IV C

Colditz: Das Leben in Oflag IVC Aquarelle von W. F. Anderson - Zimmer 217

Colditz: Everyday Life in Oflag IVC Watercolours by W.F. Anderson - Room 217

Zimmer 217 circa 14. 6.1942

Room 217 circa 14.6.1942

"....Got my small paintbrush issued finally - the main trouble's brushes; continued an interior view of the room we live in, which I'm sending off to you tomorrrow. The Perspective is faulty, giving a general slope to the floor, still it shows the sort of place it is. Afraid all but the feet of Sqn Ldr Paddon is invisible : the studious head scratcher is Col. Young - the far figure meant to be darning is Doc Matthews, the remaining figure might be me but doesn't look much like it!..."

W.F.A. in letter to K.B.A. on 14.VI.42

Extracts from other letters : Christmas 1941 New Year 1942 View of Outer Courtyard from window
Notes

Christmas 1941 and seeing in the New Year 1942

Christmas in Colditz 1941

We had a very happy time, considering, with good news just before to cheer everybody up. After an Anglo Dutch church service, we had dinner for the orderlies which officers cooked and served; several of them failed to complete all courses, which speaks well for the Red Cross Supply. In the afternoon the French gave a mystery play, which, considering the great difficulty of doing female parts, and those of the Christmas story, was very good indeed. The dresses and scenery were excellent. The French make the most amazing paper creations, with cardboard corsetry etc., and though the chorus are apt to crack and rattle a bit at speed, its surprising how realistic they look. Perhaps it helps the hero to put the right tender note into the love scene, to know that the heroine has got to last another two nights at least! We had dinner all together in the evening, the room very gay with crests of all regiments round the walls - dinner consisted of soup, salmon, pork and peas, Xmas pudding, sweets and coffee, a pretty good contrast to last year.... The snow arrived on Christmas night, and should lie now; the most terrific snowball fights take place after and snowfall before, after (and during) appell - this disposes of all but the heaviest snowfall from the centre of the yard and leaves it in ball form round the edges or plastered as near misses round the doorways...

New Year 1942

We saw the new year in with great verve - we started off with ourselves and the Dutch, then French Belgian and Polish friends turned up and finally the whole party formed and went through everybody's quarters up and down winding staircases and wished everyone a New Year of Liberation and finally (for about the 4th time) all National Anthems were sung and the whole snake precipitated itself down the snow slide, and so, roughly speaking, to bed!
( WFA Letter home Jan 1 1942)

Notes

Lt/Col George Young, Royal Engineers : Captured 1.6.1941 arrived in Colditz 15.10.1941

Major Mathews, RAMC : Captured 19.4.1942 arrived in Colditz 28.7.1942

Sqdn/Ldr Brian Paddon, RAF : arrived Colditz 14.4.1941 left Colditz 11.6.1942 Sent for court-martial to Thorn escaped from cell and got back successfully to England

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