Duties in Jamaica

We did some garrison duties but not much. One duty we had was ship search detail, which meant we had to go out with the customs guys and guard the customs guys while they were searching all non-British ships that came in. Our main duty was guarding an internment camp with some local internees and quite a number of Germans from North Africa that had been captured in the fighting there and shipped over to Jamaica for safe keeping. They ate the best of everything because they had excellent German chefs there and they were given an allowance, I don’t remember the details, how much money they got or anything but they had an allowance and they were allowed to buy almost anything they wanted in the way of food or wine or beer within reason, I suppose. I never saw them actually get drunk or anything.

Interviewer: So life as a prisoner for them as internees was fairly good.

Ya, that’s why the first day or so we were prisoners ourselves, we weren’t that greatly worried, at least I wasn’t.