“In punishment I suppose, for enjoying the drill and owning to it and being dismissed from ‘square-bashing’, I was given the job of sharpening the saws in the wood yard where the prisoners were tasked, for example, with cutting up timber for firewood.

This was another mistake on their part. I just loved the job and though I say it myself I was expert at it.

One day these two prisoners from the other side – out-and-out Loyalists – were sent to me. I saw them approaching and guessed at their mission. Covertly and calmly I drew a file along the recently-sharpened edge of the saw I had been working on. This had the effect of blunting its edge.

They needed a particularly-sharp saw to fell a fairly large tree for timber. In effect they received a blunter saw than the one they returned in exchange!

In response to their vociferous complaints they were both put on ‘report’ for insubordination.

I recovered the blunted saw and replaced it among the ‘to-be-sharpened’ pile!

………..more later ……..