Item 1 of 1 - Letter written by Jack Mott to his brother Arthur Ernest Percival Mott

Capt J.E. Mott 
Offizier-Gefangenenlager S[[?]] 
Kreis Sulingen 

Lieut A.E P. Mott. 
Australian F.C. 
R.F.C Wey Manor 
So Carlton Addlestone 
Nr Lincoln England 

609

[[3?]] 
Aug 29^th 1917 
Strŏhen, den 
(Kreis Sulingen) 
Offizier-Gefangenenlager 

Dear Arthur, 
As our allotted 
amount of outgoing 
correspondence allows 
of a letter to you this month 
I am chancing one to England. 
By the way, as these letters 
will be few and far between 
please keep them as souvenirs.
Things are very quiet 
with us and the only thing 
we have to look forward 
to is an occassional letter 
and our parcels. That parcel

2 
that Uncle said he was 
sending has not arrived 
nor has yours, and that 
was early in June. I wonder 
why, but I am doing alright 
just now as the Australian 
Red Cross people have been 
sending me some parcels, 
besides which I ordered 
some for myself from 
army & navy stores and 
they have started coming 
now.
I would like you to 
pick over my kit at Cox's or 
wherever it is, and send

(3) 
me the tunic I was wearing 
in France, a couple of 
khaki shirts & collars, and 
a pair of slacks [[swab?]] this in.
I think the slacks there are 
too light, if so please get 
me another pair. I think 
there is a cap or two there 
too, if if you see anything 
else there I am likely to 
need send it along, 
And please keep account 
of anything you spend 
for me and I'll square 
up with you when these 
people allow us to go home.

(4) 
I have had no letters from 
anyone in Vic yet, but had 
one about 3 weeks ago from 
a friend in west Australia 
written after my name 
was printed in the casualty 
lists. So there should have 
been plenty of time for 
the others.
I am quite well but 
still weak hope you 
are doing alright 
yourself. Goodbye old man 
Jack 

RC01G00518 
EXDOC 4 
AUSTRALIAN 
WAR MEMORIAL

The above letter was written by Lt. Col. John Eldred 
Mott, M.C., (then Captain) whilst a prisoner-of-war in 
Germany, to his brother, Lieut. Arthur Mott. It was suffi- 
ciently innocuous to pass the German censors but between 
the lines of his letter the writer had inscribed a message 
to his brother regarding materials required for a projected 
escape. The method used was by wetting a new writing nib 
with saliva from the mouth. This was later developed by 
Lieut. Arthur Mott by the application of a diluted solution 
of ordinary ink. Mott subsequently escaped from Germany and 
went back to his old battalion - the 48th - which he command- 
ed at the end of the war. The text of the invisible letter is 
as follows :-

"Dear Boy, Send me in a food parcel and repeat 
occasionally, a small illuminated compass and a small 
light but efficient wire-cutter. If I don't get them
in one parcel I may in another. Mark the parcels you 
send them in with a 卐 also the articles they are 
packed in. The Germans open all our parcels and we 
place the tins (unopened) in a locker in the tin room. 
Then when we want anything out we select the tins and 
take them to a counter where the Germans open them. 
We are not allowed to take anything out of the tin room 
in tins but in the tin room we can examine our stuff un- 
disturbed. A cake or a small tin of biscuits properly 
sealed would be a good thing to pack the wire-cutters in 
and the compass could be packed in almost anything. We 
are not confined to tins only but I think I can safely 
leave it to your own ingenuity. I should like also if you 
can get them, small maps in detail of the country within 
100 miles of the Dutch frontier. If you get this all 
right I will be able to tell you a bit more, but if they 
find this out I will most likely get six months' jug. 
They have bayonetted three or four officers in this camp 
alone in the last three months. So long." 

Presented by Lieut. Col. J. E. Mott, 
London.