While he was a prisoner, Harris was cared for by several German women. One, called Grandmother by all the prisoners, treated the burns on his face. Another woman provided him with potatoes grown in her garden.

In August 1917, the Matunga was captured and sunk by the German raider Wolf.

After the armistice was signed, the prisoners were put onto trains and transported into Denmark.

500 tons of coal and supplies of liquor were captured alongside the Matunga’s 46 crew and passengers, who became prisoners.

In December 1918, Harris arrived in England and sent his mother a cable: ‘London Well — Love Xmas Greetings’.

The Wolf returned to Kiel, Germany, on 24 February 1918 with 467 prisoners of war, including Harris, and substantial quantities of rubber, copper, zinc, brass, silk, copra, cocoa and other essential materials for the German war effort.

When the Wolf arrived back in Germany, the Kaiser presented every crew member with the Iron Cross, and the commanding officer, Fregattenkapitän Nerger, was awarded the highest German decoration, the Pour le Mérite.

Harris and other captured crewmen were set to work repairing railway lines. 

The Matunga was a freight ship which carried stores, fuel and personnel of the Australian Navy and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) to New Guinea.