On one occasion a note was smuggled to him from a Jewish-British ship's doctor, who was being held in Monowitz. Coward determined to contact him direct, managed to swap clothes with an inmate on a work detail and spent the night in the Jewish camp, seeing at first hand the horrific conditions in which these were held. He failed to find the individual, later found to be Karel Sperber - see below. This experience formed the basis of his subsequent testimony in post-war legal proceedings.