View source for Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)

Officers who were captured were generally treated better than “other ranks”, who almost always experienced terrible conditions, often leading to death. 

Of approximately 2,962 white British officers and other ranks captured at Kut, 1,782 would go on to die in Ottoman captivity. Indian prisoners along with their white comrades, experienced a horrific death march from Kut-al-Amara to the northern railhead at Ras-el-Ain (in modern day Syria).<ref> "Prisoners of War" by Heather Jones.  encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. 'Section 6: Mistreatment' contains information about prisoners in Turkey. See [[Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)#External links|External links, above]].</ref> 

There were camps in Kastamonu, Eskisehir, Capadoccia, Cankiri, Afion, Sivas, Yozgat, Hacikiri, Belemedik<ref>Dogan Sahin [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1226&p=847997 Kut POW] ''Great War Forum'' 28 January 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2015.</ref>

In 1917 Angora (Ankara) became the centre of the working groups engaged in laying the narrow-gauge line towards Yozgad. <ref> [https://archive.org/stream/prisonerinturkey00stiluoft#page/xiv/mode/2up/search/Angora Page xv] ''A Prisoner in Turkey''  by John Still 1920 Archive.org.</ref>

Eskichehir and Konia were camps for Indian officers only. <ref> [https://archive.org/stream/prisonerinturkey00stiluoft#page/xx/mode/2up/search/Indian Page xx] ''A Prisoner in Turkey''  by John Still 1920 Archive.org.</ref>

Transfers between different camps were common.<ref>[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=RA-JBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 page 150] “Australian Prisoners of the Turks: Negotiating Culture Clash in Captivity” by Kate Ariotti,  ‪Other Fronts, Other Wars?: First World War Studies on the Eve of the Centennial‬. 2014 Google Books</ref>

A POW Museum  has now been established at '''Afionkarahissar'''  in the main (namazgah-chapel) section of the Madrasa<ref> Sahin, Dogan [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=227884&p=2265886 Henry James Harding POW held by the Turkish Army] ''Great War Forum'' 23 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015</ref>
 
==Spelling variants==
*Afyonkarahisar (modern name),  Afyon Karahisar, Afyon Kara Hisar, Afyon, Afion, Afionkarahissar, Afion-Kara-Hissar,  Afion Karahissar, Afioun Karahissar,  Afium-Kara-hissar.
*Ankara, Angora
*Kiangri, Changri,  Çankırı, Cankiri, Cangara
*Hacikiri, Hadschkiri, (the latter may be the German name), Hacýkýrý . A work camp in the Taurus Mountains.

==Mesopotamia==
For many accounts of members of the allied forces taken prisoner in Mesopotamia, especially after the fall of Kut, see [[Mesopotamia Campaign‎#External links|'''Mesopotamia Campaign-External links''' and '''Historical books online''']]
==Additional information==
===External links===
*[http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1916/oct/12/british-prisoners-of-war British Prisoners Of War] House of Commons 12 October 1916. Lists the location of where British prisoners are detained in Turley. hansard.millbanksystems.com
*Imperial War Museums  [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030007535 Catalogue entry: Private Papers of Colonel W C Spackman]: Ts memoir (331pp) covering his service as Regimental Medical Officer to the 48th Pioneers, 6th Indian Division in Mesopotamia, 1914 - 1915, at Kut during the siege, December 1915 - April 1916, and as a prisoner of war in Anatolia, 1916 – 1918. An edited version has been published.
*The Liddle Collection at the University of Leeds has a number of books, manuscripts and tapes, including transcripts in its collection, relating to Prisoners of War in Turkey. For catalogue references, use terms such as prisoner, Turkey in the [http://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore Search]. Includes a photocopy of the book ''The Sufferings of the Kut Garrison during their March into Turkey as Prisoners of War, 1916-1917'' by F A Harvey, Lt & Q-Mr, published 1922. Note, the actual items do not appear to be available online.
*[https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=8DF1E713C2B47BF5!568&ithint=file%2cpdf&app=WordPdf&authkey=!AEkNEeEoAkHHztY Finding Aid:  Foreign Office Files (FO 383) at the National Archives: Regarding Military & Civilian Prisoners of War: List of Files and Contents: 1915-1919]. Compiled September 2014 by seaforths.<ref> seaforths [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=218552&hl= "Foreign Office Files on POWs (FO 383)"] ''Great War Forum'' 30 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.</ref>  Contains a FIND (Search) function.  onedrive.live.com.  Contains references such as "FO 383/090 1915 Description: Turkey: Prisoners, including…"
**Catalogue entry [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2617474 FO 383/231 Turkey. Prisoners...] includes mention of camps at Magnesia, Smyrna, Tchoroum, and transfer of British and French prisoners from camps at Kiangri and Afion Kara Hissar to Bosanti for employment on railway construction. 
** Other records from FO 383 include FO 383/456 File 117571 (03/09/1918) Various lists: Nominal role of British Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Men and Indian military personnel held at Afrion Kara Hissar, Kedos, Konia, and Magnesia in Turkey providing rank, name and unit/ship… 2. List of Assistant Surgeons of the Indian Medical Service: PoWs in Turkey. 3. List of Sub Assistant Surgeons of the Indian Medical Service; PoWs inTurkey…<ref>themonsstar [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114664&p=1094884 POWs]  ''Great War Forum'' 13 January 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2015.</ref>
:'''Note''': [[Findmypast|findmypast]] has a dataset of records "Prisoners Of War 1715-1945" (located in Armed forces & conflict/Regimental & service records) which appears to contain some records from FO 383, including some for Indian Army soldiers. Includes FO 383/336, POWs in Turkey, 1917, Death date of prisoners who have died in camps in Turkey, Cause of death, Burial place; FO 383/456, POWs in Turkey, 1918, British prisoner of war deaths in Turkey, including name, rank, date of death and cause.<ref>themonsstar [http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php?topic=8473.0 Find My Past WW1 PoW records] ''The Manchester Regiment Group Forum: POW User Group'' April 24, 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.</ref>
*[http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/prisoners_of_war_ottoman_empiremiddle_east "Prisoners of War (Ottoman Empire/Middle East)"] by Yücel Yanıkdağ . Scroll down to the  section "Entente Prisoners of War in the Ottoman Empire" encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. The mortality rate of the British and Dominion prisoners in Ottoman captivity was very high.
*[http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/prisoners_of_war "Prisoners of War"] by Heather Jones.  encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. "Section 6: Mistreatment" contains information about prisoners in Turkey. 
*[http://www.gutenberg-e.org/steuer/index.html'' Pursuit of an 'Unparalleled Opportunity': The American YMCA and Prisoner of War Diplomacy among the Central Power Nations during World War I 1914-1923''] by Kenneth Steuer, written as a dissertation in 2008.  Website of  Gutenberg-e, a program of the American Historical Association and Columbia University Press.
**[http://www.gutenberg-e.org/steuer/archive/AppendixA/turkey/index.html Turkish Prison Camps]. Click on the map for a list of the camps in Turkey.
:[http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=history_pubs  "First World War Central Power Prison Camps"] by Kenneth Steuer 1-1-2013 ''History Faculty Publications'', Western Michigan University . Includes Turkish  Prison Camps
*[http://www.armeniangenocide.com.au/files/diamadis%20precious%20GPII.pdf "Precious and Honoured Guests of the Ottoman Government"] by Panayiotis Diamadis, pages 162-179 ''Genocide Perspectives II, '' 2002. The author is a lecturer  at the University of Technology, Sydney.
*[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=RA-JBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 “Australian Prisoners of the Turks: Negotiating Culture Clash in Captivity”] by Kate Ariotti, pages 146-166 ‪''Other Fronts, Other Wars?: First World War Studies on the Eve of the Centennial''‬. 2014 Google Books
*[http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/Network/CilicianGates The Cilician gates] trainsofturkey.com. The Baghdad Railway and construction of the tunnels through the Taurus Mountains. The location of the work camps at Belemedik and Hacikiri.
**[http://holzmann.fh-potsdam.de/?page_id=681 German photos of the Baghdad Railway], including a category titled "Bagdadbahn, Taurusgebirge, Belemedik, Adana". Bildarchiv der Philipp Holzmann AG.
*[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MIC19180510.2.2 "Scene From "Inferno." Prisoners In Turkey. British Soldiers Ill-Treated"]  ''Mount Ida Chronicle'', [New Zealand] Volume XLV, 10 May 1918, Page 1 paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 
*[http://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-anzacs-honoured-guests-of-the-sultan-25884 "The forgotten Anzacs: ‘honoured guests’ of the Sultan"]  24 April 2014 theconversation.com. This article also mentions Indian POWs.
*[http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2012/D16835/a3901.htm Narrative of  John Wheat] c 1914-1918, who was a torpedoman on the Australian submarine A.E.2  which was sunk 30 April 1915 in the Sea of Marmora (Gallipoli), taken prisoner by the Germans, and subsequently became a prisoner of war in Turkey, working on the construction of the Baghdad Railway.  Transcribed by, and from the collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW. [http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/itemDetailPaged.cgi?itemID=902088 Photographs and postcards from his album] Click on the tab “Online” to display 8 items.
*[http://mhhv.org.au/?p=306 From the Sea of Marmara to the North Gate of Baghdad: The Story of Four HMAS AE2 Crew Members] Elsewhere,<ref>[http://twgpp.org/downloads/news/TWGPP_Newsletter_Autumn_2011.pdf The War Graves Photographic Project: Autumn 2011 Newsletter]</ref>  the author is stated to be Colonel Marcus Fielding, Australian Army. The crew was taken into captivity by the Turks. With quotes from the diary of AE2 crew member Able Seaman Albert Knaggs. mhhv.org.au
**[http://www.jefferyknaggs.webspace.virginmedia.com/submarine.html Jeff Knaggs - the Autobiography - my Grandfather]. Albert Edward Knaggs Able Seaman; RN/RAN 7893 of HMAS AE2 left an important diary of events up until his death  at Belemedik  where he died in the makeshift camp hospital on 22 October 1916.
*Sergeant Maurice George Delpratt, 5th Light Horse Regiment, A I F
**[http://helenhambling.com/pow-history/ The Delpratt war] helenhambling.com
**[http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/2012/08/17/new-acquisition-maurice-george-delpratt/ Maurice George Delpratt Correspondence, A Turkish Prisoner Of War] State Library of Queensland, with [http://hdl.handle.net/10462/eadarc/8217  Correspondence] Includes digital images.
**[http://helenhambling.com/2013/07/24/afyonkarahisar-curiously-it-all-turns-out-well-in-the-end/ Afyonkarahisar… Curiously, it all turns out well in the end]   July 24, 2013. A Mevlevi (Dervish) Museum  has information relating to Afyon’s key role in WWI for both the Turkish military, and for Allied POWs. helenhambling.com
**[http://helenhambling.com/2013/07/31/a-goat-track-to-the-holy-grail/ A goat track to the Holy Grail…] July 31, 2013. A journey to Belemedik and Hacikiri, in the Taurus Mountains, sites of the camps where  POWs worked  on the railway tunnels for the Berlin to Baghdad Railway. helenhambling.com
***[https://www.flickr.com/photos/50074978@N06/sets/72157626048039691/ Photographs: Prison of War camp WW1, Belemedik Turkey], Prisoners of War Camp along the Berlin-Baghdad Railway flickr.com
*[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-26/gallipoli-anzac-offered-job-by-turkish-captors-after-wwi/6349574  "Homesick Anzac POW offered full-time job by Turkish captors after WWI"] by Mazoe Ford. 25 April 2015. abc.net.au. Australian soldier George Kerr, ((AIF) 14th Battalion), wounded and captured at Gallipoli, became the paymaster at Belemedik POW camp.
*[http://www.ramc-ww1.com/profile.php?cPath=274_443_157&profile_id=11658&osCsid=29 RAMC profile of: Valentine Michael Flood [Service No:  46780<nowiki>]</nowiki>] He  was moved in early 1916 to the camp at Bilemedik-Pouzantri where he'd have been put to work on the Berlin - Baghdad railway. He appears to have died in the POW Hospital at Angora (Ankara) and was buried in the hospital cemetery.
*[http://garriehutchinson.com/2013/01/17/new-zealands-gallipoli-prisoners-of-war/ New Zealand’s Gallipoli Prisoners of War]. Scroll down for an account by Private William Robert Surgenor  (10/724 Wellington Infantry Battalion)  who was wounded and captured on Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915 and was in various prisoner of war camps in Turkey. His account appears as an Appendix in the book ''Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story'' by Chris Pugsley.The original account is held at Archives, New Zealand (R24428210). January 17, 2013. garriehutchinson.com
*[http://garriehutchinson.com/2013/01/12/a-man-named-troy/ A man named Troy] Private Martin John Troy 16th Battalion AIF. January 12, 2013 garriehutchinson.com. Mentions the conditions of the prisoners, some of whom were better off than others. The prisoners taken at Kut  seemed to suffer the most.
*[http://garriehutchinson.com/2013/01/09/bugler-frederick-ashton-11th-battalion-25-april-1915/  Bugler Frederick Ashton 11th Battalion] AIF. He was at the German  railway camp  at  Belemedlk, and unsuccessfully tried to escape. January 9, 2013. garriehutchinson.com.
*Listen to the [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80008567 1985 inteview with Joseph William Lennox Napier], British officer served with the 4th Bn South Wales Borderers in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, 1914-1917; POW in Turkey, 1917-1918. Reel 2. iwm.org.uk
*[http://www.winkleighheroes.co.uk/level3/kutdeathmarch.htm Prisoners of the Turks: the fate of Frederick William Davey and Frank Turner following the surrender of Kut]  winkleighheroes.co.uk
====Historical books online====
*[https://archive.org/details/fromkastamunito00woolgoog ''From Kastamuni to Kedos: Being a Record of Experiences of Prisoners of War in Turkey, 1916-1918''] by  C L Woolley, Capt. RFA 1921. Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/prisonersofredde00gwat ''Prisoners of the red desert, being a full and true history of the men of the "Tara"''] by Captain  Rupert Stanley  Gwatkin-Williams RN 1919 Archive.org.  HMS Tara was sunk by a German submarine  near Sollum, Egypt in 1915. The surviving crew  were handed over to the Senussi, allies of the Turks and were held prisoners  at Bir Hakkim (Bir el Hakim) in Libya until rescued in 1916 in dramatic circumstances by British Armoured Cars under the command of the Duke of Westminster.
*[https://archive.org/details/prisonerinturkey00stiliala ''A Prisoner in Turkey''] by John Still 1920 Archive.org. The title page contains a handwritten note “Ceylon Civil Service (Forests)”
:[https://archive.org/details/poemsincaptivity00stiluoft ''Poems in Captivity''] by John Still 1919 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/easternnightsand00bottiala ''Eastern Nights--and Flights; a Record of Oriental Adventure''] by Alan Bott 1920 Archive.org  The author was a scout pilot in Palestine, who became, after his plane crashed in 1918   a prisoner of the Turks, eventually in Afion-Kara-Hissar in Turkey. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Bott Alan Bott] Wikipedia.
*[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89081845935?urlappend=%3Bseq=255 ''The Escaping Club'': "Part II"]  [page 241]  by A. J. Evans 1922 Hathi Trust Digital Library. As a POW the author had escaped from   Germany in June 1917.  In March 1918, while on a bombing raid in Palestine his plane came down. He was captured by Arabs, along with two others, and subsequently became prisoners of the Turks.
*''Adventures in Turkey and Russia'' by 	E H	 Keeling,  London  1924 is available to read  online on the [[Online books#Digital Library of India| Digital Library of India]] website. He was captured at Kut, and the initial chapter details the the very poor medical condition of many of those captured. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Keeling Edward Keeling] Wikipedia. He was  in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers
*[https://archive.org/details/fourfiftymilesto00john ''Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom''] by Captain M A B Johnston, RGA and Captain K D Yearsley RE 1919 Archive.org. The cover title is ''450 Miles to Freedom''. The authors were at Kastamoni, Changri and Yozgad
*[https://archive.org/details/inbrigandshandst00forduoft ''In Brigands' Hands and Turkish Prisons, 1914-1918''] by A Forder  1920 Archive.org The author was an American missionary  who was taken prisoner in Jerusalem  in November 1914 and  jailed by the military. He was a prisoner in Damascus for four years until the British occupation.
*[https://archive.org/details/agreementbetween00ingrea ''Agreement between the British and Ottoman governments respecting prisoners of war and civilians'']  Presented to Parliament  April 1918  HMSO. Archive.org
*National Archives of Australia files, mainly consisting of copies of files from the British Foreign Office. [http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/index.aspx Search the NAA collection]
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=352773&I=1&SE=1 1916 Correspondence] File S9/364 (4 pages)
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=1805821&I=1&SE=1 Prisoners of War Camps in Turkey]  File 1917/69/526 (8 pages)
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=352884&I=1&SE=1 File 1917/89/397] (185 pages)
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=395661&I=1&SE=1 Australians captured in Turkey (40 pages) Alphabetical list with details]. This is an Australian file.
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=353180&I=1&SE=1 Mortality among Prisoners of War in Turkey  :1918 correspondence] File 1918/89/724 (20 pages)
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=232438&I=1&SE=1 Agreements with Turkey] (67) pages ((Australian) Prime Minister’s Department file) Includes treatment of the  British Prisoners of War working for the Baghdad Railway Construction Company in Belemedik in the Taurus Mountains. Also prisoners from Kut who suffered terrible conditions.
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=353219&I=1&SE=1 Prisoners of War in Turkey]  Includes a copy of ''Reports on Conditions in Turkish Prisons'', HMSO, presented to the British Parliament 1919. File 1919/89/298 (37 pages)
**[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=3445273&I=1&SE=1 Narrative:  ''Two and a half Years a prisoner of war in Turkey''] Related by Trooper GW Handsley, [2nd Light Horse] Written by Serj. JH Foster 1919. 39 pages. The narrative is pages 7-39.  This is an Australian file. [Subsequently published, see following entry].
*[http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-38438001/view#page/n0/mode/1up ''Two-and-a-Half Years a Prisoner of War in Turkey''] Related by Trooper G.W. Handsley, Second Light Horse Regiment ; written by Sergeant J.R. Foster, 2nd edition c 1920. nla.gov.au
*Sample chapters from [http://www.saradistribution.com/otherranksofkut.htm ''Other Ranks of Kut''] by P. W. Long, M.M. Flight Sergeant R.A.F, 1938.  Transcription of the Preface,  Author’s Note,  Chapter One and Chapter Six only, with details of the titles of the remaining chapters. saradistribution.com.  The author was at the time Driver Percy Walter Long, 67528, 63rd Battery, R.F.A.<ref>[http://www.rushdenheritage.co.uk/war/longDriverPW.html Driver P. W. Long] 63rd Battery, R.F.A rushdenheritage.co.uk. [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31759/supplement/1230 The London Gazette Supplement] 27/30 January 1920, page 1230</ref> Long’s account starts on 30th April 1916, the day after the surrender of Kut.  From the preface by Sir Arnold Wilson, M.P.  “Of 2,592 British rank and file taken prisoner at Kut, 70 per cent died in captivity”. [http://www.naval-military-press.com/other-ranks-of-kut.html More about the book]
*[https://archive.org/details/anamericanphysic00usshuoft ''An American Physician in Turkey : a narrative of adventures in peace and in war''] by Clarence D Ussher and Grace H Knapp 1917 Archive.org. The author was a medical missionary. The chapters from  [https://archive.org/stream/anamericanphysic00usshuoft#page/212/mode/2up page 213] cover the war period.

== References ==
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 [[Category:First World War]]