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). Some died in captivity while still in Mesopotamia, including at a camp at Mosul.

Officers were not required to work, but other soldiers were. The horrible truth appears to have been that only those men fit enough to work survived. Those who were unfit to work died due many reasons, but including the policy that only working prisoners were provided with food.

Afyonkarahisar was used as a prison camp from early 1915 both officers and men being kept in houses, rather than in a proper camp with barbed wire around it. The first prisoners there were Russians, joined in early 1915 by officers and men from the French navy. From late April onwards, there was a small but steady flow of sailors and soldiers captured during the Gallipoli Campaign. Later, there were some prisoner captured at Kut in Iraq sent to the camp and other officers captured in Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

Most subsequent camps were associated with the construction, or running, of the Baghdad Railway, including related roadworks.

There were camps in Kastamonu, Eskisehir, Capadoccia, Cankiri, Afion, Sivas, Yozgat, Hacikiri, Belemedik.

A listing provides the following work camps in the Amanus (now Nur) and Taurus Mountains:
Amanus Mountains: Baghtche with associated camps at Amanus, Airan, Entelli, Tasch Durmas, Yarbaschi.
Taurus Mountains: Bozanti wirh associated camps at Bilemedik, Gelebek, Hadji-Kiri, Kouchdjoula.
Taurus Mountains, South Sector : Boudjak with associated camps at Adana, Dorak, Tarsus (H). (Another source suggests Dorak was the major camp)

These railway work camps were under control of the German construction company.

A map additionally mentions camps in the Taurus Mountains at Tchekerdere, Iola and Karapunar. The railway line extended to Karapunar before the war. Karapunar appears to be near to Belemedik, or one source advises it was the earlier name for Belemedik.

The section between Bagtsche and Airan –Entilli was at kilometres “485,800-502,800”. William Fratel of the Indian Subordinate Medical Department, who had been captured at Kut, was court-martialled in England in 1919 for his actions at Bagtsche.

In 1917 Angora (Ankara) became the centre of the working groups engaged in laying the narrow-gauge line towards Yozgad.

Gedos was a parole camp on the shore of the Black Sea established late in 1917, where officers who gave their word that they would not escape were well treated. Eskichehir and Konia were camps for Indian officers only.

There was a camp at Smyrna, which was used as an repatriation camp c September-October 1918.

Transfers between different camps were common.

Treatment of prisoners appears to have varied considerably, depending on who was in charge of the camps.

A POW Museum has now been established at Afionkarahissar in the main (namazgah-chapel) section of the Madrasa

Spelling variants

• Afyonkarahisar (modern name), Afyon Karahisar, Afyon Kara Hisar, Afyon, Afion, Afionkarahissar, Afion-Kara-Hissar, Afion Karahissar, Afioun Karahissar, Afium-Kara-hissar.
• Amanus, Giaur Dagh
• Ankara, Angora
• Bagtche, Bagche, Baghche, Bahçe (Amanus Mountains)
• Belemedik, Bilemedik, Bedernadik (Taurus Mountains)
• Bor, Bora, Bore (north of the Taurus Mountains)
• Brousse
• Bozanti, Pozanti, Boganti (Taurus Mountains)
• Eskichehir
• Karapunar, Karapinar (Taurus Mountains).
• Kastamuni, Kastamouni, Kastamonu, Castamuni , Castamouni, Castamonu, Castamoni, Castamowni
• Kiangri, Kangri, Changri, Çankırı, Cankiri, Cangara. Situated approximately mid-way between Ankara and the internment centre at Kastamuni (Kastamonu)
• Konia
• Entelli, Entilli, Intilli, Intille, Intaley. A work camp in the Amanus Mountains.
• Gedis, Gediz, Gadiz. Appears to have been established late 1917, about 60 miles north-west of Afion.
• Gelebek, Kelebek (Taurus Mountains)
• Hacikiri, Hadji Keri, Hadschkiri, (the latter may be the German name), Hacýkýrý . A work camp in the Taurus Mountains.
• Ngde, Nigdeh, Niğde (north of the Taurus Mountains). Nigdeh was located near Bor.
• Sheher Dere, Shehr Dere. A work camp in the Amanus Mountains.
• Tasch Durmas,Tasch Dumas. A work camp in the Amanus Mountains.
• Yarbashi, Yarbachi, Yarbaschi, Zarbaschi. A work camp in the Amanus Mountains.

Exhumation from graves and reburial, after the War

After the War, c 1927, bodies from those POW graves from across Turkey which could be identified, were exhumed and reburied in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery. The website of the CWGC may contain a 'concentration' record if this has occurred, or if there is no 'concentration' record, there should be details in the grave registration reports. For graves which could not be identified, the names of the soldiers generally appear on a Memorial at Baghdad.

It is possible that only British soldiers, and not soldiers from the Indian Army, were exhumed and reburied.

Prisoners who died in captivity in Mosul, Mesopotamia are commemorated on the Memorial at Basra. It seems likely that none of the individual graves could be identified.

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 and Historical books online

It appears there were many deaths of prisoners in Mesopotamia. There are records of deaths at a Prisoners Camp at Mosul.

Additional information

External links

• Map: place names in East and South East of Ottoman Domain with Latin alphabet, before 1915: Sivas region. From website Mavi Boncuk, (page 4, 08/15/13 scroll down). This is only one of a series maps which may be downloaded from the 08/15/13 post on page 4, or direct pdf link, 16 pages, including the Adana region.
• British Prisoners Of War House of Commons 12 October 1916. Lists the location of where British prisoners are detained in Turley. hansard.millbanksystems.com
• Repatriation Of Prisoners Of War Hansard HL Deb 14 November 1918. Includes “As regards Turkey, a considerable number of prisoners have already arrived in Egypt and other districts under our control’… “The bulk of these prisoners will be concentrated at Smyrna, and will be brought home via Italy and France as soon as possible”

Diary of Grace Williamson Smyrna 1914-1920. Includes October-November 1918 entries concerning repatriation of British POWs from Smyrna. levantineheritage.com

Also see personal accounts in Historical books online, below.

• Imperial War Museums 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, Captured at Kut, Prisoner of the Turks. The Great War Diaries of Colonel William Spackman. In August 1916 he was a prisoner in Mosul, Mesopotamia, where there were many deaths.
• 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 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. (The author was in the 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment, and this book was privately printed after his death in 1921, as a memorial. Another photocopy is available at the Imperial War Museums). Note, the actual items do not appear to be available online.
• Foreign Office Files (FO 383) at the National Archives:
  • 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. Contains a FIND (Search) function. This link now requires a Microsoft sign in. Current status unclear. onedrive.live.com. Contains references such as "FO 383/090 1915 Description: Turkey: Prisoners, including…"
  • Catalogue entry 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…

Note 1: findmypast has a dataset of records "Prisoners Of War 1715-1945" and a similar Browse dataset (both located in Armed forces & conflict/Regimental & service records) which contain selected records from FO 383, including some for Indian Army soldiers, together with some other records from The National Archives. Includes at least parts from FO 383/336, POWs in Turkey, 1917; FO 383/456, POWs in Turkey, 1918.

Note 2: FamilySearch has selected FO 383 images, catalogue entry viewable on a FamilySearch computer at a FamilySearch Centre.

• International Committee of the Red Cross Historical Archives contains online records, searchable by name, the record series including:
  • R 50410-R 50508. Also from this link scroll forward to the beginning of the file, which advises "C G1 E01-3.03 R 14246-14426 and R 50353 –R 50508. PG britanniques en mains turques". The first series R 14246-14426 seem to be largely in respect of deaths, while the latter series are mainly Lists of Prisoners at Camps, from Croissant Rouge Ottoman. Includes Indian Army soldiers. Note: there appear to be some unrelated records included.
  • R 50509-R 50840. Further List of Prisoners from Croissant Rouge Ottoman. Includes some Lists of deaths, with causes of death. Includes Indian Army soldiers. Note: there appear to be some unrelated records included.
  • R 51794, R 51795 is a two page list of British Officers repatriated Prisoners of War from Turkey, reported at Alexandria October 1918. This appears to be a British War Office document.
  • There are also additional records available, which appear only able to be found by a name Search. As an example a partial alphabetical list of deaths, letter A includes R 13783-4…13868-71-85-95-13896 Prisoner deaths at Mosul. Also R 13842 show the death at Mosul of Walter Rudge, and is part of a partial alphabetical list of deaths, letter R.

If these links are not permanent, from the ICRC Prisoners of the First World War Home Page select Examples of Index Cards/Cards of a British serviceman, and then enter the record number in the Search.

• Ancestry (pay website) contains the database "UK, British Officer Prisoners of War, 1914-1918" (located in category Military) consisting of data transcribed from the 1919 publication List of British Officers Taken Prisoner in the Various Theatres of War Aug 1914 to Nov 1918 , compiled from records kept by Messrs Cox & Co.'s Enquiry Office.
• The British Library collection contains the book Çanakkale Muharebeleri'nin esirleri : ifadeler ve mektuplar = Prisoners of war at the Çanakkale Battles : testimonies and letters (in two volumes) by Ahmet Tetik, Y. Serdar Demirtaş, Sema Demirtaş. UIN: BLL01015395994 Search the catalogue. In Turkish and English. Contains Lists of prisoners taken at Gallipoli (Çanakkale) derived from records in Turkish Archives. (Sample pages.)
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archive, (archived webpage) located in the Head Office in Maidenhead, England. The Catalogue Records relating to Turkey are available in this link (archived page) then select Archive Catalogue Part 1 Sections 07-08, then scroll down. There is an online CWGC Archive catalogue Search (which includes some digitised items, but not currently (2017/12) any relating to Turkey). The Archive includes a Library.
• "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.
• "Prisoners of War" by Heather Jones. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. "Section 6: Mistreatment" contains information about prisoners in Turkey.
• "Prisoners of War (Australia)" by Aaron Pegram. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. Includes references to POWs in Turkey, including books and other accounts in the Bibliography.
• 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.
  • Turkish Prison Camps. Click on the map for a list of the camps in Turkey.

"Appendix A: Prison Camps: Turkey". This alphabetical list, which contains information about location, appears to be from an earlier/different version of the above book, and does not appear to be included in the current version. If you are looking for a particular location which you cannot find, it is suggested you read through all the entries, because some entries mention smaller camps in the vicinity. For Nigdeh, see Bor.

"First World War Central Power Prison Camps" by Kenneth Steuer 1-1-2013 History Faculty Publications, Western Michigan University . Includes Turkish Prison Camps

• "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.
• Coping With Captivity: Australian POWs of the Turks and the impact of imprisonment during the First World War by Kate Ariotti, 2014 Phd thesis, University of Queensland

“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

• Capturing Captivity: Australian Prisoners of the Great War by Julia Smart. 2013 Honours thesis, University Of Wollongong. uow.edu.au. Includes details of personal accounts, and bibliography relating to Turkey.
• Archive photos of Allied prisoners in Turkish hands Levantine Heritage Foundation.
• Photograph Collection: Researche about WW1-Eastern Front. Includes an image titled “Internment Camps in Turkey”, from an unknown source, perhaps French. Also includes some maps in respect of Kut, and includes some unattributed images of pages from In Kut and Captivity : with the Sixth Indian Division by Major EWC Sandes, refer online books below.
• 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.
• German photos of the Baghdad Railway, including a category titled "Bagdadbahn, Taurusgebirge, Belemedik, Adana". Bildarchiv der Philipp Holzmann AG.
• Photographs: Historical : Baghdad Railway including
  • Belemedik c 1915-18 which includes text about Allied POWs, British and Indian, working along the railway. Working meant tunnel works, laying tracks but often loading and de-loading wagons. Others had to join road-construction teams. Gunter Hartnagel Collection on flickr.com. There are also associated photograph collections titled "Baghdad Railway: Now and then", and "Baghdad Railway: Taurus/Toros section"
• Archive views of the Baghdad Railway Levantine Heritage Foundation. Includes Belemedik.
• Photograph collection including the Taurus and Amanus mountains. Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Bavarian State Archives). The Bavarian Squadron 304 travelled through the Ottoman empire to get to the Palestine front with their valuable aeroplanes. Part of their route took them through the Taurus and Amanus mountains 1917-1918.
• "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
• "The forgotten Anzacs: ‘honoured guests’ of the Sultan" 24 April 2014 theconversation.com. This article also mentions Indian POWs.
• "Bombardier Pearse. How He Died. Unwholesome Turkish Biscuits". National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) 27 Nov 1917. trove.nla.gov.au. Bombardier Vincent Pearse of the Volunteer Artillery Battery along with many others, died soon after being taken prisoner, officially due to enteritis, but caused by what the hungry men ate.
• ‪"The British Death March in Mesopotamia" The Great War Week 94‬. YouTube video. The initial part of this video is about the POWs from Kut.
• Memoir of Private Fred William Nelson, Lancashire Fusiliers 1/8th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (125th Brigade, 42nd Division). Captured at Gallipoli, aged 17, his camps included Bilemedik. 17/10/2008 bbc.co.uk
• "Australian Submariner P.O.W.'s After The Gallipoli Landing" by M. W. D. White Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Volume 14 1990 issue 4: pages 136-144. University of Queensland website.

From the Sea of Marmara to the North Gate of Baghdad: The Story of Four HMAS AE2 Crew Members by Colonel Marcus Fielding, Australian Army, written c 2009. The crew was taken into captivity by the Turks. With quotes from the diary of AE2 crew member Able Seaman Albert Knaggs. ae2.org.au

• 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.

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. Photographs and postcards from his album Click on the tab “Online” to display 8 items.

• Sergeant Maurice George Delpratt, 5th Light Horse Regiment, A I F
  • The Delpratt war helenhambling.com
  • Maurice George Delpratt Correspondence, A Turkish Prisoner Of War State Library of Queensland, with Correspondence Includes digital images.
  • 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
  • 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
    • Photographs: Prison of War camp WW1, Belemedik Turkey, Prisoners of War Camp along the Berlin-Baghdad Railway flickr.com
• "Belemedik: A hidden travel story" October 2005 diplomat.com.tr
• The Journey into Captivity – Mesopotamia in 1916 [2nd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment]; Captivity in Turkey: from the diaries of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Cecil Lodge Part 2: January-December 1917 norfolkinworldwar1.org. With extracts from the accounts of two officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Lodge and Captain Alfred Shakeshaft.
• "Experiences of a Prisoner of War in Turkey : the Captain White story" by Amanda Rebbeck 20 October 2010. awm.gov.au . White wrote of his experiences in Guests of the unspeakable : the odessey of an Australian airman - being a record of captivity and escape in Turkey by T.W. White (1928).
• "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.
• John Charles McPherson 2309 AIF 3rd Bn, 11th Coy., Imperial Camel Corps. Contains a newspaper report of his time as a POW, from capture near Beersheba, in 1917, to working on railway construction in the Taurus Mountains.
• National Archives of Australia contains a digitized service record for Chapman Mathers, Service Number-919, a POW who died and was buried in the Armenian Cemetery at Angora. This file contains some general information, and includes a copy of what appears to be a Turkish death certificate.
• RAMC profile of: Valentine Michael Flood [Service No: 46780] 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• Interviews. Imperial War Museums.
  • Listen to the 1984 interview with Jack William Callaway British gunner served as bugler with 82nd Bty, 110th Bde Royal Field Artillery in India and Mesopotamia, 1908-1916; present at siege of Kut-el-Amara, 4/1916; POW in Turkey, 1916-1918 . Catalogue number 8277
  • Listen to the 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. Catalogue number 7499
  • Listen to the 1984 interview with Thomas Edward Osmond British officer served with Royal Army Medical Corps in Mesopotamia, 1914-1916; captured at seige of Kut-el-Amara and POW in Turkey, 1916-1918. Catalogue number 8228
  • Listen to the 1976 interview with Henry Hampton Rich British officer served with 120th Rajputana Infantry in Mesopotamia, 1915-1916, including siege of Kut-el-Amara; POW in Turkey, 1916-1918. Catalogue number 766
  • Listen to the 1969 Interview with Horace Wake British private served with 1/4th Bn Essex Regt in Egypt and Palestine, 12/1915-3/1917; captured during First Battle of Gaza, 3/1917 and POW in Palestine and Turkey, 1917-1919. Catalogue number 33526.
• Prisoners of the Turks: the fate of Frederick William Davey and Frank Turner following the surrender of Kut winkleighheroes.co.uk
• Scroll to: "A Prisoner of the Turks" by Brian and Mari Walker, Winter 2012 Newsletter The War Graves Photographic Project. twgpp.org. Herbert George May 9th Light Horse Regiment 5th Reinforcement, died of disease at Ngde (north of the Taurus Mountains) 26 September 1917. Private Colin Spencer Campbell, 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance was captured in Palestine 26-3-17, and was sent to Bagtche (Amanus Mountains) to work on the railway line, where discipline was harsh. He subsequently went to Jarbaschi, another working camp , and when sick with malaria, to Bore camp (north of the Taurus Mountains).
• Group portrait of Australian prisoners at Afion Kara Hissar [Officers] (awm.gov.au) includes at least two who published accounts: Lieutenant L H Luscombe of the 14th Battalion AIF captured on Gallipoli on 8 August 1915 and Captain J A Brown, a Sydney doctor serving as a Medical Officer [Australian Army Medical Corps] with the Gloucestershire Yeomanry, captured on the Palestine front in 1916. Their books were: The Story of Harold Earl – Australian by L H Luscombe published Brisbane 1970 and Turkish Days and Ways by James Brown published Sydney 1940.
• Photo Collection World War 1, Gallipoli,Mesopotamia, Anatolia. lncludes photographs of the POW prison and hospital at Adana.

Photo collection: journey along the track of the WW1 POW's allied in Turkey Includes photos of Afion Kara Hissar.

• Photograph: A railway construction site at Tachdourmas on the Taurus Mountain Railway. awm.gov.au
• Berlin-Baghdad Railway - The Great War globalsecurity.org
• The Baghdad Railway by Valerie H. Atwood. Report presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, May, 2013.
• "The Baghdad Railway and the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1916. A Case Study in German Resistance and Complicity" by Hilmar Kaiser. Chapter 3, page 67, from Remembrance and Denial: the Case of the Armenian Genocide edited by Richard G Hovannisian 1998. Google Books version, Archive.org version. Includes general information about the Baghdad Railway.

Historical books online

• Also see Mesopotamia Campaign‎-Historical books online
• Rapport de MM. Alfred Boissier et Dr Adolphe Vischer sur leur inspection des camps de prisonniers en Turquie International Committee of the Red Cross report on inspection of prisoners camps in Turkey, October 1916 to January 1917. There are Contents page at the back of the book, pages 61-62. French language. Scribd.com. Also available through grandeguerre.icrc.org
• Miscellaneous No. 24 (1918): Report on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Turkey. Presented to Parliament November 1918. HMSO 1918 IOR/L/MIL/7/18737 British Library. Alternative version: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt
• Adventures in Turkey and Russia by E H Keeling, London 1924. Pdf download, Digital Library of India, Archive.org version. The author was captured at Kut, and the initial chapter details the the very poor medical condition of many of those captured. Edward Keeling Wikipedia. He was in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers.

"How British Prisoners Left Turkey" by Lieutenant-Colonel E H Keeling page 682 Blackwood’s Magazine January-June 1919, Volume 205 Archive.org. The practical difficulties associated with the repatriation of prisoners of war.

• Besieged in Kut, and after by Major Charles Harrison Barber I M S [Indian Medical Service] 1918 Archive.org
• In Kut and Captivity : with the Sixth Indian Division by Major E W C Sandes R E 1919 Archive.org

Tales of Turkey by Major E W C Sandes 1924. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.

• Caught by the Turks by Francis Yeats-Brown 1919 Archive.org The author was a member of the Royal Flying Corps who was captured near Baghdad in 1915. Also by the same author Bengal Lancer, (1930) which contains a chapter on his time in Mesopotamia prior to his capture: Pdf download, Archive.org version; Another pdf download Digital Library of India, Archive.org version. Golden Horn by Francis Yeats-Brown 1932 is available on the Digital Library of India website with a choice of two pdf downloads Download 1, Download 2. Archive.org 2 version "A sketch of the political activities in Turkey from 1908 to the world war, and an account of the author's experiences as a prisoner of war of Turkey. This latter part (chap. V-XI) is a revision of the author's book published in 1919 under title: Caught by the Turks." Wikipedia
• 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. HMS Tara was formerly the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) ship Hibernia, with more details in Prisoners of the Red Desert: Wartime Adventures of LNWR railwaymen National Railway Museum.

"The Tale of the Tara" page 253 True Stories of the Great War, Volume II. Editor in Chief Francis Trevelyan Miller 1917 Archive.org

• A Kut Prisoner by H. C. W. Bishop, Indian Army Reserve of Officers. 1920 Archive.org
• A Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org. The title page contains a handwritten note “Ceylon Civil Service (Forests)”. A book in the On Active Service Series

Poems in Captivity by John Still 1919 Archive.org

• The Secrets of a Kuttite, an Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul Intrigue by Captain E O Mousley, RFA 1921 Archive.org
• 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. Note: Final pages, from page 178, are missing including part of "List of Orderlies".
• Turkey in Travail: the Birth of a New Nation by Harold Armstrong (Lately Assistant and Acting Military Attache to the High Commissioner , Constantinople) 1925 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Archive.org/DLI version. The initial chapters cover the fall of Kut and the author’s experiences as POW in Turkey. He appears to have then been an officer in an Indian Army regiment.
• 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. Alan Bott Wikipedia.
• The Escaping Club: "Part II" [page 241] by A. J. Evans 1922 HathiTrust 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. Also available as a pdf download, Digital Library of India, Archive.org version.
• 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
• The Road to En-Dor; being an account of how two prisoners of war at Yozgad in Turkey won their way to freedom by E H Jones Lt. IARO, 1920 Archive.org The author, Elias Henry Jones was captured at Kut and had previously been in the Indian Civil Service in Burma. Biographical details are available below
• "I Visit Asia Minor" Chapter VI, page 93 My Secret Service: Vienna--Sophia--Constantinople--Nish--Belgrade--Asia Minor, etc. by 'The Man Who Dined With the Kaiser' 1916. Archive.org. A journey, c January 1916, on the Baghdad Railway from Constantinople to Konia, although a longer journey had been planned. Page 101 briefly mentions 300 French prisoners at Konia. Press reports of the time indicate the author was a special reporter representing the London Daily Mail, and speculate he was a Dutchman.
• 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.
• Agreement between the British and Ottoman governments respecting prisoners of war and civilians Presented to Parliament April 1918 HMSO. Archive.org
• IOR/L/MIL/7/18454 Collection 425/1284 British prisoners of war interned in Turkey British Library digitised manuscript. Includes
  • List of British and Indian POWs known to have died. List includes the wording “in Baghdad”.
  • Report by Major T D Cree regarding his, and his family’s treatment in Turkey
  • Letter from Major-General C Melliss 1st February 1918 re fate of men from the Kut Garrison
    • Previous letter 15 August 1917
• National Archives of Australia files, mainly consisting of copies of files from the British Foreign Office. Search the NAA collection
  • 1916 Correspondence File S9/364 (4 pages)
  • Prisoners of War Camps in Turkey File 1917/69/526 (8 pages)
  • File 1917/89/397 (185 pages)
  • Australians captured in Turkey (40 pages) Alphabetical list with details. This is an Australian file.
  • Mortality among Prisoners of War in Turkey :1918 correspondence File 1918/89/724 (20 pages)
  • 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.
  • 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)
  • 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].
• 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
• “Captives of the Turks” by Sgt. (later Capt.) John Halpin, 12th L.H. Regt., A.I.F., author of Blood in the Mists published in Sydney, 1934. A series of articles appearing in Reveille, published by The Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch in 1934. Unfortunately only Parts 7-9 of the article in Volume 8, Numbers 1-3, September-November 1934 are available online, which document the harsh treatment soldiers who were not officers received.

Part 7, page 10, Part 8, page 10 Part 9 page 10. reveille.dlconsulting.com

• Sample chapters from 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. 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”. More about the book
• Adventures in the Near East, 1918-1922, by A. Rawlinson 1924 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Pages 272-333 describe the author's imprisonment, when on 18 March 1920, he, and four British soldiers he commanded, were arrested by Turkish Nationalist Troops and confined for 20 months, until exchanged for Turkish prisoners 31 October 1921.
• Sample of Red Crescent Documents relating to POWs from “Translated Turkish Works on Gallipoli”, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
• 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 page 213 cover the war period.

Baghdad Railway

Baghdad Railway. Note: The German and American spelling is Bagdad.

• Map: Turkish Railways in 1914 from the website Mavi Bonkuk (page 16, 01/13/14, scroll down).
• Railway Map of Turkey: Summer 1914 Digital page 205, Der Kampf um die Dardanellen 1915, part of the series Schlachten des Weltkrieges. The Digital State Library of Upper Austria.
• C 1916 Map showing Route of the Baghdad Railway showing yet to be constructed tunnels. globalsecurity.org. Full title: Sketch Map to Illustrate The Operations In Mesopotamia and the Route of the Baghdad Railway. Elsewhere it is stated that this map is not a correct representation of the state of the Baghdad railway during WW1, as it shows the link from Konya ending at Bulgurlu; in fact, that portion of the line was open as far as Karapunar
• "The Railway Question" Chapter XIV, page 275 Through Asiatic Turkey. Narrative of a Journey from Bombay to the Bosphorus, Volume II by Grattan Geary, Editor of The Times of India 1878 Archive.org
• Report by Major Law on Railways in Asiatic Turkey : with five maps ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty ; May 1896 Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt.
• Railways in Western Asia by Lieutenant-Colonel H Picot Indian Army (Retired). Published by the Central Asian Society, London 1904 Archive.org.
• The Short Cut to India, the record of a journey along the route of the Baghdad Railway by David Fraser 1909 Archive.org. Includes a description of the areas where the railway had not then been constructed such as the Taurus and Amanus Mountains.
• Baghche [1911-12] page 373 Across Asia Minor on Foot by W J Childs 1917. Archive.org.This journey took place 1911-1912.
• The Baghdad Railway by Captain S. F. Newcombe, R E and Lieut, J. P. S. Greig R E The Geographical Journal Volume 44, No. 6 (Dec., 1914), pp. 577-580. jstor.org . Describes a journey in May 1914. Includes photographs. Available to read online for free, but first you must register with JSTOR, see Miscellaneous tips.
• "Germany’s Railway Problems in Asiatic Turkey" by R J Bjurstedt page 647 Popular Mechanics May 1916. Google Books. Includes a map of the route of the Baghdad Railway.
• The War and the Bagdad Railway; the story of Asia Minor and its relation to the present conflict by Morris Jastrow 3rd edition 1918 (first published 1917) with a Map showing the route of the railway.
• "Chapter XI The Bagdad Railway and the War" page 271 The Cradle of the War: The Near East and Pan-Germanism by Henry Charles Woods 1918 Archive.org

"The Bagdad Railway" by H. Charles Woods The North American Review Vol. 208, No. 753 (Aug., 1918), pp. 219-228 jstor.org

• Turkey, the Great Powers, and the Bagdad Railway : a study in Imperialism by Edward Mead Earle 1924 Archive.org with Map 1918
• Description of a journey from Bozanti to Aleppo by (existing) rail, horse and road, via Alexandretta c 1915? page 140 Memories of a Turkish Statesman, 1913-1919 by Djemal Pasha, formerly…Imperial Ottoman Naval Minister, Commander of the Fourth Army in Sinai, Palestine and Syria. 1922 Archive.org. With Map probably of sections (or proposed sections) of the Baghdad Railway Adana to Aleppo and showing the strategic port of Iskenderun (Alexandretta), facing page 140, and Lower part of the this map, south west from Aleppo to Homs and the coast
• "Chapter XXII – By Cattle-Truck Through the Taurus", pages 309-324 Gallipoli Mission by Charles Edwin Woodrow (C E W) Bean (1st edition, 1948). Australian War Memorial website. This account relates to travel by Bean, of the Australian Historical Mission, during the months of February and March, 1919.
• Page 89 The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org indicates that after the War, Indian troops were guarding the railway line in the Taurus Mountains, and that there were Indian Field Post Offices in the vicinity.
• Extract pages from The Diplomatic History of the Baghdad Railway by John B. Wolf, University of Missouri Studies, Volume XI, no 2, April 1936. Includes Content and most of the Bibliography pages, and a Map of Turkish Railways in 1914. levantineheritage.com