Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)

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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).[1]

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.

Most 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.[2]

A listing [3] 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.

The section between Bagtsche and Airan –Entilli was at kilometres “485,800-502,800”[4]. 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.[5]

In 1917 Angora (Ankara) became the centre of the working groups engaged in laying the narrow-gauge line towards Yozgad. [6]

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.[7] Eskichehir and Konia were camps for Indian officers only. [8]

There was a camp at Smyrna, which was used as an repatriation camp c September-October 1918.[9]

Transfers between different camps were common.[10]

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[11]

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, Bahçe (Amanus Mountains)
  • Belemedik, Bedernadik (Taurus Mountains)
  • Bor, Bora, Bore (north of the Taurus Mountains)
  • Bozanti, Pozanti, Boganti (Taurus Mountains)
  • Kiangri, Changri, Çankırı, Cankiri, Cangara
  • Entelli, Entilli, Intilli, Intille, Intaley. A work camp in the Amanus Mountains.
  • 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.

Exhumation from graves and reburial, after the War

After the War, 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.[12] The website of the CWGC may contain a 'concentration' record if this has occurred. For graves which could not be identified, the names of the soldiers generally appear on a Memorial at Baghdad.

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

Additional information

External links

  • 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 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 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.
  • 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.[13] Contains a FIND (Search) function. 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…[14]
Note: 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.[15]
"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
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
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.
Photo collection: journey along the track of the WW1 POW's allied in Turkey Includes photos of Afion Kara Hissar.

Historical books online

"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 Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org. The title page contains a handwritten note “Ceylon Civil Service (Forests)”
Poems in Captivity by John Still 1919 Archive.org

References

  1. "Prisoners of War" by Heather Jones. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. 'Section 6: Mistreatment' contains information about prisoners in Turkey. See External links, above.
  2. Dogan Sahin Kut POW Great War Forum 28 January 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  3. Image: “Internment Camps in Turkey”, from an unknown source, perhaps French, from Photograph Collection: Researche about WW1-Eastern Front
  4. Page 50 Geologie Kleinasiens im Bereich der Bagdadbahn by Fritz Frech 1916 Archive.org
  5. IPT Kut Cruelty - William Fratel Great War Forum 5 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  6. Page xv A Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org.
  7. Timbob1001 [Tim] Bombardier A N Christison Indian Volunteer Artillery Great War Forum 26 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. Page xx A Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org.
  9. JoMH et al. Smyrna Great War Forum 26 July 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  10. 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
  11. Sahin, Dogan Henry James Harding POW held by the Turkish Army Great War Forum 23 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015
  12. Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery cwgc.org
  13. seaforths "Foreign Office Files on POWs (FO 383)" Great War Forum 30 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  14. themonsstar POWs Great War Forum 13 January 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  15. themonsstar Find My Past WW1 PoW records The Manchester Regiment Group Forum: POW User Group April 24, 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  16. Canberra et al. Ankara Municipal cemetery / Baghdad North gate Great War Forum 13 January 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  17. Driver P. W. Long 63rd Battery, R.F.A. rushdenheritage.co.uk. The London Gazette Supplement 27/30 January 1920, page 1230