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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).<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> 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.
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.<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/57303/BAGHDAD%20(NORTH%20GATE)%20WAR%20CEMETERY Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery] cwgc.org</ref> 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. One name of a probable Prisoners who died in captivity in Mosul, Mesopotamia are commemorated Indian soldier POW appears on a the Memorial at Basra.It seems likely that none of the individual graves could be identified.<ref name=Mos> typandy. [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?/topic/246100-taken-prisoner-relieving-kut-and-died-either-in-turkey-or-at-mosul/&do=findComment&comment=2477912 Taken prisoner relieving Kut and died either in Turkey or at Mosul.] ''Great War Forum'' 29 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.</ref>
==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''']]
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===
*[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, ''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.<ref name=Mos/>
*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. (The author was in the 2nd Battalion, [[54th Regiment of Foot|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.
*[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…"
**[http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3655166/699/50509/ 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.
**[http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3655166/699/51794/ 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 [http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3655166/699/13783/ partial alphabetical list of deaths, letter A] includes R 13783-4…13868-71-85-95-13896 Prisoner deaths at Mosul. Also [http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/3655166/699/13842/ 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 [http://grandeguerre.icrc.org Home Page] select Examples of Index Cards/Cards of a British serviceman, and then enter the record number in the Search.
*[http://www.cwgc.org/about-us/what-we-do/archive.aspx Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archive] , located in the Head Office in Maidenhead, England. The Catalogue Records relating to Turkey are available in this [http://www.cwgc.org/about-us/what-we-do/archive/archive-catalogue.aspx link] then select Archive Catalogue Part 1 Sections 07-08, then scroll down.
**[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
*[https://norfolkinworldwar1.org/tag/prisoners-of-war/ The Journey into Captivity – Mesopotamia in 1916 [2nd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment<nowiki>]</nowiki>] norfolkinworldwar1.org. With extracts from the accounts of two officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Lodge and Captain Alfred Shakeshaft.
*[https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2010/10/20/experiences-of-a-prisoner-of-war-in-turkey-the-captain-white-story/ "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).
*[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://empirecall.pbworks.com/w/page/61592428/McPherson-J-C-Pte-2309 John Charles McPherson 2309 AIF 3rd Bn]. 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.
