G'day All,

My Great Uncle was captured when the Kut Garrison capitulated on April 29th, 1916. He and 13000 others were then forced to march over 700 miles to Anatolia. He ended up dying on the Ottoman Empire's version of the death railway near the Tarsus Mountains.

I have recently been given extracts of a diary of one of the AFC men captured with my uncle. I have never read a first hand account of the "death march" that goes into detail as this mans diary does. The writer in detail talks of the beatings of those unable to march, how one sergeant complained that men were being left behind to die and was given 15 lashes. Others were beaten because they had trouble keeping up and as a result of those beatings they dropped and never rose again.

Are there any other first hand accounts of the death march from Kut??

Were any Turks ever charged with crimes after the war, and did any Turk including Kemmel ever apologised? I discount his speech regarding Australians who fell are now sons of Turkey as an apology.

The only plus is that they were not Armenian or Russian, those poor souls suffered terribly as "Guests of the Unspeakable".

Regards,

Andrew.

For a "popular" published account of Kut & the march/captivity see

Rusell Braddon The Siege (Jonathan Cape, London 1969) and later reprints/paperback editions.

LST_164

Its not a good book, I have read it and was throughly disappointed.

Andrew

Ah, one man and his dog Spot. "Townshend's concern for the welfare of his dog [spot] was considerably more in evidence then that for his troops. He even made a successful appeal to the Turkish commander that the animal should be spared the rigours of captivity and returned to Basra" Norman F. Dixon

Nice for the dog, not so for the men who were given "injections of brandy coloured fluid" and beatings.
Not many Englishman did survive that march, so I would think there would be very few eye witness accounts. The Indians may have written some though.

Alan

Hi Andrew

Below is a list of some books written by POW's on the Kut death marches:

BISHOP, H.C.W.
A Kut prisoner / by H.C.W. Bishop. - London : John Lane, the Bodley Head, 1920. - xiii, 244p., 11
leaves of plates: ill., frontis., maps ; 20cm. (On active service series).
Our Classification: 23(=41)/3 [ Bishop, Harry Coghill Watson]

HARVEY, F.A.
The sufferings of the Kut garrison during their march into Turkey as prisoners of war: 1916-1917 / [by
F.A. Harvey; edited by J.S. Hewick]. - Ludgershall, Wiltshire : Adjutants Press, 1923. - 80p. ; 20cm

SANDES, E.W.C.
In Kut and captivity: with the Sixth Indian Division / by Major E.W.C. Sandes, M.C., R.E. - London :
John Murray, 1919. - xii, 496p., 25 leaves of plates (some fold.): ill., frontis., maps, plans, ports. ;


WHITE, T.W.
Guests of the unspeakable: the odyssey of an Australian airman - being a record of captivity and
escape in Turkey / by T.W. White. - London : John Hamilton, [1928?]. - 320p., 18p. of plates: ill.,
facsim., ports. ; 23cm.

Another good source is:
TREATMENT OF BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN TURKEY
Treatment of British prisoners of war in Turkey - Delhi : Government Printing, n.d. - 46p. ; 22cm.



There were trials held in Istanbul in 1919/20 on the war crimes committed by the Turks against the Armenians and the POW's. Unfortunately the transcripts of the war crimes tribunals are in Ottoman Turkish and no English translation is available. It was recently translated into modern Turkish by Prof. Vahakn Dadrian and Taner Akcam and published in Turkey (only about a month ago).

The Armenian, Greek and Assyrian civilians who were targetted for extermination have received no apology from the government of Turkey either. They are still waiting!

Regards
David

Hi Andrew

I'm reading 'Guests of the Unspeakable' at the moment (which I would presume you have already read), and as well as Sandes 'In Kut & Captivity' (that David has just mentioned), White also refers to E.O. Mousley's 'Secrets of a Kuttite'.

Out of interest, are you able to disclose the name of the AFC man captured with your G/uncle?
Cheers, Frev

Andrew,

What was it that disppointed you so?
Rob.

G'day Frev,

I am lucky enough to own a signed copy of "guests of the Unspeakable". My Uncle Will Lord was Tommy White's batman on the "Morea".

Tommy White was a friend of the family, he particularly helped my Father find work during the depression and he was always there to help my Grand mother. My Great Grand Parents were caretakers at Point Cook during the war and my father was born there in the caretakers cottage in 1916.

As for whose diary is it, well I cannot say yet but as there were only 2 AFC survivors from Kut, so you have a 50-50 chance of guessing whose it is. I have asked the mans son if it is alright to publish parts of it in an article I am writing for the Journal which is published by the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians. Once I get the okay from him, i will let you know who authored the diary.

Regards,

Andrew.

G'day Rob,

While the book has some strong points such as painting the picture of the seige and the conditions the men endured, it never really painted the picture of what a complete bounder Townsend was.

Braddon refers to Townsend living the life while his men starved or marched but he used these references as a tool to shock rather than how Townsend disregarded his men and did not care as to how the men were suffering ........... but the most disappointing fact of all is that Braddon didn't crucify the b..tard.

There is no mention to how the Indian troops suffered a great deal more under the cruel hand of those animals who masqueraded as soldiers of the Ottoman Empire.

The other disappointing aspect of the book was the little written of the air drops of barley and wheat even millstones that the men of the Half Flight and RFC carried out, he disregards what am amazing feat this was in its day, considering the aircraft that were being used.

There was no mention of the ingenuity of the air mechanics under the direction of Captain Winfred Smith, who erected mills so the could produce flour.

There are aspects of the death march that are omitted but thats just me being picky.

I found it disappointing.

Andrew

Okay, so I'll take a punt and guess it's the one that writes a good letter to his sister - and lived to the ripe old age of 95 (amazing!)
So, it's probably the other one, right?

Would be really interested in reading your finished article - guess I'll have to join the Society (& then I guess it's a long wait until the journal will be published!)........

Cheers, Frev

I've never seen it, but there's this book as well:

Johnston, M.A.B. & Yearsley, K.K. 'Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom', Edinburgh & London, William Blackwood & Sons, 1919.
In his "War Books", Cyril Falls wrote: Captains Johnston and Yearsley were captured at Kut and confined at Yozgad in Anatolia. They escaped with several other British others, wandered for five weeks, and reached the coast, where they got hold of a boat and finally reached Cyprus. This is a very good story. The ingenuity and care with which the escape was prepared, the strange vicissitudes of the long road to freedom, the encounters with villagers, shepherds, and gendarmes, make it all breathlessly exciting.


Aubrey Herbert's 'Mons, Anzac and Kut' tells some of the story of the pre-surrender negotiations with the Turks, though does not cover the death march itself. This can be downloaded off the internet.

Other books and articles that cover the treatment of POWs of the Turks in detail - some refer to prisoners who survived the march from Kut:

Foster, J. R. 'Two and a half years Prisoner of War in Turkey'. National Archives & AWM, Canberra.

Halpin, J. 'Blood in the Mists', Sydney, Macquarie Head Press, 1934.

Halpin, J. 'Captives of the Turk', in 'Reveille', Sydney. 1 Mar 1934, 1 Apr 1934, 1 May 1934, 1 Jun 1934, 1 Jul 1934, p25, 26. p48. p?. p29. p15..

Halpin, J. 'Praise of the Turks. A 'Captive' in Reply', in 'Reveille' Sydney. 1 Aug 1934, p 6.

Luscombe, L. H. 'The Story of Harold Earl - Australian', Brisbane, W. R. Smith & Paterson, 1970.

Lushington, R. F. 'A Prisoner With The Turks 1915 - 1918', London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd, 1923.

Very good mate, but the you could be wrong.

As far as the society goes, I have just rejoined again after years in the wilderness, the more members the better, other wise it may have a similar fate to many RSL clubs ......... it will disappear as the members age and fly on to bluer skies.

Regards,

Andrew

Thanks Bryn,

I have old copies of Reveille in the roof so I will have to drag them down and see if I have the issues you mentioned.

Andrew.

Hi Pals,

I have Johnston and Yeardsley's book. I will look at it if anyone wants to know what it contains.

Hot off the press is;

Captured at Kut: Prisoner of the Turks; The Great War Diaries of Colonel WC Spackman Tony Spackman (Ed); Pen and Sword; Barnsley; 2008; ISBN 978 18441 58737

I have not read it yet as it only arrived today.

Doug

NB it mentions A J Barker's The Neglected War; 1967

A Kut Prisoner; Harry C W Bishop is available for free Here

Doug

Another book not yet mentioned, A prisoner in Turkey by John Still is also available for freeHere

Doug

In Brigands Hands and Turkish Prisons 1914-1918; A Forder. This was also available on the internet but I have lost the link. I have it down loaded though

Doug

Thanks to all for the book suggestions.

Regards,

Andrew

I think the book "Black Bread and Barbedwire" has a chapter deal with one of the OR's captured at Kut.

Hello Andrew,

Have you been able to find these copies of Reveille?

Cheers,
Shahane

Another one to try is Capt. J E H Neville's History of the 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry in the Great War Vol 1.

John

Other original letters for the campaign by WC Spackman are held in the National Army Museum archives. they cover his service with the 48th Pioneers and captivity post-Kut.

Cheers

Simon Moody

Hello Gentlemen, if I may add just a bit of information. Ghost has mentioned Norman F. Dixon in passing. This author has written a book titled, "On the Psychology of Military Incompetence", Futura Publications,1985. He has a 15 pages chapter on the siege of Kut and Townshend.A good read to understand Townshend's incompetence, motives and lack of actions.
Joe

here is photo of memorial plaque (Baghdad North Gate Cemetery) for those died in the of the Turks during the march from kut.

yes it does a regular sgt major, makes difficult reading, mentioned allready about the fate of those that fell by the wayside, and al also the rapes of the young soldiers as well, not pleasent reading, the anuthor gets killed in the 20's on the nWF
matt

In my reading of accounts by German officers serving with the Turks I have read mention German officers in Constantinople noticing Townsend having the free run of Constatinople and frequenting the best restaurants; they complained to the Turks that this was unseemly and Townsend's freedom to cavort was curtailed to some degree. The Turks were of course proud of capturing him and his division, and he was able to parlay that to a good lifestyle; "I have no dog in this fight", and don't know the details, but it would seem that he must have understood that his men were hardly in a comfortable position, to say the least, and he might have led a more modest lifestyle in solidarity. I am sure that the Turks loved to, in effect, show him off about the capital, and he seemed to play into this easily.

Bob Lembke

G'day Shahane,

Sorry I have been busy researching my book and writing an article for the 114-18 Journal of the ASWW1AH which is due at the end of the month.

I did get into the roof but I didn't have those particular issues, found a few minor nests though I am going to the NSW State Library sometime this week so I will check out the articles then. The Dixon Library has the complete collection of Reveille.

I will get a photocopy of them and let you know the results.

Regards,

Andrew.

Thanks for all of the book references.

Regarding Townsend, a speech he made when he returned home he referred to having been "The honoured guest of the Turks".

Today July 13th marks the 93rd anniversary of the passing of my Great Uncle William Lord. I recently received a package from my Aunty in which clippings of newspaper articles of Townsend wereincluded. These belonged to my GG Grandmother. On top of one of the articles entitled "Flogged by the Turks" she wrote a single word;

Butchers

Andrew