A Report on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War 

 in Turkey was issued on Nov. 20, 1918, as a White 

 Paper (Cd. 9208.). ' 



A. TURKISH TREATMENT OF BRITISH 

 PRISONERS 



(from the "Morning Post/' Nov. 21, 1918.) 



FROM first to last the tale told is one which induces almost 

 physical nausea. It is a story of a national crime more 

 appalling than that of the Black Hole of Calcutta, for 

 there the captives were killed relatively quickly ; the Turks 

 killed our men slowly, deliberately, and with a luxury 

 of torture. 



When the 6th Division surrendered at Kut their 

 belongings were looted and they had to spend a week 

 on the bare ground quite unsheltered in sun and rain. 

 For two days no rations were issued by the Turks. There 

 was nothing to eat but dates and black bread which the 

 Arab soldiers peddled among the men in exchange for 

 boots and clothing, thus bringing their destitution a stage 

 further. The Turks also plied a traffic in their dry and 

 stony ration biscuits, quite indigestible fare for semi- 

 starved men and probably one of the main causes of the 

 large number of deaths from gastro-enteritis and dysentery 

 which occurred at Shamran. Nearly 300 men were dead 

 within a week of the surrender. "It was, in short, very 

 soon clear and at the time this came as a surprise that 

 the Turks had neither the power nor the will to protect 

 the lives of the prisoners they had taken." 



OUR MEN FLOGGED. 



On May 6, when the column of prisoners was to set 

 out on the 100 mile march to Bagdad, the officers learned 

 to their consternation that they were to be separated from 

 their men. By this time they well understood what the 

 consequences would be. The officers and the absolutely 



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