Skip to item: of 441
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 94/1915 Pt 1 ‘German War:- Turkey. Prisoners’ [‎152v] (313/441)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 volume (217 folios). It was created in 12 Dec 1914-31 Dec 1915. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

1
1
r-
Miiir-rr
r
12
telegram tit CnL^ f Q 7 T as r were P ennilees * Mr. Cameron then appeared and sent a
telegram to ^eCoverument of Ma, a rep^y to which was received by him on the 28 th
that 'ir/he ( ? Ieanwhl e ’ render us an y pecuniary assistance and told Mr. Rosario
that, if the Qawasses troubled him for money, he would put them in jail. The Qawasses were
have accented^'njrkhih'n 8 ^' am j., remar ^ e< l that it would have been to their interest to
liH]! pt ^ 1 k ^ nationality and remained at Baghdad. Mr. Rosario advanced them a
of iaXS thev'setthS f r 0 Starvin ? and hetwem him and Mr. Bl.arncha (the Postmaster
for Port Said ^ ^ ‘ h Qawasses ex P enses at A1 ™ andri » Pri»r to our leaving that city
recei P t of the telegram from the Government of India, Mr. Cameron still refused to
amTson for ou/onwaTjourne 0 ;' aDd ° n ^ ^ US 3 letter 40 MeSSrs - Thomas Cook
Alemfn ft T r J« e c C0U ^ US treatment r ff ived by us from the American Consuls at Baghdad,
Aleppo, Tarsus and Mersina, we could not help but notice the dilference in the treatment
accorded to us by our own Consul. This was also noticed by other mlbers of our c"
whom a reference may be made and who will probably state their experiences more forcibly
p i Last, y» we ^ r ® nf opinion that were it not for Mr. Tod's personal influence with Djemal
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , we should still have been in custody of the Turks and probably interneU at Kaisarmh or
Lrusa, where we believe other subjects of the Allies have been interned.
Military information by Mr. Marap G. Thaddeus, Acconntant-Treaaurer of the BritUh
Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. at Baghdad.
On the 13th December 1914.—I saw a large motor trolley at the Nokta station (only five
Ba^hdaT^ fr0m 0n en( l uir y 1 was told that it carried guns from Aleppo to
On the loth December. —At Rumadi I saw another two motor trolleys of the same type and
size At the Khan at Rumadi there were two locked rooms which, according to the Khanchi
contained motor car accessories and ammunitions.
On the 16th December.—Between Rumadi and Hit we met a motor car with six passengers
They stopped one of our policemen and enquired as to who we were. This car I ^was
told, carried the new Commander of Troops for the army at Basrah and live officers.
Two of the officers were no doubt Germans. After about an hour's journey we met another car
which was apparently carrying motor accessories. This car carried four Turkish officers and
a mechanician. It also contained about half a dozen tins of petrol, also other cases, the contents
of which did not appear to be arms or ammunition.
19th December.—krn\e& Ana. According to what I heard there the town was “ full of
soldiers". I saw only about a hundred soldiers grouped in the street opposite the barracks.
In the Khan, where we stayed the night, we met some German officers and others in mufti!
They seemed to be friendly and talked to some of our party. Here as well as at Haditha it
was reported that 50,000 soldiers had left Aleppo for Maskana, where they were about to
proceed down the Euphrates by “ Shakhtoors" (flat-bottomed oblong boats used on the
Euphrates) bound to Basrah and also that some thousands of cavalry were o’oin»’ down to
Basrah by land, but during the whole journey to Aleppo we did not come across such laro-e
bodies of men.
20lh to 31st December. —Between Ana and Aleppo we met parties of cavalry
“ Mujahidins" (warriors for the Faith) every day. The total number I do not think exceeded
SOt). In one instance the officer in charge of a group of 50 of these men came round and
spoke to us in French. He was very civil. He said that he was on his way back to
Damascus, where he had taken some Mujahidins from the district of Deir-el-zor. Durino*
the conversation he remarked that it was a great mistake on the part of Turkey to mix in
this great war, and then twice asked us “ why did Turkey go to war "; of course we could not
speak to him much about politics, he took leave very politely and rode away. There is no doubt
that he was one of the thousands of officers who are against the war. The Mujahidins
supplied themselves with their own horses and did not hesitate to exchange their animals with
a better horse or mule passing on the road despite the bitter protest of the owners.
29th December. —In the Khan at Hammam there was a locked room which was said to
contain aims and ammunition.
1st to 9th January 1915. —At Aleppo there was a rumour that Djemal Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. had a
quarter of a million strong under his command in Syria. That he had wired to Constantinople
unless he was given another quarter of a. million he was not prepared to undertake the march
against Egypt. It was very difficult for us to ascertain the exact number of soldiers but the
people at Aleppo believed iu the above figures.
In our hotel at Aleppo we met G erman officers wearing the Turkish new cans with the
brass badge “ Mujahidjj' pinned to it. ■ ,m,rr "'
10th January .—On our way from Bairam Oghli to Kirk Khan, two companies
of soldiers passed us en lout+e, some cf them looked like Germans. Numerous caravaos
of camels and mules carried their equipment. A large number of these animals
carried boxes of ammunition and a number of boxes containing rifles. A machine gun
C

About this item

Content

Correspondence and papers relating to British prisoners of war in Baghdad, detained in the wake of the commencement of hostilities between Britain and Turkey in Mesopotamia [Iraq] in November 1914. The papers cover: the status of British subjects including British Indians in Baghdad; reports of Turkish troop movements in Mesopotamia; correspondence between the British and United States governments, the latter working as an intermediary between the British and Ottoman governments, to secure the good treatment and release of British prisoners in Baghdad; reports from the United States Consul at Baghdad (Charles Frederick Brissel) on conditions at Baghdad; a report on a journey made from Baghdad to Bombay [Mumbai] by British Indian employees of the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Baghdad in November 1914 (ff 147-153); in June 1915, negotiations for the exchange of British subjects (including women and children) detained at Baghdad, with Turkish officials stranded at British-occupied Amara [Al ‘Amārah]. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign Office, including the Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Algernon Law, Sir Ralph Spencer Paget; the Government of the USA, including the US Consul at Baghdad and the US Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], Philip Hoffman.

The volume contains two items in French; letters from the Ottoman Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, forwarded by the US Ambassador at Constantinople (ff 32-33, ff 49-50).

The part includes a divider (f 1) which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (217 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 94 (German War: Turkey) consists of 4 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/532-535. The volumes are divided into 4 parts, with each part comprising one volume (1, 3, 4 and 5). There is no part 2.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 215; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 94/1915 Pt 1 ‘German War:- Turkey. Prisoners’ [‎152v] (313/441), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/532, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056070602.0x000072> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100056070602.0x000072">File 94/1915 Pt 1 ‘German War:- Turkey. Prisoners’ [&lrm;152v] (313/441)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100056070602.0x000072">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x0001ab/IOR_L_PS_10_532_00313.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x0001ab/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image