'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM' [‎564r] (1139/1386)

then , there hcisiii the meautinie been only n. small increase in the shipping
m spite of all our efforts, and many steamers arc constantly needing repair ; in fact,
the crux of the whole question is the insufficiency of river transport for the increased
number of Force “ I) ” and this can only be remedied gradually.
As you. know from my letter of 31st December, medical arrangements in
Mesopotamia ha\e constantly occupied the attention of the Commander-in-Chief and
myself, but Nixon never reported that all was not well.
Surgeon-General McNeece has returned. He did not go North of Basra, as he did
not think he.could spaie time. His report is not very helpful since it was not based
on personal inspection.
Before 1 receivect your private telegram, Commander-in-Chief and I had agreed to
send Sn \\. \ mcent, Member of Council, Bihar and Orissa, accompanied by General
Lingley "uho has just leturned Irom Egypt, both of them very efficient officers, to
conduct an enquiry and to take steps to remedy this deplorable state of affairs.’ I
hope that they will start in a few days.
No. 50.
Extract from a private Letter from Lord Eardingc to the Secretary of State for India,
dated 'loth February 1016.
I am not surprised at receiving your private telegram about the inadequacy of
medical arrangements in Mesopotamia after the two recent battles on the Tigris. I
am.sending you a reply as soon as I have shown it to the Commander-in-Chief, from
which you will realise.that the whole question is one of under-estimation of casualties
and insufficiency of river transport. Now that our two divisions, which we had in
November, have blossomed into no less than seven, the transport originally in our
possession is obviously inadequate, and it is unfortunate that the Meerut and Lahore
Divisions from France arrived with only two out of their six ambulances, and even
these without their equipment. The remaining ambulances have, I believe, come on
later. Still, I do think that there has been mismanagement, for we know that there
are simply tons of medical stores and medical comforts at Basra, and surely the
most elementary requirement for treating wounded is a plentiful supply of bandages,
which certainly are wanting. I heard of one case—there may have been a little
exaggeration—in which it was said that there was only one medical officer to look
after 600 wounded men on a barge, that their bandages were never changed till
they got to hospital, that they had no bed-pans, and had to use their boots as a
substitute, and that the stench on the barge was inconceivable. It is all very sad,
and it makes my heart ache to think of these poor fellows ; but I fail to see how we
can get over the transport difficulty by a stroke of the pen.
From a recent telegram I see that the Admiralty are hesitating to build some new
steamers that we require, and are suggesting that we should get more from Hong
Kong or Ceylon. I doubt if the latter exist; but if they do, there will still be room
for both the steamers from Hong Kong and Ceylon, and those which we wish to be
built by the Admiralty. Is it true that at one stage of the war Winston Churchill
bought an enormous number of motor launches which have been found to be useless
for the purpose for which they were originally purchased? If so, could not these be
sent out ? We cannot have too many boats on the Tigris ; they wear out so rapidly,
and are constantly needing repair.
General Bingley and Sir William Vincent, whom we are sending to Mesopotamia,
inspire me with confidence. The first is an excellent general, and the second, a
thoroughly sound and very able civilian with a judicial mind. I trust that they will
succeed in arriving at some really good practical solution of the difficulties that" exist
up there, for I feel that, in a short time, such shortcomings may be accentuated by
another large batch of wounded from the front.
No. 51.
Extract from a private Letter from Lord LLardinge to the Secretary of State for India,
dated 27th February 1916.
Sir A. Lawley’s offer of assistance in Mesopotamia in Red Cross affairs is most
generous and I trust that there will be no hesitation in accepting it. In passing on
the telegram, I have expressed the opinion that it must be accepted. One never
knows what jealousies exist among these various associations.