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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

British Officer POW's.


Guest A Mafia Man

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Guest A Mafia Man

:blink: Whilst pondering away this afternoon, (Packing boxes to move house !) I started to think about the British POW's throughout the Great War.

I understand that some of them were POW's for only a short time, (Relatively) But who was the most senior British officer who was captured & made a POW ?

Where did he get sent to ? How long was he incarcerated ? What happened to him upon his return ?

Unfortunately, I will not be able to watch this thread for a while until such times as our goods & chattels catch us up in our new abode, but as soon as my PC is up & running again I'll be straight back ! Then hopefully I can then read the answers at my leisure.

Can I also just say a big 'thank you' to all the Pals on this wonderful Forum, & I look forward to hopefully rejoining again in a few months.

Kind Regards To All

Joe

B)

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Maybe Brig General H.C.Rees? Captured during the 1918 retreat and introduced to the Kaiser due to his seniority. Released after the Armistice, his memoirs are at the Imperial War Museum - well worth a look.

Bernard Lewis

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During the fighting at Mont Sorel 2 June,1916, Brig.Gen.V.A.S.Williams of the 8th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division was captured and Maj.Gen.M.S.Mercer,CB was killed.

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What about General Sir Charles Townsend who surrendered at Kut in April 1916 & was a Turkish POW until the end of the war. I understand he spent his incarceration in relative comfort compared to what his troops had to endure as POW's. Townsend was never to command again & died in 1924

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General Sir Charles Townshend was taken Prisoner by the Turks after the fall of Kut al Amara on 30 April 1916. He spent the rest of the War in comfortable captivity (while the troops he had commanded suffered greatly in terrible conditions). Townshend was not given another command after the Armistice.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest newworldmember

Hello, Joe:

Others have already notified you that Major General Charles Townshend was the most senior British officer to be captured in World War One during what proved to be the first war fought for control of the Middlle East oil fields. While advancing toward Baghdad, his force was stopped, pushed back to Kut-al-Amara, surrounded and forced to surrender on April 29th, 1916, to Turkish troops fighting on Germany’s side.

Upon his return to England, his former friends would have nothing to do with him, and when he died in France on May 16th, 1924, no one from either the War Office or the British Government attended his funeral.

Best wishes, Cory Kilvert, New Hampshire, USA :)

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