§ 12. Sir E. CARSONasked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any in formation regarding the general condition of British prisoners of war who have fallen into the hands of the Ottoman Government?
§ 110. Sir E. CORNWALLasked the Treasurer of the Household whether he is now in a position to give fuller information with regard to the British prisoners taken at Kut-el-Amara; whether all have been traced; whether the United States Minister has visited their camps and, if so, what reports have been received; and what arrangements now exist to ensure regular and prompt arrival of consignments of any comforts dispatched to them from this country or from India?
§ Mr. JAMES HOPE (Treasurer of the Household)From every hostile Government, except the Turkish, we have been able to obtain satisfactory lists of prisoners of war; but notwithstanding all our efforts and those of the American Embassy at Constantinople, we have failed to-obtain any but the most incomplete lists of our officers and men in Turkish hands. Apart from those who were taken prisoners in the Gallipoli operations, some 12,530, including, of course, Indian prisoners, we believe, surrendered at Kut-el-Amara, but by means of information received up to the present from the Turkish Government we have been able to identify only 1,923; and to this must be added another 764, of whom we have heard by means of private letters and other unofficial communications.
In all other hostile countries prisoners of war camps have been visited by members of the American Embassy concerned, but a similar concession has always been strenuously opposed by the Turks. It is, therefore, impossible to give any assured information regarding our subjects in Turkey, but from all we can learn we have reason to fear that the conditions are very far from satisfactory, and that the mortality in certain cases has been heavy. There are also indications that our men have suffered severely on their way from Kut to places of internment. Moreover, we have grounds for fearing that our men are short of clothing, but every endeavour is being made by the American Embassy and Consular officials to meet this want by local purchases. A request to the Turkish Government to allow supplies of clothing to be sent in a neutral ship to some point in Asia Minor has been accepted only on the condition that the distribution shall be made by the Turkish authorities, which, again, is contrary to the practice in other countries and is open to obvious and grave objection. Up to the present we have been compelled to rely on the provision of clothing from 555 local sources, supplemented by the dispatch of parcels from this country to those whose whereabouts is known; but the receipt of any parcels appears to be very uncertain. We have every reason to believe that the American authorities, through whom alone we can act, are doing their best under very difficult circumstances, but it would be idle to deny that the present situation is unsatisfactory in the extreme. We have recently again drawn the attention of the United States Government to the extreme urgency of the case.
§ Sir E. CARSONWill my hon. Friend take care that from time to time any possible information is given to the country in reference to these prisoners?
§ 108. Mr. ASHLEYasked the Treasurer of the Household what are the number of German military prisoners of war in British hands, and what are the numbers of British prisoners of war in German hands; and will he state whether there are any cases of German wounded prisoners of war who have been detained in British hospitals for a period of two years?
§ Mr. HOPEThe number of German military prisoners of war in British hands according to the latest Returns is:
| Army officers | … | … | 833 |
| Army Men | … | … | 42,082 |
| Navy officers | … | … | 133 |
| Navy Men | … | … | 1,982 |
| 45,030 |
§ The corresponding number of British prisoners in German hands including Colonial and Indian forces is:
| Army officers | 1,027 |
| Army Men | 28,737 |
| 29,764 | |
| Navy (including Naval Division) Officers | 52 |
| Navy Men | 1,285 |
| 31,101 |
§ We have no knowledge of any German wounded prisoners of war having been detained in British hospitals for two years.