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Remembered Today:

BRITISH POWs IN BULGARIA- SOURCES


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I have been looking for information about a casualty from Wanstead, here in the east of London, whose Roll of Honour I am trying to compile- Charles William Greig, a RNAS pilot downed in 1916 and shot while trying to escape from a POW camp at Phillipopolis in September 1918. However, information about POWs in Bulgaria seemed sparse-and a previous Forum request in 2009 had thrown up only Arthur Rowan “I Live Again” (London,Robert Hale,1938) as a source-he was a POW at Phillipopolis. POW dealings with the Balkan states were not done by the Red Cross but for Bulgaria were run through the American consul, D.I.Murphy- an ideal “protecting power”-diligent, fair-minded and-quite helpfully-Anglophile. It turns out there is a chunk of information about British POWs in Bulgaria, in Foreign Office file FO383/370 which I have recently studied.

As this thick file- some 4 inches thick of it- has quite a lot of stuff in it, I put a summary below, if it may be of assistance to other Forum members:

  1. FULL LISTING OF POWs- Murphy sent a full typed list of some 650-odd British POWs, names,ranks, numbers and regiments- one list alphabetical, the other by regiment.
  2. Material on providing comforts for POWs- It came as a surprise that much comfort was provided through Gamages, the department store which shipped the stuff through the YMCA in Geneva- all types of football equipment-including corner flags, tennis-including lawn markers, plenty of musical items,including sheet music for “comic songs”, am-dram stuff, including greasepaint and plenty of board games. Even more of a surprise that officer POWs could cash cheques on their English service bank accounts (eg Cox and Co.) through the American Consul!!

3) A list of wounded prisoners at 31st May 1918, still in hospital:

Sergeant Alfred Alee, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private William Warner, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private Alfred Worsley, 2 Cheshires

?? Modol/Moderol 4 Rifle Brigade

Private Urban Wootton, 2 Cheshires

Private George Barlow, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private Arthur Hirns (?), 2 Cheshires

Private Jno. Hubbard, 2 Cheshires

Private Robert Henry Willis, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private Harry Pill(?) 4 Rifle Brigade

Private J.Hiskison 2 Cheshires

Private Edward Jarvis, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private J. Fielding, 4 Rifle Brigade

Private 33342 John Pinder, KLR. Flesh wound to right arm,healing quickly. Asked that his sister, Mrs. E.Griffith of 4 Barnabas Street, Blackburn be informed

Private Edward Roberts 2 Cheshires

Private Thomas William Allman 2 Cheshires

Private James Jarrett 2 Cheshires

All in the Radomir Hospital- gives brief details of wounds and next of kin/contact details

  1. DEBRIEFING REPORTS- Some attention has been given on the Forum to debriefing reports on repatriated or escaped prisoners. Those for the few repatriated from Bulgaria are in the file- at FO file number 114/140. They are typed up after debriefing, usually-as with the German/Austrian ones- by a barrister from the Inns of Court, constructed from replies to questions. They are very informative. Those reported are:

GREENSTREET, Lt. T.W.- 3 Northants, att. 2 Guard Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers. Captured at Sugov 21 April 1917- an English lecturer from 31 Fladgate Road, Leytonstone

McGEE, THOMAS 28611, 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers, from 22 East Parade, Newcastle upon Tyne, captured 10 September 1916

DUFFY, T. CSM 6838, 5th Connaught Rangers, of 1 Fingall Street, Maryhill, Glasgow- a pre-war regular with 2 Connaught Rangers, captured 7th December 1915. He kept a full diary, which had been lodged with the American Consul (wonder where that is???)

COOP, Private H. 13340 KORL – from 15 Penrith Place, Barrow in Furness. Capture 12 December 1915. A ship’s rigger in peacetime

TAYLOR , Lt Herbert George 9th Bedfords , from 20 St.Gorges Square,Regents Park

RYDE, Lt. Edgar Percy From 43 Great Weston Street, Manchester

DE LEMOS, 2Lt C.W. 5 att. 11 Warwicks, from 66 Coleman Street, EC

BRADY, Captain B.J.W. RAF Captured 28th June 1917, of “Simla” Thornton Heath, Surrey

  1. HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. A good section of stuff on Hants R. POWs, including full listing –quite a lot of them- and aid details from a county POW organisation

5) IRISH WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION (TO AID IRISH REGIMENTS AND PRISONERS OF WAR) A good section of stuff- the POWs in Bulgaria were disproportionately from Irish regiments.

But I will not mention by name the one Sergeant who the American Consul reported was a disgrace to the British cause-drunk and complaining about absolutely everything!!

Hope the listing might help the odd County regiment buff-It was so unexpectedly informative,I thought it would be good to get it listed.

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Charles- apologies- misread my own notes-Yes, it is Worcesters in the file! I wish I had paid attention at primary school when they did the writing bit....

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