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Remembered Today:

British POWs captured in Salonika


Chris_Baker

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Just in the middle of researching a man who was taken prisoner in Salonika and it has made me realise how little I know about this subject. I can't find much about it in any of the books on the Salonika campaign that I have. Is anyone able to offer a few pointers to information about the situation there: where were were POWs held, for example? I'd be grateful for any book titles, research papers, memoirs, etc.

 

My man was also taken quite early on in the campaign, while serving with the 9th King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) in the retreat into Greece, NW of Doiran, on 11 December 1915. I imagine that the set-up regarding holding Allied POWs in that theatre was pretty immature at the time.

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Some notes I have made from various sources:

 

TNA, reference FO383/252

File 162190 (10/07/1917) - List of incapacitated British PoWs (held in Bulgaria) to be repatriated. Name, rank, service number, unit, place of origin.

File 184780 contains reports, similar to those in WO161, made by repatriated other ranks PoWs held by the Bulgarians.

In addition, the files 184782, 184783 & 185543 hold reports compiled by PoWs formerly held in Bulgaria.

 

POW Camps in Bulgaria:

Philippopolis (now Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second city) - the main POW camp

Vratza

Radomir

Tirnovo

Sofia

Drenovetz

Gorno Panitcherovo

Tartar Pazardjik

 

Mark

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Chris,

You are presumably aware that the ICRC records are accessible under 'Macedonian Front' ? I don't know if there is more info on the supprting pages that helps. Sometimes there are memos.

Charlie

            111256590_ICRCPoWsMacedonia.JPG.4746fa610b2b627b709a1d2998fc6799.JPG

 

for example c. 1917

             1678091599_ICRCMacedonia2.JPG.7fced9b3ef9ef67170ca5f6b92cf5fc4.JPG

Camp at Philipopple for prisoners of war.

List of British PoWs, Officers and ORs, who are in the prison camps in the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

 

The detailed sheets following show transfers etc with a number of camps.

 

Charlie

            

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Chris

I have found the site a bit abstruse at times. Sometimes a supporting Bulgarian record can be accessed by going via the Gallipoli section rather than the Macedonian, but first having found the reference in the macedonian cards !

(It could be me but I don't think so ??)

 

For example R6614. Couldn't find it under Macedonia but here it is under Gallipoli

                516381272_ICRCPoWMacedonia.JPG.5718ab00cd27b3d631e2a791a8ce27d6.JPG

 

EDIT- now I have just found it under Macedonia so perhaps it is me ?

 

Edited by charlie962
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There is this 2012 Thesis giving quite a lot of background on Bulgarian treatment of prisoners.

                 979434600_ICRCPoWsMacedoniathesis.JPG.ed1780c8284231c650dd0672e8c6c8b1.JPG

page 13 has a table of numbers suggesting some 1500 British PoWs.

page 14 has a map of camp locations, although not very clear.

 

Charlie

Edited by charlie962
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Chris

The relevant page from the Battalion War Diary is attached.

 

It was not a glorious chapter in the Regiment's history - a company commander refused to withdraw when the rest of the Battalion withdrew and when Bulgarians approached the Company they were believed to be French.

 

Harry

9ko022.JPG

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I have a memorial plaque named to Pte 16408 James Stockley who was sadly KIA in the above action. 

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  • 1 month later...

I noticed today that the Daily Telegraph reproduced a 100 year report about the release of the first British POW held by the Bulgarians.  Unfortunately, I then cleaned the house out and it went into the recycling.

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