Flt Sgt J McK SLOSS Aust Flying Corps, MSM as PoW of the Turkish

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

Yes I also found that;

SLOSS    James MacKenzie    11    AM    1 Half Flight AFC    Mesoptamia to Cpl T/Flight/Sgt 11-15 PoW 29-4-16 captured at Kut recom DCM awarded MSM - for his actions at Kut el Amara 

I could find no mention of his actions gallant conduct and determination in escaping or attempting to escape

I have seen no Australians mention here other then Sloss

Cheers

S.B

[charlie962]

3 hours ago, stevebecker said:

recom DCM awarded MSM

Thanks. I saw that recommendation on AWM, signed off by the CO, Winfield-Smith, so was also confused. I am checking the other names on that recom but I suspect they got nothing because they all died in captivity except Sloss and Hudson- might there be something for Keith Liston Hudson? William Charles Rayment who died was noted as especially recommended..

Ah, I now have found a description of two attempts by Sloss to escape, but recaptured. Thus his award is correctly headed. I shall start another thread for him and the other AFC and RFC names, post the stories and some other notes, and put the link against Sloss's name in my opening post.

As to other Australians there are a number in those LGS issues I listed. But I have not yet checked out their records to see if they were PoWs of the Turkish or the Germans.

Charlie

[Guest]

Mate,

Of cause the Half Flight had a mixed service when split during the Kut action

The following are known to had gained awards or Recom as PoWs or before PoWs the others captured don't show any recoms or awards;

ADAMS    Francis Luke    44    AM    1 Half Flight AFC    1R Mesoptamia att 30 Sqn RFC 10-15 PoW 29-4-16 captured at Kut died of malaria buried Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery Iraq recom DCM - for his work at Kut between Dec 1915 to April 1916 (NZ 4Co RGA 2 years) 

HUDSON    Keith Liston    12    1/AM    1 Half Flight AFC    Mesoptamia Fitter att 30 Sqn RFC 7-15 PoW 29-4-16 captured at Kut & recom DCM awarded MSM - for his work at Kut between Dec 1915 to April 1916 repat to UK 12-18 to NME UK fruit brother Sgt Hudson

RAYMENT    William Charles    49    AM    1 Half Flight AFC    1R Mesoptamia Tos 9-15 PoW 29-4-16 captured at Kut died nephritis buried Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery Iraq recom DCM - for his work at Kut between Dec 1915 to April 1916
 

SOLEY    Thomas Montague Newey    10    AM    1 Half Flight AFC    Mesoptamia to Cpl 11-15 att 30 Sqn RFC PoW 29-4-16 captured at Kut died at Nisibin bewteen june-july 1916 recom DCM - for his work at Kut between Dec 1915 to April 1916
 

WHITE    Thomas Walter        Capt    1 Half Flight AFC    Mesoptamia (pilot) PoW 13-11-15 reported crashed his Farman during a raid to destroy telephone lines near Baghdad to prison Halop Turkey escaped with Capt Bott to Russia 24-8-18 DFC & 2xMID - for his raid and his escape to NME RTA via USA (2/Lt 5 IR 23-1-11 to Area officer Sth Carlton 1-11-13 CMF a special constable during the 1923 Melbourne police strike to 5Bn 1-11-24 to SO (3) Div HQ 1-1-26 to LtCol 6Bn 31-3-26 to UL 31-3-31 disch 8-4-40 VD later WWII RAAF GrpCapt Sir KBE High Com to UK 1951 to 1956 author "Guests of the Unspeakable" 1928 and "Sky Saga" 1943 MHR for Balaclava 1929 held in Federal parliament for 22 years engaged to Vera Deakin in UK 1919 married in Australia 22-3-20 daughter of former PM
 

S.B

[charlie962]

Subsidiary to my thread on AO193 etc rewards for ex PoWs of the Turkish, here I am trying to collect info on James McKenzie Sloss of the Australian Half Flight, with 30 Squadron RFC inside Kut and into subesequent captivity 1916. Here I will also add some comments on his comrades who were not rewarded, it seems.

Charlie

[Michelle Young]

@charlie962 think I have moved all  the posts. 

[charlie962]

excellent, thank you Michelle.

charlie

[charlie962]

Here is an account of two escape attempts by Sloss, for which he was clearly awarded his MSM:

Source History of the Australian Flying Corps by  FM Cutlack (who seems have taken the story from Lt White's Guests of the Unspeakable?)

    

 

""The narrative of the Australians of the Half-Flight who
were made prisoners by the Turks may be told in the words
of Captain White, who met two of them in captivity in
Asia Minor. He writes : " A reinforcement of thirteen
mechanics, under Sergeant Mackinolty, 4 had arrived at Basra
from Australia about the 1st September, 1915. Some of
them were sent up immediately to Aziziyeh. There were
nine Australians among the forty-four non-commissioned
officers and men of the squadron besieged in Kut. During
the siege the mechanics worked incessantly. Among the
Australians Corporal J. McK. Sloss 5 did conspicuous service.

    Under the command of Captain Winfield Smith, a British
pilot, they erected mills for grinding the wheat and barley.
The grain was dropped to the garrison from aeroplanes. For
excellent work during the siege Corporal Sloss was promoted
to flight-sergeant. Captain Petre flew many times from Ali
Gharbi over the beleaguered town, and dropped bags of grain
and even millstones for the grinding of it. Two Fokker
aeroplanes piloted by Germans appeared later on the enemy's
side and interfered with this attempt at relief. Nevertheless
the British machines dropped at Kut in all about five tons of
grain and medical stores.

" After the capitulation of Kut, the 13,000 prisoners were
marched over 700 miles to Anatolia. Hundreds died by the
way through exposure, fatigue, and starvation. The survivors
were set to work in railway construction on the Taurus
Mountains, where many more died of typhus, malaria, or
dysentery, brought on by mal-nutrition or exposure. Only
about 2,000 survived their captivity. Of the forty-four
flying corps mechanics, only six survived the march. Of
the nine Australian mechanics taken in Kut one of whom,
Air-Mechanic Rayment, 6 was badly wounded during the siege
only two, Sergeant Sloss and Air-Mechanic Hudson, 7 sur-
vived their captivity. Corporal Soley 8 and Air-Mechanic
Curran 9 died at Nisibin, and Air-Mechanics Williams, 10
Rayment, Adams, 11 Lord, 12 and Munro 13 in the vicinity of
the Taurus Mountains.

" During 1916, Sloss, in company with two British
prisoners, attempted to escape from a working camp in the

Taurus Mountains, situated about thirty miles from the Gulf
of Alexandretta. They succeeded in reaching the coast, but
could not find a boat in which to get away, and, after their
food had run out, had to give themselves up again. For this
Sloss was imprisoned for three months, during which time he
contracted typhus. During 1917 and 1918, in company with
other prisoners, Sloss constructed a collapsible boat of canvas
and iron, in which five of them hoped to reach Cyprus, but
on Sloss being sent to another working camp, the attempt had
to be abandoned."

 

Footnotes:

4. Lieut. G. J. W. Mackinolty; Aust. Flying Corps. Air-mechanic; of Korumburra, Vic; b. Leongatha, Vic, 24 March, 1895.

5. Flight-Sgt. J. McK. Sloss; (No. n, Aust. Flying Corps). Motor engineer and  proprietor; of Malvern, Melbourne; b. Naring, Vic, 25 Nov., 1878.

 6.Air-Mechanic W. C. Rayment (No. 49, Aust. Flying Corps). Heating engineer;of Surrey Hills, Melbourne; b. Jan Juc, Vic, 22 Jan., 1892. Died while prisoner of war, 11 Nov., 1916.

7 Air-Mechanic K. L. Hudson (No. 12, Aust. Flying Corps). Motor mechanic; b. Launceston, Tas., 1892.

8 Cpl. T. Soley (No. 10, Aust. Flying Corps). Motor mechanic; b. Eltham, Eng., 1891. Died while prisoner of war. June-July, 1916.

9 Air-Mechanic D. Curran (No. 45, Aust. Flying Corps). Carpenter; b. The Mallard, Raholp, Downpatrick, Ireland, 1879. Died while prisoner of war, 16
June, 19 1 7.

10 Air-Mechanic L. T. Williams (No. 16, Aust. Flying Corps). Carpenter and joiner; b. Fitzroy, Melbourne, 1892. Died while prisoner of war.

11 Air-Mechanic F. L. Adams (No. 44, Aust. Flying Corps). Carpenter; of Spreydon, Christchurch, N.Z.; b. Sydenham, Christchurch, 8 Oct., 1892. Died while prisoner of war, Aug.-Nov., 1916.

12 Air-Mechanic W. H. Lord (No. 23, Aust. Flying Corps). Moulder; b. Fitzroy, Melbourne, 1894. Died while prisoner of war.

13 Air-Mechanic J. Munro (No. 47, Aust. Flying Corps). Chauffeur; b. Darlinghurst, Sydney, 24 Dec, 1892. Died while prisoner of war, 13 Oct., 1916.""

                             ================================================                                                                      

 

 

                                                                                 

 

The PoW interrogation reports for Australian soldiers are held by the AWM separately from the Service Files. Sloss's report is not, I think, available online ? It would no doubt expand on this.   EDIT- I have now found it, I think at AWM....update to follow-see below

 

Who were the 'two British prisoners' who accompanied Sloss on one of his attempts-? Hopefully Sloss's report will give their names.

 

Update-  Nothing in Sloss's statement about escaping!!

 

Charlie

Edited 30 December , 2021 by charlie962

[charlie962]

As a separate subject, there were six Australians of the AFC, including Sloss, who were recommended for DCMs for work during the Defence of Kut. These recommendations seem to have come to nothing, not even a 'Mention'. Sloss was promoted to FltSgt from Cpl during the Siege for his good work.

Here is the original recommendation for these men, made by the 30 Squdn CO, Winfield-Smith. (source Australian War Memorial

[charlie962]

here are Sloss's ICRC cards: