Dever Mayfly Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February During my research for the last British PoWs in WWI, I was passed this photograph of 16 British PoWs in Russia by the daughter of Anthony Jaques Mantle who flew a DH9 in 221 Squadron RAF and was captured in Southern Russia after his plane was shot down in 1919. He is seated in the middle row on the right with his wings clearly visible. Originally he joined the Royal Naval Air Service. This group of PoWs was released from their prison in April 1920 as part of the Exchange Treaty signed in Copenhagen. The Reverend Frank North compiled the list of British refugees and PoWs who were escorted to the Finnish frontier (at that time Terrijoki) and picked up in ships such as the SS Dongola. Among Mantle's possesions is a wooden box carved with 28 names of other PoWs who were captured all over Russia. These include Captain George RP Roupell VC East Surrey Regiment, Captain George H Hay DSO Royal Scots, Lieutenant Colonel Richard J Andrews DSO MC and Captain Francis McCullagh MBE. The latter three were interviewed by Military Intelligence at the Savoy in May 1920 and this report can be found at the National Archives. I am attempting to match names to faces and wondered whether any other member can help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February photos of Lt Col Richard John Andrews DSO MC QSA can be found on Corrisande's website for comparison purposes Including Corrisandes write up LINK to website Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February A prisoner of the Reds, the story of a British officer captured Siberia By Francis McCullagh which can be read on the Internet Archive HERE includes a Photo of Francis for comparison purposes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggoner Posted 18 February Share Posted 18 February Interesting! I believe my chap was a prisoner there about the same time. Lieutenant or Capt Osbourne Dempster, RASC. Does his name appear? All the best, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 18 February Author Share Posted 18 February 14 hours ago, RaySearching said: photos of Lt Col Richard John Andrews DSO MC QSA can be found on Corrisande's website for comparison purposes Thank you for this fascinating link. I am attaching the signatures that can be found in Mantle's box, with Andrews at the top. The signatures include all the men listed in the report dated 19 June 1920 that is featured in Corrisande's meticulous biography, apart from the two RASC officers: King and Trigg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 18 February Author Share Posted 18 February 15 hours ago, RaySearching said: A prisoner of the Reds, the story of a British officer captured Siberia By Francis McCullagh which can be read on the Internet Archive HERE includes a Photo of Francis for comparison purposes McCullagh's story is quite exraordinary. His descriptive prose is tremendous, but there are bits of the tale which do not concur with other documents in the National Archives so it can only be used as a secondary source. In Moscow, he was in an incredibly stressful situation having run Kolchak's propaganda in Omsk, but claiming to be sympathetic to the Bolsheviks. I found a fascinating telegram from him when he was trying to return to England which is attached. The list of names of the prisoners is not completely accurate, but given his situation at the time, it is not surprising that his memory is blurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 18 February Author Share Posted 18 February 15 hours ago, Waggoner said: Interesting! I believe my chap was a prisoner there about the same time. Lieutenant or Capt Osbourne Dempster, RASC. Does his name appear? All the best, Gary I discovered that while Mantle and the other Moscow PoWs were being released and escorted to Finland, William James Osbourne Dempster was in Siberia with the group that Francis McCullagh abandoned, which also included the future Corps Commander, Brian Horrocks. They were informed by the Bolsheviks that they would be picked up in Irkutsk by the Allies, but they were deceived and the local Commissars sent them to Moscow instead. I have a couple of photographs of Dempster and attach an image after the group returned to England in November 1920. Dempster is seated on the right, looking remarkably similar to Richard Andrews! One of the contemptible actions of the War Office was to take away acting rank from some PoWs while they were captive - this is possibly why there is confusion about Dempster's rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggoner Posted 18 February Share Posted 18 February Fever, Thank you very much for this! What is the source for this? It would be nice to have a better quality copy. All the best, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 18 February Author Share Posted 18 February I believe this was from the Daily Sketch on 23 November 1920 - it was passed to me by one of the prisoners grandsons. I also found similar articles in several national newspapers published on that day but no other photograph. Given the fact that they were released from prison and crossed the frontier at the end of October, they still seem so gaunt. I knew they were on starvation rations in Moscow, and they must have looked skeletal when they left Russia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeepsiePaddy Posted 7 April Share Posted 7 April Who was Mantle? And do you know the story about the box? Where was it created? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 7 April Author Share Posted 7 April 1 hour ago, PokeepsiePaddy said: Who was Mantle? And do you know the story about the box? Where was it created? Mantle was originally in the Royal Naval Air Service before it merged with the Royal Flying Corps to become the RAF in 1918. He joined the Southern Russian Campaign in 1919, and flew with 221 squadron, stationed in Petrovsk. His plane crashed following a dogfight, and he and his observer (Ingrams) were captured by Bolsheviks and held for ten months, first in Lubyanka and then in the ex-Tsar’s summer palace. The Russian wooden box was shown to me by Mantle's daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April Have you checked the Finnish records, they moitored the border closely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 8 April Author Share Posted 8 April 1 hour ago, MartH said: Have you checked the Finnish records, they moitored the border closely? Thanks for this advice. I have actually travelled the route the prisoners took across the frontier and visited the area that they were quarantined in Finland. It is of course Russia now because the land was taken by the Soviet Union in the 1939 Winter War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 8 April Share Posted 8 April So Terrijoki is/was a loverly place my grandfarther was stationed there for a time early one after the Finnish Civil War. Lt Agar was also there operating out of Terrijoki Yatch Club. The beach is very famous for its sand and is often "harked" back too as one of the best beaches in the Baltic, my family regualy visited in between the wars. The church tower is famous and was used to spy on kronstadt. There was a customs post and formal crossing point there, where passports were stamped, its even featured in some Finnish films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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