'Mesopotamia Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia, together with a Special Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP, and Appendices. London: HMSO, 1917.' [‎76v] (152/248)

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tion provided has not on all occasions been adequate, for
we find that between December, 1914 and May 15th,
1916, over 9,500 sick and wounded travelled by ordinary
transports to India. We reahse that many of these were
probably convalescents who did not need much attention.
It is possible also that on some occasions a full medical
staff was not necessary ; but we cannot think that it was
desirable that so many sick and wounded should have
been sent back in these vessels. We are confirmed in this
view by the evidence recorded at Bombay, which indicates
that on particular occasions the staff detailed for these •
vessels was inadequate, and that the patients arrived in
India in a condition which showed that they had not
received proper care and attention. Transports not
fitted up as hospital ships were used for this purpose on
no less than twenty-two occasions, and the depletion of the
medical staff and equipment at Basra, in order to furnish
the personnel and stores for these vessels, has frequently
been, and up to the time of our leaving Mesopotamia still
was, a source of trouble and inconvenience. The employ
ment of empty transports for conveying convalescents
and light cases to India is, we recognise, probably neces
sary and open to no objection. In our opinion, however,
no serious cases, demanding much medical care, should be
placed on vessels of this kind, and we think that if the use
of these transports is necessary, the requisite staffs should
be drawn from India. Further, many of the hospital
ships which have been employed on the Bombay to Basra
run, have not been able, at certain seasons, to cross the
bar of the Shatt-el-Arab, with the result that patients
have had to be taken from Basra to the bar in transports
and there transhipped. This transhipment has been the
cause of discomfort and inconvenience. On one occasion,
at least, the journey to the bar was so prolonged and the
equipment of the vessel so inadequate, that the patients
suffered considerably on the journey from want of proper
food. We are glad, however, to observe that the number
of hospital ships now employed is being increased, and that
all the vessels which it is intended in the future to use as
hospital ships will be able to cross the bar at all seasons.
99. The personnel and equipment provided on the
hospital ships is ample and the accommodation is excellent.
We have visited a number of these vessels and from our
own observation, and the evidence of experts and others,
we are satisfied that those now in use are admirably fitted
out and that the patients receive the greatest care and
attention. Between January, 1915, and May 15th, 1916,
about 22,500 patients were, according to a statement
furnished to us by the Director, Royal Indian Marine,
evacuated to India in these ships and in the most favour
able conditions possible.
100. Water-supply .—We now turn to the question of
water-supply. The water for the troops and hospitals
in Basra is drawn from the river, and the position is
much the same in regard to places up the Tigris, Euphrates
and Karun. It is possible that, at Basra, a better supply
of water could be obtained from the new channel of the
Euphrates which joins the Shatt-el-Arab at Gurmat Ali,
and we understand that a scheme to obtain water from
this source is under consideration by the authorities.
Generally speaking, however, the only source of water-
• upplv at present is the nearest river, and we are not satis
fied that systematic and methodical attempts are made to
render this water potable and innocuous before it is used
for drinking purposes. This appears to us a matter of
great importance in view of the prevalence of colitis and
dysentery, and more particularly so owing to the recent
outbread of cholera. We are satisfied that most of the
hospitals take great care to purify any water used, by
sedimenting and then chlorinating or boiling it; but this
is not always the case. The camp at Makfna Masus, which
is a very few miles from Basra, and incidentally a large
Indian general hospital located there, are supplied with
water which is not drawn from the middle of the Shatt-el-
Arab but is taken from a neighbouring creek. We have
the authority of a sanitary specialist for stating that the
whole system of water-supply for this camp is unsafe.
Further, the arrangements for pumping and sedimenting
this water are so inadequate that, on some occasions, the
water from the creek (in itself an unsuitable source of
water-supply) is not purified in any way before it is used.
Similarly, on the river steamers and barges, which are
utilized both for the conveyance of troops and the sick,
the arrangements for the supply of good drinking water
appear to us to be defective. On some bf the vessel*
there are no water tanks. On some the tanks supplied
are useless, and on many steamers and barges there are
no arrangements for purifying the drinking water that is
used by the troops. It is true that in many vessels the
energy of particular officers has been sufficient to ensure
that reasonable precautions are taken to purify water
used for drinking, but in others this is not the case and
we cannot but think that this is a source of grave danger.
101. At Amara, we were informed that a scheme for
the supply of drinking water was under consideration,
but it has not yet materialised. We believe, however,
that in the hospitals at Amara every possible precaution
is takes to ensure that good drinking water only is
supplied to the patients.
102. Generally speaking, we think that if the authorities
are satisfied that the water in the various rivers in Mesopo
tamia can be rendered wholesome and potable by any
simple process, systematic steps should be taken for the
supply of water so purified to all hospitals as well as to
all steamers used for the conveyance of troops, including
sick and wounded. If this water cannot be rendered
wholesome, the expediency of securing a supply of good
water by means of tube wells or some other method
should be considered.
103. Water supply arrangements at the actual front
were also, until recently, far from satisfactory. The
recent outbreak of cholera is attributed by sanitary
experts to the failure to supply the troops with a sufficient
amount of purified drinking water. It is well known that
if the men cannot get an ample supply of good water,
they will drink from any source available. The origin of
the outbreak has been traced to the water of a ditch on a
site previously occupied by Turkish troops among whom
the disease was prevalent. . The failure to provide a good
water supply to the trenches was due to shortage of
carts, pumps, tarpaulins and other material for the supply
and storage of water, which could not be sent up to the
front to begin with, owing to lack of river transport.
These defects are now being rectified and the use of
motor lorries has greatly facilitated the supply of purified
drinking water to the troops.
104. Sanitation .—The provision of special sanitary
establishments on a liberal scale is very necessary in
Mesopotamia and the absence of expert advice on sanitary
questions, and of the necessary executive staff to supervise
the sanitation of the various camps and hospitals, was,
for some time, a source of inconvenience. We understand
that the Assistant Director, Medical Services (for Sanita
tion) has submitted proposals for the employment of the
necessary establishment, and we trust that these proposals
will receive carefixl consideration at the hands of the
military authorities. It will, however, be of little use to
appoint administrative sanitary officers unless the
necessary supervising establishment and menial staff is
also largely increased. In this connection, we may
observe that the lack of sweepers for sanitary work, not
only in the different camps but also in the various hospitals
and on river steamers, is a serious matter, particularly,
since the recent outbreak of cholera. Further, in some
cases, men who are not of the proper caste have been sent
out with hospitals and sanitary sections as sweepers ;
in one hospital we were told that out of 39 sweepers,
10 only were men of the class ordinarily employed for
conservancy work. We think that a very large addition
to the staff of sweepers in Mesopotamia is urgently neces
sary, and that more care should be taken to ensure that
men of the proper caste only are sent for this work. If
the terms now offered are not sufficiently attractive, the
expediency of employing temporary men on more liberal
terms will have to be considered, as the wages now offered
are barely adequate according to the rates which prevail
in that country.
105. We are glad to say that a serious defect in
■ some of the hospitals, namely the absence of any suitable
machinery for disinfecting clothing and other articles,
has recently been rectified. A number of Thresh’s
disinfectors are now available in Mesopotamia, and many
of these have been despatched up-river for use in out-
stations. Formerly, for several months, the lack of this
item of equipment was a defect in particular hospitals,
as in its absence it w'as difficult effectively to get rid of
lice, either from the Turkish prisoners, or from our own