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'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM' [‎563v] (1138/1386)

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The record is made up of 1 file (687 folios). It was created in 1915-1918. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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14
No. 47.
Telegram from Secretary of State for India to Governor of Bombay,
dated 2Itli February 1910.
Private. Your private letter of 30th January deepens my anxiety about hospital
arrangements in Mesopotamia. Please communicate privately to A iceroy all
information in your possession. Mention also your desire for visit of Commander-in-
Chief or other high military official.
No. 48.
Extract from a 'private Letter from Mr. Chamberlain to Lord Ilardinge,
dated 2Mh I ehruary 1916.
I am profoundly disturbed about the medical arragements above Basra. Evidence
is rapidly accumulating in the private letters which are now reaching this country,
that the condition of things has amounted to an absolute scandal. I know that the
difficulties of transport are tremendous, but there can be no excuse for a shortage of
bandages, splints, and such-like necessary appliances, nor for the condition of the
barges in which the wounded were transported, nor for the absence of any protection
for them against the weather. 1 feel this so deeply that I cabled to you again upon the
subject two days ago. Yesterday two Members of Parliament sent me urgent messages
desiring an immediate appointment. Both had the same tale to tell. I send you
extracts from letters which they read to me, as well as one from another source, I am
not permitted to say who the Avriters were, but though personally unknown to me,
I think that they are competent men not given to squealing.
The mail has brought me letters from Willingdon which indicate that he has been
made equally uneasy by what he has heard. He adds that since the outbreak of war
neither the Commander-in-Chief, nor any officer of the Headquarters’ Staff, has visited
Bombay. This seems to me an amazing state of things, it contrasts singularly with
the activity shown by Lord Kitchener here, though no one can pretend that he is a
less busy man than the Commander-in-Chief in India. Willingdon writes with great
diffidence and apologies for speaking of a matter which is outside his sphere. I
consider, however, that he is not only entitled, but that he ought, to lay before you
privately his information and views on both these subjects, and I have cabled to him
requesting him to do so. I hope to hear from you that the Commander-in-Chief has
already despatched an independent official to investigate the complaints in regard to
Mesopotamia. I am considering whether I ought not to send out such an officer from
England. I am more distressed and more anxious upon this whole subject than I can
well express to you.
Xo. 49.
Telegram from Viceroy to Secretary of State for India,
dated 2bth February 1916.
Private. Your private telegram of the 22nd instant. Medical organisation in
Mesopotamia. I regret to say that reports of mismanagement and deficiencies in
medical comforts and necessaries, though they have not yet been officially confirmed,
leave little doubt on my mind that our wounded and sick soldiers have since the Sheikh
Saad engagement undergone considerable suffering. It appears that number of
prospective casualties was greatly under-estimated, and consequently the personnel
was quite insufficient to tend the wounded on the long journey down the river, while
supply of bandages gave out and there was absence of sufficient ordinary medical
necessaries, such as bed-pans, &c.
As far as I am able to gather the prime reason for this shortage was that all
available river transport was absorbed to bring up all possible reinforcements and
supplies lor Aylmer’s advance, because Townshend’s powers of holding out were
locally under-estimated and an immediate advance at all costs was considered
imperative. It was not due to absence of medical necessaries and comforts at base
at Basra, where there is a large accumulation of such stores which it is becoming
increasingly difficult to push forward to the front.
In November last, the river transport was barely sufficient for the maintenance of
two divisions, and it must not be forgotten that during the past three months
Force “L>” has increased in strength from two to seven divisions, of which divisions
from France arrived before their field ambulances or general hospitals or former before

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Content

This file contains working drafts of confidential prints, correspondence and telegrams from the room of Sir Edmund Barrow, Military Secretary in the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , collected for the Mesopotamian Commission which was convened to examine the causes of the besieging and surrender of the Indian Expeditionary Force in Kut-el-Amara [Al Kūt].

The papers cover a range of topics and include the following: General Townshend's assessment of the situation after the Battle of Kut-el-Amara; a précis of correspondence relating to the origins and development of the Mesopotamia expedition; and a collection (ff 396-399) of private telegrams between the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy, prior to the outbreak of war with Turkey.

The file also includes some tables showing the strength of General Townshend's force at Ctesiphon (folio 111) as well as the Indian Expeditionary Force 'D' (In Mesopotamia) Troops of the 6th Poona Division (folio 114).

Correspondents include: General Sir John Nixon; Major-General Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend; the Viceroy of India; officials of the Admiralty; officials of the War Office.

Extent and format
1 file (687 folios)
Arrangement

The entries are recorded in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 686; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Multiple additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are written in crayon and pencil; where they are written in pencil and circled, they are crossed through.

The file has one foliation anomaly, f 374A.

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English in Latin script
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'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM' [‎563v] (1138/1386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/5/768, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100116195933.0x00008d> [accessed 31 January 2025]

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