Soldier Record

Lest We Forget - Those who died in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in 1915/16

My father was a newly qualified doctor who joined the RAMC at the outbreak of WW1 and was posted shortly afterwards to India. He volunteered (you should never volunteer, the old soldier says!) to join the British Expeditionary Force to Mesopotamia in 1915 to advance from Basra up the Tigris river towards Bagdad. Beaten at the battle of Ctesiphon some 19000 British and Indian troops retired to Kut-al-Amara - a small village (then) in a loop in the river, which controlled the river traffic and thus severely hindered the Turkish advance. A seige, which lasted for 5 months eventually ended in submission due to starvation (there were no more horses, dogs, cats or rats to eat, my father told me!). Then followed a 200 mile forced march to Bagdad and captivity. Over half of the starving survivors from the seige died on the march and many more as POWs. Thus the expeditionary suffereed 100% casualties in killed, wounded and taken prisoner. A little recognised war today but over the same battlefields of more recent times -"Lest We Forget".