Unknown POW Turkey

[Chris Grimshaw]

Afternoon Team

Today's cover is a puzzle,  cannot read his name or find this camp as spelt.

Assistance from our signature experts please. 

Chris

[Robert Hurst]

Chris

The name to me looks like Capt. W.C. Spackman, if this is the case Pen & Sword published a book [i]Captured at Kut, Prisoner of the Turks: The Great War Diaries of Colonel William Spackman: The Great War Diaries of Colonel WC Spackman [/i] that may be of assistance (it was published in 2009 and appears to still be available through Amazon - other book sellers are available!).

Robert

[Alan Baker]

Is the camp Paradiso?

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hi Alan

The book he wrote 'Captured at Kut, Prisoner of the Turks:' arrived today.

Page 183 , he writes, So on to Smyrna I went, There I was given quarters in the American Mission College at Paradiso on the outskirts of town. 

Excerpt below gives a good account of their arrival.

[b]Diary of Grace Williamson detailing events in Smyrna, September, October 1918[/b]

September 22nd 1918
English prisoners have come and some are lodged in the American College, and some in the town in different institutions. They are in a very poor condition, and have hardly any clothing. The English ladies are making shirts as hard as they can, and everyone is doing their best to send comforts. But there are so many, and it is a drop in the ocean what we can give. What revelations they will make.
October 6th 1918
The past month the prisoners have been coming from up country in batches of 50 or 60. Sometimes the poor fellows are very ill and dying. One lot journeyed for 5 days with nothing to eat. Several have died since coming. It is dreadful to think of the suffering they have gone through. Their numbers have been reduced from thousands to hundreds. One Company, 370 men is now 39 only. All the officers' faces look so sad. They are not allowed to talk politics or say anything of what they have been through. Some of the civilian English are allowed to visit them, but there is nearly always someone near listening and also they have given their parole. So nothing much can be heard, but they will have awful things to reveal someday. I hope Turkey will not be forgiven. It is too wicked a nation. These days there are talks of Peace. Bulgaria having an armistice is very good news for us, also we hear that Damascus has been taken but we are not quite sure if it is true. How we hope it is. Last night after midnight we heard that the whole town was buzzing with talk. It was pitch dark, for we have no gas now. Presently Charlie Hadkinson rang at our door bell and announced that a general Peace was signed. Of course it is not quite true, but things are humming. We all jumped out of bed and talked with all our neighbours. We have Beard and Ida staying with us and we were all in dressing gowns in the garden talking till nearly 3 o'clock. There were bands of young men all over the town with mandolins and guitars singing at the tops of their voices. Oh how happy we are. This morning we see from the papers that there is reason for this rumour of Peace. You will also have been reading about it in the papers. Who knows before the year is out we may see the end. The two Perkins girls have been so busy and useful to the prisoners who are sick in the hospitals. Some were taken to Boudjah and there Ethel and Evelyn worked hard giving them comforts. Evelyn was allowed to nurse them. One English man died and they were so unhappy over him. They had to do everything for him, lay him out and put him in his coffin. Now Evelyn goes once a week to all the hospitals in town where sick are scattered about. We hear that the ship is to come in fifteen days' time, but we are not sure whether it will or not. So many times we have been disappointed.
October:
The peace negotiations are going on and we hope will soon finish. There is talk of a separate Peace with Turkey. The English prisoners keep on arriving, there are nearly a thousand men now and about 40 officers. You can imagine the excitement in the town. All the shop keepers grin from ear to ear. And English money is flying. Oh how happy we all are, but we have not realized it yet. Most of the English families have taken in some English officers. As of course they are not very comfortable in their quarters at the American College in Paradise. They are so crowded there. Some who can afford to have taken rooms at the Hotel. Our girls are bursting with excitement and we all feel a bit light headed. We get Mother as many sweets as she likes, poor old darling. Last night two officers missed the last train for Paradise, and Carmaelo the ticket puncher at the station brought them over to us. Poor fellows they were, so shy and shabby. But we soon made them feel at home. Having Mr. Beard here, they were soon made comfortable. We gave them hot baths and clean beds and they did enjoy themselves. To one it was the first civilized bath, and bed he had got for three and a half years. He danced in the bathroom for joy. The other was a flying man who was brought down the coast fifteen months ago.
This diary is penned by Grace Williamson (1865 Smyrna - 1945 Smyrna), daughter of  William Williamson merchant who had migrated from Yorkshire, England and Elizabeth née Barker whose family had lived in Turkey for a few generations before (her grand-father, William Barker of Smyrna was admitted a member of the Levant Company in 1759).
http://www.levantineheritage.com/note23.htm

Chris