During the Great War of 1914-1918, some 7,335 officers and 174,491 other ranks of the British Army were captured by the enemy. Of these, about half fell into captivity between 21 March and 11 November 1918. Unfortunately, for those wishing to research men who became prisoners, there are relatively few sources of information about what happened to them. Most records of British POWs of the Great War are no longer in existence or no longer easily accessible.

Records of the Committee on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War

The Committee on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War, during and shortly after the Great War of 1914-1918, collected various reports and pieces of information, many of which were from debriefing interviews of escapees and returning prisoners. Such information that still exists from the work of this Committee is available in the National Archives in Kew, London, in document series WO161. It includes more than 7,000 individual cases, but obviously this covers only a small portion of the men taken prisoner.

The records are now online and searchable at the Documents Online section of the National Archives website. There is a fee for downloading a record.

British Officers taken prisoner

A printed list of officers taken POW was produced during the war and has been reprinted in recent years: there is a copy in the National Archives Library and it can be found on the used book market. It is the List of officers taken prisoner in the various theatres of war between August 1914 and November 1918. It was originally published by Cox & Co.

The archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross

It is possible to enquire whether the International Committee of the Red Cross still retains any records. This was the single largest archive retaining records of POWs from the Great War period, but access is now restricted. There is an appropriate form to complete, available on the ICRC Archives website. This is a paid service and ICRC will provide details of costs once you have submitted the form.

According to an article in the "Times" on 13 January 1919, all German POW camps had been emptied by 5 January 1919, with the possible exception of a small number of men held at Cassel and Lamsdorf. Since the armistice, 153,372 former POWs had arrived back in England; 4,609 were in transit and 4,081 were awaiting repatriation in Holland.