| Home > Prisoners of war |
| Records of British prioners of war |
Most
records of British POWs of the Great War are no longer in
existence or no longer easily accessible. |
| The collection in National Archives WO161 - searchable by using the database on this site - is the most comprehensive collection that is available to the public. |
| Behind the wire: The Long, Long Trail's EXCLUSIVE database of British POWs |
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. |
| Finally, 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. |
| POW facts |
| 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. |
| List of principal POW camps in Germany 1914-1919 |
| Useful reference works on British POWs |
| The prisoners 1914-18, Robert Jackson (London: Routledge, 1989) |