Turkish Prision Camps

KEDOS (GEDDOS or GEDIZ): This prison camp was located in the Vilayet of Brusa in western Anatolia. The town was near the Hermus River (Gediz River), sixty-three miles west-northwest of Afion Karahissar, twenty-eight miles north of Ouchak, and eighty-three miles south of Brousa. The Turks incarcerated British and Indian officers and enlisted men captured at Kut-al-Amara in a number of buildings in the town in 1916. The POW's lived in the barracks (three stone buildings), the khan, British officer messes, Indian officer messes, and a Gurkha barrack. The prisoners had access to a theater, classes, and an athletic field for soccer and field hockey. Allied officers could walk five kilometers from the town if they gave their parole they would not attempt to escape (the Turks transferred officers who refused to give their parole to the prison camp at Ouchak). An influenza epidemic broke out in the camp during the war. In September 1918, a great fire destroyed 2,000 of the 2,300 homes in Kedos, although British prisoners received credit in fighting the fire and saving considerable Turkish property. The Turks closed the facility shortly after the fire and most of the prisoners transferred to Smyrna for repatriation.