TCD MS 3416 page 78
[November 1916]
were moved into a large house in the lane, which had recently been a Turkish Hospital, this move greatly relieved the conjestion in my house; they had there a garden in which they could stroll at odd times during the day. Time without number our Senior Medical Officer, Major Baines J.M.S. requested the Comdt to provide clothing & bedding for our orderlies, but nothing was done in the matter until Nov 1st (6 months after capture) when, however, clothes arrived: the mattresses provided were disgustingly dirty & of no use consequently. We were so disgusted at the abominable treatment we were receiving from the Turks, that we decided to report the whole affair to our Government which we did very successfully on the hope that our lot might be bettered. How this news was transmitted home, I will, for certain reasons, explain towards the end of my story which I hope to be writing on a British ship bound for England. We were very concerned about the filthy sanitary arrangements which consisted of open cesspits actually inside the houses, and being so overcrowded we greatly feared the advent of serious disease. We had but very few books and a few packs of cards so we had very few means