DEPARTMENT OF MILITIA AND DEFENCE
OTTAWA
June 4th 1917.
From,-
The Adjutant-General,
Canadian Militia.
To,-
Mrs. May Bell Gullen,
Echo Place,
Brantford, Ont.
772521. Pte. William Roy Gullen,
Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Madam,
With reference to the notification sent you that the marginally named soldier had been officially reported as “missing”, I have the honour to enclose, herewith, a leaflet showing the steps taken by the War Office, London, England, to ascertain whether officers and man who have been reported Missing are Prisoners of War, or, if not, whether any definite information is obtainable as to their fate.
I have the honour to be,
Madam,
Your obedient servant,
[signature of “Frank Beard”]
i/c Record Office,
for a/Adjutant-General.
[document enclosed with letter:]
MISSING OFFICERS AND MEN.
The following are the steps taken by the War Office to ascertain whether officers and men who have been reported Missing are Prisoners of War, or, if not, whether any definite information is obtainable as to their fate:—
(i) The Commanding Officer.
The Officer Commanding the Unit, before making his report, ascertains as far as possible from the officers and men present with the Unit, whether any reliable evidence is forthcoming. If not, he reports the soldier Missing.
(ii) The British Red Cross and Order of St. John.
Lists of the missing are supplied by the War Office to the Enquiry Department of the Red Cross, 18, Carlton House Terrace.
The representatives of this body are given facilities at the hospitals and camps at home and overseas to collect information from wounded soldiers.
Information so collected, if likely to establish the fate of the officer or man, is passed to the War Office and in the case of the rank and file is taken up officially without request from the relatives.
In the case of officers these reports if sufficiently definite are also investigated, but the initiative is as a rule left to the relatives, since the Red Cross reports are frequently numerous and conflicting, and it is found that the relatives have in many cases received more reliable information direct from the officers of the unit.
Enquiries addressed to 18. Carlton House Terrace, will also be answered direct, and all reliable information collected will be communicated. The enquiry should give the name, Christian name, regimental number, regiment, battalion, company or platoon, and date of casualty. For Royal Artillery the Battery is necessary, and for the Royal Engineers and Army Service Corps the Company.
(iii) Enquiries in Germany and other enemy countries.
Full lists of the missing are prepared in the War Office, and a large number of copies are sent monthly to the Foreign Office for transmission through the good offices of the United States Embassy to Germany and other enemy countries.
These lists are circulated through the prisoners of war camps and hospitals, and are accompanied by forms on which evidence can be furnished regarding officers and men whose names are on the list.
By this means in an appreciable number of cases, information has been received showing what has been the fate of the missing.
(iv) General Remarks.
It will be seen that by these arrangement an endeavor is made to cover broadly the whole field of possible witnesses of the missing soldier’s fate, and if he has unfortunately met his death upon the battlefield to place his relatives in possession of definite information upon the subject.
If on the other hand he is in fact a prisoner of war, news is in the great majority of cases received from him direct in the first instance by the means of letters addressed to his relatives. In a few cases his name first appears upon an official German List, but unfortunately in a number these, the list shows that he has died in hospital a few days after capture. In all but very exceptional cases, the news of his being a prisoner comes through before there would have been time for an enquiry to be sent to Germany, and for an answer to be received.
Individual enquiries sent to Germany in missing cases have been found by experience to produce no correct information that was not already in the possession of the War Office, and as the issue of the lists of missing ensures much wider circulation of the names, individual enquiries are not now sent.
The placing of the name on the missing list is done by the War Office automatically, and it is therefore not necessary for relatives to take any steps to ensure that official enquiries in Germany are set on foot. It is particularly requested that letters should not be sent to the American Embassy or to the Foreign Office, as applications of this description cannot be dealt with there.
War Office. S.W.
October, 1916.
[document identification information across bottom of first page:]
(D 12025) Wt.w.10530-9214 50M 12/16 H&S P. 16,816
Original Scans
