Diary from siege of Kut
Extract from the diary of the Reverend Harold Spooner, 2-6 February 1916.

Harold Spooner was the chaplain with the garrison in the town of Kut on the River Tigris, where Turkish forces besieged British and Indian troops for 147 days between December 1915 and April 1916. He kept a diary and also took a series of photographs. This extract from Spooner's papers gives a striking portrait of life inside the besieged town. The weather was 'bitterly cold' and Turkish guns were a constant menace. Moreover, the efforts of Anglo-Indian forces under General Aylmer to break the siege were failing. 'We were expecting news of our relief,' notes Spooner on 4 February, 'but no, not yet!'
IWM 76/115/1 (2-6 Feb 1916)

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