Prisoners of War, 1715-1947

What is in This Collection?

The records in this collection identify refugees and individuals taken as prisoners of war during major conflicts around the globe. The records contain the names of military personnel, civilians, diplomats, missionaries, and merchant seamen from nations all over the world. While the records are housed at the National Archives of the United Kingdom, the events included took place all over the world. Conflicts include:

• Napoleonic Wars, 1747-1889
• Crimean and Boer Wars, 1795-1951
• World War I, 1913-1918

This collection includes records from the following record series:

• ADM 1, Admiralty, and Ministry of Defence, Navy Department: Correspondence and Papers
• AIR 1, Air Ministry: Air Historical Branch: Papers (Series I)
• BT 167, Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Precedent Books, Establishment Papers, etc.
• CAB 45, Committee of Imperial Defence, Historical Branch and Cabinet Office, Historical Section: Official War Histories Correspondence and Papers
• CO 693, Colonial Office: Dominions (War of 1914-1918), Prisoners Original Correspondence
• FO 372, Foreign Office: Treaty Department and successors: General Correspondence from 1906
• FO 383, Foreign Office: Prisoners of War and Aliens Department: General Correspondence from 1906
• MT 9, Board of Trade and Ministry of Transport and successors: Marine, Harbours and Wrecks (M, H and W Series) Files
• WO 161, War Office: Miscellaneous Unregistered Papers, First World War
• WO 900, War Office: Specimens of Series of Documents Destroyed

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records: