"This report is based on the statements of forty-eight British officers and seventy-seven N.C.O.'s and men, captured at different times between the outbreak of the war and the end of 1914. Their statements, in so far as they relate to the matter of the report, are quoted at length in the appendices."--Page [2].

"This report is based on the statements of forty-eight British officers and seventy-seven N.C.O.'s and men, captured at different times between the outbreak of the war and the end of 1914. Their statements, in so far as they relate to the matter of the report, are quoted at length in the appendices."--p. [2].

Over 185,000 British military servicemen were captured by the Germans during the First World War and incarcerated as prisoners of war (POWs). In this original investigation into their experiences of captivity, Wilkinson uses official and private British source material to explore how these servicemen were challenged by, and responded to, their wartime fate. Examining the psychological anguish associated with captivity, and physical trials, such as the controlling camp spaces; harsh routines and regimes; the lack of material necessities; and, for many, forced labour demands, he asks if, how and with what effects British POWs were able to respond to such challenges. The culmination of this research reveals a range of coping strategies embracing resistance; leadership and organisation; networks of support; and links with 'home worlds'. British Prisoners of War in First World War Germany offers an original insight into First World War captivity, the German POW camps, and the mentalities and perceptions of the British servicemen held within.