The Special Commissions (Dardanelles and Mesopotamia) Act 1916 ( 6 & 7 Geo. V) was set up to investigate the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

operations in the Dardanelles Campaign and the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Powe ...

. The

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...

of 1809 and the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

had been investigated by Parliamentary Committees. The British Prime Minister,

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, therefore initially proposed a

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

to inquire into the disasters at the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

(the Gallipoli Bridgeheads were finally evacuated in the winter of 1915-16) and in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

(where the British and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

force at

Kut Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

surrendered in April 1916). Instead, he was persuaded to agree to appoint a statutory Special Commission, because '"a Government may… prefer to… appoint… an outside element... less likely to be influenced by party bias." The terms of the Act required that at least one naval and one military officer from the retired lists serve on each Commission. Historian

John Grigg John Edward Poynder Grigg (15 April 1924 – 31 December 2001) was a British writer, historian and politician. He was the 2nd Baron Altrincham from 1955 until he disclaimed that title under the Peerage Act on the day it received Royal Assen ...

writes that the inquiries were “an enormous waste of busy people’s time”.

Maurice Hankey Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, (1 April 1877 – 26 January 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ...

had to spend 174 hours preparing material for the Dardanelles Commission. Grigg argues that just the fact of setting up the inquiries was an unfortunate admission that mismanagement had occurred. Coming after the crisis over the extension of conscription to married men in May 1916, which had come close to bringing down the government, and against the backdrop of the costly

Somme Offensive The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

(whose results were obviously disappointing, contrary to unconvincing official claims of Allied victory), and the decline in Asquith’s physical stamina and “grip”, the inquiries contributed to the slow decline of the

Asquith coalition ministry The Asquith coalition ministry was the Government of the United Kingdom under the Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from May 1915 to December 1916. It was formed as a multi-party war-time coalition nine months after the beginning of the First ...

’s authority. By the end of the year many politicians – and General

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

- had come to feel that a change was needed in the management of the war, causing the crisis of November-December 1916 which eventually led to Asquith’s replacement as Prime Minister by

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

.Grigg 2002, pp435-6

Mesopotamia 1916-17

The Commission of Inquiry's remit was to inquire into the origins, inception and conduct of operations of war in Mesopotamia. The following were appointed: *

Lord George Hamilton Lord George Francis Hamilton (17 December 1845 – 22 September 1927) was a British Conservative Party politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who served as First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for India. Backgroun ...

, chairman *

Earl of Donoughmore Earl of Donoughmore is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It is associated with the Hely-Hutchinson family. Paternally of Gaelic Irish descent with the original name of ''Ó hÉalaighthe'', their ancestors had long lived in the County Cork area ...

* Lord Hugh Cecil *

Archibald Williamson, 1st Baron Forres Archibald Williamson, 1st Baron Forres PC (13 September 1860 – 29 October 1931), known as Sir Archibald Williamson, 1st Baronet, from 1909 to 1922, was a British businessman and Liberal politician. Early life The eldest son of Stephen Willi ...

* J. Hodge * J.C. Wedgwood *

Admiral Cyprian Bridge Admiral Sir Cyprian Arthur George Bridge (13 March 1839 – 16 August 1924) was a British Royal Navy officer towards the end of the era of ''Pax Britannica.'' He was Commander-in-chief of both the Australian Squadron and the China Squadron. ...

, (retired Naval) * General Rt. Hon. Sir Neville Gerald Lyttelton The Commission summoned over 100 witnesses. It was highly critical of many individuals and the administrative arrangements. *

William Babtie Lieutenant General Sir William Babtie, (7 May 1859 – 11 September 1920) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwea ...

, responsible for medical provision on the Mesopotamia front, was heavily criticised.

Dardanelles 1916-19

''See

Dardanelles Commission The Dardanelles Commission was an investigation into the disastrous 1915 Dardanelles Campaign. It was set up under the Special Commissions (Dardanelles and Mesopotamia) Act 1916. The final report of the commission, issued in 1919, found major pr ...

'' The following were appointed: *

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...

(initial chairman, died 29 Jan 1917) *

William Pickford, 1st Baron Sterndale William Pickford, 1st Baron Sterndale, (1 October 1848 – 17 August 1923) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as a Lord Justice of Appeal between 1914 and 1918, as President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division between 1918 and ...

, Chairman *

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...

Thomas Mackenzie Sir Thomas Mackenzie (10 March 1853 – 14 February 1930) was a Scotland, Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand, 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and ...

Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley PC, JP (9 October 1850 – 30 March 1937), known as Sir Frederick Cawley, Bt, between 1906 and 1918, was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician. A wealthy cotton merchant, he represented Prestwic ...

James Avon Clyde, Lord Clyde James Avon Clyde, Lord Clyde, (14 November 1863 – 16 June 1944) was a Scottish politician and judge. Early life Clyde was born on 14 November 1863, the son of Dr James Clyde LLD (1821-1912). His father was a teacher at Dollar Academy and ...

Stephen Gwynn Stephen Lucius Gwynn (13 February 1864 – 11 June 1950) was an Irish journalist, biographer, author, poet and Protestant Nationalist politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented Galway city as its Member of Parliament ...

Walter Francis Roch Walter Francis Roch (20 January 1880 – 3 March 1965), sometime Member of Parliament, MP (Lib.) for Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency), Pembrokeshire from 1908 to 1918 was a Welsh politician and landowner, whose political career ende ...

* Admiral Sir William Henry May *

William Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson Field Marshal William Gustavus Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson, (2 March 1845 – 13 September 1918) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the Mahdist War, the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the Second Boer War and the ...

Sources

*'Appendix 1', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 10: Officials of Royal Commissions of Inquiry 1870-1939 (1995), pp. 85–8. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=16611. Date accessed: 12 August 2007. * {{Cite book , last=Grigg , first=John , title=Lloyd George: From Peace To War 1912-16 , publisher=Penguin , year=2002 , orig-year=1985 , isbn=0-140-28426-5

References

Public inquiries in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1916 1916 in military history World War I legislation Military history of the United Kingdom Gallipoli campaign Middle Eastern theatre of World War I H. H. Asquith