As part of The Europeana Collections 1914-1918 project, which by 2014 will make over 400,000 sources on the First World War publicly and freely available online for the first time, the British Library is planning to digitise and distribute free via the internet 22 volumes of Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France,1914-1918. These reports contain extracts, translated into English, of several hundred letters written by soldiers of the Indian Army serving in France during the First World War. Many of the soldiers came from the north and north-west of the Indian sub-continent.

It is believed that the copyright in much of this content has expired. Should you believe that you hold rights in any of the material, please write to Teresa Harrington, Project Support Officer, Europeana Collections 1914-1918, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB with proof of copyright ownership. Please note that the Library is not able to pay any fees for the use of these works.

Here is a list of the selected India Office Manuscripts to be digitised:

Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Dec 1914-Apr 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Mar-Apr 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Apr-May 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Jun-Aug 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Aug-Sep 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Sep-Oct 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Oct-Nov 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Oct-Dec 1915
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Dec 1915-Jan 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Jan-Mar 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Feb-Apr 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Mar-May 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, May-Jul 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Jul-Aug 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Aug-Oct 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Sep-Nov 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Nov-Dec 1916
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Dec 1916-Feb 1917
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Feb-May 1917
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Apr-Jul 1917
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, May-Oct 1917
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Aug-Dec 1917
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Dec 1917-Mar 1918
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Jul 1915-May 1918
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Dec 1914-Jul 1918
Reports of the Censor of Indian Mails in France, Jun 1915-May 1918
Collection 425/117 Part 1 Treatment of British and Indian prisoners of war in Germany; supply of comforts and clothing for Indian prisoners in Germany, 1914-1919
Collection 425/117 Part 2 Officers and men who are prisoners of war in Germany and Austria: treatment, pay, etc, 1916-1918
Collection 425/1214 Treatment of British prisoners of war by German military authorities
A report on Kitchener Indian Hospital, Brighton. Col Sir Bruce Seton. c1916.
A short history in English, Gurmukhi & Urdu of the Royal Pavilion Brighton and a description of it as a hospital for Indian soldiers, 1915. Brighton Corporation, 1915.
Indian force for Europe. India Office Mil Dept, 6 Sep 1914.
An analysis of 1000 wounds and injuries received in action, with special reference to the theory of the prevalence of self-infliction. Col Sir Bruce Seton, Kitchener Indian Hospital Brighton. No imprint, 1915
P 4180/1915 The War: German attempts to fan Islamic feeling, 1915
P 949/1919 Appreciation by the War Office of the Russian Situation, a Report for use at Peace Conference
Rice, Stanley, Neuve Chapelle, India’s memorial in France, 1914-18. (London, 1927)
Collection 425/1496 Report (“Younger Report”) on treatment of British prisoners of war in Turkey (London: HMSO, 1918) [Cd.9208]
Collection 425/1570 Turkey: proposals re Dardanelles, Bosporus, etc. 1920
Collection 425/1673 Appreciation of assistance rendered to Australian Medical Corps by Indian ambulance men in Gallipoli, 1915
File 3579/1916 Turkey: the future of Constantinople, 1916-1919
P 4640/1917 Intelligence Report: The Turkish campaigns in Mesopotamia, Palestine and Hedjaz, 1917
Memorandum on intellectual and political forces in the Ottoman Empire, Government of India Foreign and Political Dept, Jan 1917
Copy memorandum forwarded by the Director of Military Intelligence, War Office, on intelligence obtained from sick and wounded members of the Kut garrison who arrived at Basra on 9 & 14 Sep 1916
Collection 425/248 Part 4 contains a folder of 8 colour maps of operations on the Mesopotamia campaign, Dec 1916-Mar 1917
Collection 425/1284 Report by General Sir C. Melliss on conditions and treatment of British prisoners of war interned in Turkey; memorandum by Major T.D. Cree, assistant political officer with Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force, regarding treatment of self, companions and family in Turkey. 1917-1919
Report from Gen Sir John Eccles, Nixon, Commanding I.E.F. ‘D’, on the battle of Kut-al-Amarah 28th September 1915. Delhi: GSI, 1915.
Report from Lt-Gen Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake, Commanding I.E.F. ‘D’, on the defence of Kut-al-Amarah under Maj-Gen Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend 3rd December 1915-29th April 1916. Simla: GSI, 1916.
Report by Gen Sir John Eccles Nixon, Commanding Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D’, on the operations in Mesopotamia for the period from the beginning of October 1915 to the date he relinquished command of the force, 19th January 1916. Delhi: GSI, 1916.
P 1417/1917 Mesopotamia: presscuttings from a tour by Indian journalists, 1917
P 5259/1918 Memorandum representing India’s peace desiderata from the Political Department, 1918
Letter on tribal situation in Mesopotamia, Brig-Gen A W Money, GHQ Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D’, 22 Jan 1916
Disposal of conquered territories. Note by India Office. [Mesopotamia and German East Africa] 3 Nov 1918
Collection 425/1293 Recognition of services of Indian Cavalry in France and Palestine: correspondence including letter from Colonel Graham. 1917-1919
History of the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade during the Great War 1914-1918. London: HMSO, 1920.
A brief record of the advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under the command of Gen Sir Edmund Hynman Allenby, July 1917 to October 1918. London: HMSO, 2nd edn 1919.
Syria and Palestine. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office – no 93 [London: Foreign Office], 1919
P 600/1919 Peace Conference: memorandum respecting Syria, 1919
P 622/1919 Peace Conference: memorandum respecting Palestine, 1919
File 705/1916 Pt 1-2 Arab revolt, 1916-1917: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes’ reports
P 3733/1917 Extract of a report on Captain Lawrence’s journey, from a letter to Sir William Robertson from Sir R Wingate, 11 Jul 1917
P 621/1919 Peace Conference: memorandum respecting Arabia, 1919
Eastern Committee. Summary of the Hejaz Revolt. General Staff, War Office, 31 Aug 1918
Policy in Arabia. Note by India Office. Sir F A Hirtzel, 20 Nov 1918
India’s contribution to the Great War. Calcutta: Govt of India, 1923
Alphabetical list of recipients of the Victoria Cross during the campaign from August 1914 to 30th April 1920 War Office, 1920
File 705/1916 Pt 3-4 The War: Eastern Reports Nos 1 to 139, 1917-1919
India and the War. War Office [Press briefing], [Oct 1917]
Synopsis of our obligations to our allies and others, Foreign Office, 6 Feb 1918