sailors in Italy . The initiative was welcomed by the Saudi and Italian governments, and in October '42 Turkey submitted the proposal to the British. The British Government jumped at the chance, suggesting that they could arrange to exchange some other prisoners of war currently in their hands.
Events moved fairly quickly from that point, the British government accepted the proposal on October 11, 1942, the Italians confirmed their acceptance on January 22, 1943, and the exchange took place in the port of Mersin Turkey March 20, 1943. In that port the British liner H.M.T. Talma and the Italian hospital ship Gradisca met and made the exchange. It was an interesting exchange, because both ships were at anchor in the harbour and prisoners were exchanged by means of barges from one ship to another, at no time did any of them touch Turkish soil.
This exchange was unusual in several other respects too, not the least of which was this was totally organised between the respective governments with no involvement from the Red Cross at all.
One problem solved, but as is often the case another one was created. Article 74 of the Geneva Convention of 1929 says that when wounded or sick prisoners of war are repatriated they can not later return to the field of battle, to send these servicemen back to war is considered a war crime. The problem here is those that drafted the convention had not foreseen a situation like there was in Mersin in 1943. From the Italian side of things, their people had not been prisoners of war, were not injured or sick. While the British had been P.O.W's they were not injured or sick either so the big question was did Article 74 apply?
In early August 1943 one of the repatriated British sailors requested to see the commodore in command of the Royal Navy depot in Devonport to get a clarification on his status . He informed the commodore that before his release from the P.O.W camp in Italy he had signed a number of documents, one of which, according to him, said he agreed that he would not take up arms against any of the Axis powers. Another document given to the sailor
by the Italians was effectively a ' certificate of demobilization ' !
The British authorities thought on this long and hard before finally coming to the following conclusion:- no one questions the validity of Article. 74 of the Geneva Convention of 1929, however, the exchange of Anglo - Italian personnel in Mersin was held outside of the Convention , because the Italians were not repatriated prisoners of war but interned in a neutral country; and that although the British sailors were undoubtedly prisoners of war , were neither sick nor wounded, therefore not covered by the Geneva Convention . Especially since neither the Red Cross or other similar body had been in any way involved .
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