Who was with Atatürk on the Bandırma Ferry?

One hundred and three years ago, on 16 May 1919, the Bandırma ship, which took Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who was appointed as the ninth army inspector, to Samsun, departed from Istanbul. The 19th of May 1919, when Mustafa Kemal Pasha and the inspection team landed in Samsun, is considered the beginning of the War of Independence.

Bandırma Ferry:

Bandırma, 47 meters long and 192 tons in weight, was built in 1878 at the Paisley shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland. Between 1878 and 1883, the ship, which served under the British flag as Trocadero, was later sold to a company in Greece and served under the Greek flag under the name Kymi between 1883 and 1894.

The ship was purchased by the Maritime Lines Administration of that time, Administration-i Mahsusa, in 1894 and named Panderma. In 1910, the name of the Administration-i Mahsusa was changed to the Ottoman Seyrüsefain İşletmesi, and the name of the ship was changed to the Bandırma ferry. The ship has provided cargo and passenger transport and mail transport services between the ports and piers on the shores of the Marmara Sea.

Bandırma Ship Had a Total of 79 Passengers:

In May 1919, the ship Bandırma is forty-one years old and has been under the ownership of the Ottoman state institution for twenty-five years. On May 16, 1919, there were seventy-nine people on board the ship, which departed from Istanbul.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha's inspection committee consisted of 23 people, mostly soldiers. Miralay Refet (Bele) Bey and Mazhar Tevfik Bey, who was appointed as the governor of Sinop, were also using this ship to reach their posts. Mazhar Tevfik's wife and two children were also on the ship. There were also 25 non-commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers and privates on the Bandırma ferry. The ship's crew consisted of twenty-five people.

Among the people on board, who were in the rank of major or higher, there were famous commanders of the War of Independence or future pashas, ​​prime minister and deputies. Some of these people parted ways with Mustafa Kemal Pasha over time. With this article, I would like to present some of the names on the ship next to Atatürk to your attention and information.

Mehmet Arif Bey (Aıcı Arif):

For example, Mehmet Arif Bey, who is the second chief of staff of the Inspection Committee, is among these people. Mehmet Arif Bey, also known as Aıcı Arif because he raised and kept a baby bear he found in the forests of İnegöl, is a person who participated in the Balkan, Tripoli, First World Wars and undertook different command duties in the War of Independence. Arif Bey, who was also rewarded with the red-striped Independence Medal in the War of Independence, was executed in 1926 on the grounds that he was involved in the plot to assassinate Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Izmir. On the other hand, the names of most of the members of the delegation became integrated with the War of Independence and the Republic period afterwards.

Staff Colonel Refet Bele Bey:

Refet Bele, who was born in Thessaloniki in 1881, like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is an important commander who participated in the War of Independence. He is a good soldier with frontline experience, who participated in the Balkan War and the First World War. He was serving as the Istanbul Gendarmerie General Commander when he boarded the Bandırma Ferry. Refet Bele undertook very important duties during the War of Independence. Refet Bele, who was one of Atatürk's close circles, served as the Minister of Interior and Defense in the Parliamentary governments, as well as commanding duties on different fronts during the War of Independence.

Refet Bele, who had served as the Istanbul representative of the Ankara government after the Mudanya armistice, was tried and acquitted in the Independence Court in 1926 on the charge of being involved in the plot to assassinate Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Izmir. After the court, Refet Bey resigned from both his parliamentary duties and his military service. After Atatürk's death, Refet Bey, who was re-elected with İnönü's proposal, served as a member of parliament between 1939 and 1950. Between 1950 and 1961, he worked at the United Nations' Middle East Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Lebanon. Refet Bey died in Istanbul in 1963 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Chief of Staff Kazım Dirik Bey:

Kazım (Dirik), the chief of staff of the delegation, was born in 1881 in Manastır. During the War of Independence, Kazım (Dirik) Bey, who was rewarded with the Red Stripe Medal of Independence, rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He was the governor of Bitlis between 1924 and 1926 and the governor of İzmir from 1926 to 1935. Kazım (Dirik) Bey served as general inspector of Thrace from 1935 until his death in 1941.

Dr. Colonel İbrahim Tali Öngören Bey:

Miralay, who was on the ship as the Sanitary Inspector, Dr. Colonel İbrahim Tali (Öngören) Bey was born in 1875 in Istanbul. He is a person who participated in the Balkan War, the Tripoli War, the First World War and took on different duties in the War of Independence. Between 1921 and 1923 he was the consulate of Batumi, and between 1924 and 1926 he was the ambassador in Warsaw. İbrahim Tali (Öngören) Bey, who later served as the First and Second General Inspectors and as a deputy in Istanbul and Diyarbakır, passed away in 1951. Artillery Inspector Major Kemal (Doğan) Bey, who was in the delegation, was born in 1879 in Skopje. Balkan, Tripoli is a person who participated in the First World Wars and undertook different command duties in the War of Independence.

In the War of Independence, Kemal (Doğan) Bey, who was awarded the Independence Medal, rose to the rank of ferik (lieutenant general). Kemal (Doğan), who retired from military service in 1941, served as a member of parliament for three terms and died in 1951. His daughter, Reha, is the wife of Ahmet İsvan, who was the mayor of Istanbul between 1973 and 1977.

Chief of Staff Hüsrev Gerede:

Staff Major Hüsrev (Gerede) Bey was born in Istanbul in 1884. He participated in the Balkan War and the First World War. He played a role in the adoption of the National Pact in the last Ottoman Assembly. During the War of Independence, he was a member of parliament. Although he was later elected as a deputy, he moved from being a deputy to a diplomat. He served as ambassador in Budapest, Sofia, Tehran, Tokyo, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro and died in 1962.

Doctor Major Refik Saydam:

Taking part in the delegation as the Assistant Sanitary Inspector, Dr. Major Refik (Saydam) Bey was born in Istanbul in 1881. He participated in the Balkan War and the First World War. During the War of Independence, he served as the Minister of Health and Social Solidarity in the parliamentary and parliamentary government. In 1923, he became the first Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey. Except for a three-month hiatus, he served as Minister of Health until 1937. During the Ministry of Health, he founded the Institute of Hygiene, which is known by his name today. In this institute, domestic vaccines against infectious diseases have been produced for many years. After Atatürk's death, he served as the Minister of the Interior for three months, and on January 25, 1939, he was appointed Prime Minister by the new President İnönü. Undertaking the duty of Prime Minister during the Second World War, Dr. Refik Saydam died as a result of a heart attack in Istanbul, which he visited in 1941 as the prime minister.