First World War: Difference between revisions

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*[http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhs_in_World_War_1 Sikhs in World War 1] is mainly about the Sikhs at Gallipoli. sikhiwiki.org
*[http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhs_in_World_War_1 Sikhs in World War 1] is mainly about the Sikhs at Gallipoli. sikhiwiki.org
*[http://www.esikhs.com/articles/the_sikhs_at_gallipoli.htm The Sikhs at Gallipoli in 1915 (part of 29th Indian Infantry Brigade)] esikhs.com
*[http://www.esikhs.com/articles/the_sikhs_at_gallipoli.htm The Sikhs at Gallipoli in 1915 (part of 29th Indian Infantry Brigade)] esikhs.com
*A [http://www.kingscollections.org/servingsoldier/collection/the-dardanelles-expedition#Gallery  collection of official photographs of the Dardanelles Expedition, 1915-1916.] The Serving Soldier King’s College London. Includes Indian troops.


==British Army Territorial Force troops in India==
==British Army Territorial Force troops in India==

Revision as of 04:04, 14 July 2013

First World War information relevant to British India, including the involvement of the Indian Army and of Anglo Indians in the British Army. During the First World War compulsory service was deemed necessary and the Indian Defence Force Act was passed in 1917. European British men between the ages of 18 and 41 were subject to compulsory service within India. Thus men serving overseas were not sent as conscripts, but had voluntarily joined either the Indian Army, or the British Army.

Hampshire Regt WW1 Shield with India noted

General information

Expeditionary Forces

Seven expeditionary forces served during World War I

  • Indian Expeditionary Force A served on the European Western Front
  • Indian Expeditionary Force B served in the East African Campaign
  • Indian Expeditionary Force C composed of the Imperial Service Infantry Brigade served in British East Africa
  • Indian Expeditionary Force D served in the Mesopotamia Campaign
  • Indian Expeditionary Force E served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
  • Indian Expeditionary Force F served in the First Suez Offensive
  • Indian Expeditionary Force G served in the Gallipoli Campaign

The Indian Divisions of 1914-1918 on 1914-1918.net

Militarian Military History Forum post Indian units listed by CWGC- WW1

Anglo-Indians

“Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1914, brought immediate mobilization in India and by 1915, the British war drain produced hundreds of officer vacancies in the regular army which became accessible to Anglo-Indians for the first time since the East India Company's ban of 1791. Conscription was enforced systematically among the Anglo-Indians at odds with the experience of other Indian communities treated more leniently. (Abel:1988) By 1916, perhaps 8,000 Anglo-Indians had joined British units as in the case of the many "India-born" recruits accepted by the Dorset Regiment. Jhansi's Anglo-Indian Battery, part of the Anglo-Indian Force, attached to the 77th Royal Field Artillery, had the largest concentration of Anglo-Indian conscripts and volunteers and earned a distinguished record in the Mesopotamian conflict. In total, 50-75% of the adult Anglo-Indian population saw active service although non-emergency enlistment in the British Army remained closed to them. (Dover:1937) Most were immediately sent abroad while others were employed by the sudden munitions and supply boom, for instance, at Kanpur where the army's leather processing centre had been located since after the Mutiny. (Thomas:1982)” [1]

In 1916 the Anglo-Indian Association was asked to raise a battalion of Anglo-Indian soldiers - an Anglo-Indian force; some of them served in Mesopotamia[2]. By the September of 1917 the Anglo-Indian Force had drawn more than 950 men.[25][3]

This link is a speech made 23 December 1916, by Lord Chelmsford, Governor General of India, which refers to the Anglo-Indian Force.[4]

This Great War Forum post describes the Anglo Indian Battery, an Artillery unit which was part of the Anglo Indian Force. The battery served in Mesopotamia and returned to India at the end of the war and was based at Trimulgherry. The Government of India decided the unit should be a permanent part of the forces, but it appears not to have survived the cuts of the post war slump

Temporary Commissions & Indian Army Reserve of Officers 1917-1921

IOR Ref - (L/Mil/9/435-623)

The First World War necessitated a reserve force of British Army officers for the Indian Army to supplement regular recruitment of cadets from Sandhurst, Wellington and Quetta. Temporary commissions were, therefore, granted to British Officers, NCOs and enlisted men of the required educational standard.

Fortunately, the individual names in this section are listed in searchable indexes on the National Archives a2a website. The full record will show birth details and army service.

In the same index volume, on the open shelves in the British Library, is a further typed list of about 2,500 names compiled from a card index relating to medal claims. This index gives rank, unit , date of release and post-release address.( It does not actually show medal entitlement)

Finally the volume contains an index of 815 British Army other ranks commissioned into the Indian Army during the First World War. Fuller reference is shown as WO339 (pieces 139092 -139906) – See National Archives Catalogue.

The British Library has the book, in five volumes, covering the First World War, Alphabetical list giving particulars of officers of the Indian Army Reserve of Officers / [issued by] Army Headquarters, India, Military Secretary’s Branch. The catalogue entry states "Contents: [v.1]. 26th June 1916 _ v.2. 24th January 1917 _ v.3. 31st December 1917 _ v.4. 30th June 1918 _ v.5. 31st December 1918". The shelfmark is OIR 355.37 Open Access

Fibis members can contact Fibis research should they wish to access further detail from these records. research@fibis.org

Western Front

As the First World War progressed more troops were needed for the Western Front. To meet this demand Expeditionary Force A from India was sent to reinforce the British Troops – particularly in France.. [5]

Many men who fell during these campaigns are honoured by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Amongst these are 4,742 soldiers from India whose names are recorded on the Neuve Chapelle Memorialin France. In 1964 these names were expanded to also commemorate 210 servicemen of India whose graves at Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery in East Germany could not be maintained.

  • From December 1914 to February 1916 the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Sussex UK was used as a hospital for troops from the Indian corps who had been wounded during WW1 in France and Flanders. This BBC news item contains photographic detail from the permanent exhibition opened in April 2010. It also contains further links to articles highlighting other ways in which the Indian troops of WW1 have been remembered in the Sussex area.
  • The Lady Hardinge Hospital at Brockenhurst, in the New Forest, was for wounded Indian soldiers 1915-mid 1916. For more details see Nurse

Mesopotamia

See main article Mesopotamia Campaign, and Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre for an account of Expeditionary Force D.

Egypt

See separate article Actions in Egypt 1914-15 for an account of Expeditionary Force F.

Persia

See article Norperforce and Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre

East Africa

Gallipoli

British Army Territorial Force troops in India

Wikipedia’s Territorial Force gives the background to the sending of Territorial Force troops to India , thereby releasing regular units for service in France.

The website The Long, Long Trail (1914-1918.net) states
On 22 September 1914 the government of India agreed to send 32 British and 20 Indian regular army battalions to Europe in exchange for 43 Territorial Force battalions.

  • The 43rd (Wessex) Division All units assembled at Southampton on 9 October. Sailing via Malta and Suez, the main body of the Division went to Bombay, landing on 9 November, with three units (4th, 5th and 6th Devons) landing at Karachi two days later
  • The 44th (Home Counties) Division All units that were going to India assembled at Southampton and sailed on 30 October. They all went to Bombay, landing between 1 and 3 December.
  • The 45th (2nd Wessex) Division On 25 November 1914 it was decided to send from the 2nd Wessex 10 battalions of infantry and the artillery. Two battalions (2/4th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and 2/4th Hampshire Regiment went to Karachi (arriving 9 January 1915) via Aden; the rest landed at Bombay (4-8 January 1915).

Page 164 from Kitchener's Army and the Territorial Forces by Edgar Wallace[6] and "The Territorials in India", by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt[7] provide some background.

Garrison Battalions

Garrison Battalions were made up of soldiers unfit for front line duty. This decision was made at time of enlistment or after previous front line service where the soldier had suffered wounds or sickness. They were sent to various parts of the empire on garrison duties to release fit soldiers for front line duty.[8] Those sent to India include the 1st Garrison Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, the 2nd Garrison Battalion, Essex Regiment and the 2nd Garrison Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers.

External links

  • This Forum thread about the movements of the 2nd Garrison Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers in India also gives details of some other Regiments british-genealogy.com
  • 1/5th Battalion and 1/6th Battalion East Surrey Regiment were in India most of World War 1,embarking at Southampton on 29 October 1914, landing at Bombay 2 December 1914 from "The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War".
    • FIBIS Gallery Collection of photographs taken by and owned by Arthur Cecil Gregory who served in the 5th Bn. East Surrey Regiment in various parts of India during WW1.
  • The Hampshire Regiment from "The Long, Long Trail". There were Territorial Force battalions in India and Mesopotamia.
  • 1/9th Battalion and 1/10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment Both battalions sailed 30 October 1914 from Southampton for India, arriving Bombay on 2 December 1914. The 1/9th Battalion eventually moved to Mesopotamia, arriving Basra on 24 November 1917, and joined the 53rd Brigade of the 18th Indian Division. It remained in that theatre until the end of the war.. The 1/10th Battalion remained in India until the end of the war. www.1914-1918.net
    • David Prebble’s Photostream. flickr.com Some of the photographs are labeled “1/9th Middlesex Regiment India 1914 to 1920” and it very probable all the photographs are of this regiment, in England or India
  • 2/4 (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Battalion, Border Regiment sailed for India 4 March 1915 and was in India throughout the First World War 1914-1918.net
  • 25th County of London Cyclist Battalion, The London Regiment was a Territorial Force Regiment whose 1st Battalion spent the war years in India including the North West Frontier. In 1917 they participated in the Waziristan Campaign. In 1919 they helped quell the Amritsar uprising, and participated in the 3rd Afghan War. In 1917, 200 of the 1/25th left India and fought in Mesopotamia. 25thlondon.com
  • This Great War Forum thread advises the book A Strange War: Burma, India and Afghanistan 1914-1919 by C P Mills 1988 describes experiences of Territorials in India during the Great War. The book is available at the British Library. The Regiment was the 2/5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry
  • The Diary of Frederick Pendall, a member of the Norfolk Regiment who was in Belgaum from March 1917 to March 1918 (archived website) This link contains a photograph and advises he was "Pte 26695 Norfolk Regiment 1916-1919"
  • Mutiny in India in 1919 by Julian Putkowski marxists.org By March 1919,the Territorials were disillusioned, and their increasingly bitter complaints featured in a series of anonymous letters that were published by the Bombay Chronicle. As well as complaining generally about the corruption and snobbery they had experienced during their service in India, the correspondents drew attention to the slow pace at which they were being shipped back to Britain by the Army.

Historical books online

Regular British Army troops in India

Indian Army troops in India

Indian Army troops were involved in actions on the North West Frontier.

One officer's service may be seen in the webpages Capt G T Gill in "External links" at the bottom of this page.

Burma

At sea

  • Merchant Adventurers, 1914-1918 by F. A. Hook 1920 Archive.org. A "compilation of the war records of the P. and O., British India and associated lines." Unfortunately the file is lacking the illustrations which should be in the book

POW Camps in India

See article POW Camps in India-First World War

Recommended reading

  • Yeats-Brown, Francis Lives of a Bengal Lancer . An autobiographical account of a Bengal Lancer covering the period from 1905 until the end of the First World War. Describes his deployment in India, France and Mesopotamia. See review in FIBIS Biographies reading list
  • Spencer, William First World War army service records : a guide for family historians The National Archives, 2008 See Review in FIBIS Military reading list.

British Library holdings

  • IOR/L/PS/20/H143 Roll of rewards and promotions of officers and men of the Indian Army and departments, and of Royal Artillery and Royal Engineer officers and men attached to Indian units, serving in the undermentioned forces:- France (A) East Africa, including Cameroons (B) Mesopotamia (D) Egypt, including Sudan (E) Gallipoli, including Salonica (G) Indian Frontier Indian area, including Aden, Perim, Somaliland, Gulf of Oman, and China Up to and including "London Gazette" dated 11th May 1917 and "Indian Gazette" dated 3rd February 1917 [?London: India Office, 8th edn, 1917]
  • History of the Great War based on official documents by direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Consists of 108 volumes published 1920-1949. The different volumes are explained in this link from www.1914-1918.net. Includes
    • Mesopotamia: The Campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918, Volumes 1-4 by Brigadier-General F.J. Moberly , available online, see below, and
    • Egypt. The British Library catalogue entry is: Military Operations, Egypt & Palestine, etc. [With maps and plans.] by MacMunn, George Fletcher, Sir, K.C.B., and Falls (Cyril B.) 5 pt. London, 1928-30. Series: History of the Great War based on Official Documents. One volume is available online, see below.
  • An account of the operations of the 18th (Indian) Division in Mesopotamia, December 1917 to December 1918, with the names of all the units which served with the division and a nominal roll of all the officers by Walter Edward Wilson-Johnston 1919.
  • See also Indian Army

Medals

FIBIS resources

  • "Medals to a Nurse" by Allan Stanistreet FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012) pages 39-40. Miss W McGregor was a member of the Temporary Nursing Service, India during the First World War. See FIBIS Journals for details of how to access this article

British Army service and pension records

External links

Historical books online

Volume I From the Beginning to March 1915

Contents-Index

Volume II April 1915-September 1915

Contents-Index

Volume III October 1915-March 1916

Table of Contents and Index

Volume IV April-September 1916

Index

Volume V October 1916-March 1917

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume VI April-September 1917

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume VII October 1917-March 1918

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume VIII April-September 1918

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume IX October 1918-March 1919

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume X April-September 1919

Index Part 1-Index Part 2

Volume XI October 1919-March 1920

Index

Volume XII No Index.
Volume XIII October 1920- March 1921

Index

Volume XIV April-September 1921

Index

Volume XV October 1921-March 1922

Index

Volume XVI April-September 1922

Index

The final volume of the quarterly series of the same monthly magazines, Volume XX of the quarterly series, appears to be an update of the earlier periods and may include content which is not included in the half yearly volumes. The content for the quarterly series up to June 1919 appears to be identical to the half yearly volumes. Volume XX July 1919-October 1920, Cumulative Index of the quarterly series. At least some of the quarterly editions are available on Archive.org

References

  1. "Some Comments on stereotypes of the Anglo-Indians: Part II" by Megan Stuart Mills from the International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies 1996, quoting
    • Abel, Evelyn. (1988). The Anglo-Indian Community. Chanakya Publications: Delhi.
    • Dover, Cedric. (1937). Half-Caste. London: Martin, Secker and Warburg.
    • Thomas, David A. (1982). Lucknow and Kanpur, 1880-1920: Stagnation and Development under the Raj. South Asia. 5, 68-80.
  2. "Christopher Hawes in Conversation with Glenn D'cruz" in The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies Volume 3, Number 1, 1998.
  3. "Loyalty, Parity, and Social Control-The Competing Visions on the Creation of an ‘Eurasian’ Military Regiment in late British India" by Satoshi Mizutani The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies Volume 10, No. 1, 2010, quoting
  4. Speeches by Lord Chelmsford, viceroy and governor general of India, page 172, 1919 Archive.org
  5. India and the Western Frontbbc.co.uk/history
  6. Kitchener's Army and the Territorial Forces: the Full Story of a Great Achievement, page 164 by Edgar Wallace 1915 Archive.org
  7. "The Territorials in India",page 255 from Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt, Colonel 7th Gurkhas. 1922 Archive.org
  8. Great War Forum post
  9. By email to User:Maureene dated 14 January 2011
  10. Medal FAQs Ministry of Defence (U.K.)