Unattached List
The Unattached List recorded Warrant Officers (Conductors and Sub- Conductors) and Non-Commissioned Officers (mainly Sergeants) who were not attached to a regiment. This mainly covered soldiers working for the Ordnance, Commissariat and Public Works Departments. Before 1859 this list was known as the Town Major's List in Bengal/Bombay and Effective Supernumeraries in Madras.
G.O.G.G. of 24th November 1821, in respect of Bengal, issued the "Rules for the re-establishment of the Town Major’s List".[1] The staff it applied to included the the Ordnance and Army Commissariats, and all Departments of Army or Garrison Staff, Public Offices, Military Agencies, Charitable Asylums, and the Stud and Ecclesiastical Department.
Sergeants’ Occupations
The following list provides examples of the variety of occupations in which a sergeant could be employed. Many of these positions were of significant importance and standing and the chance to attain them was one of the attractions of joining the Company's army rather than the King's/Queen's army.[2]
- Arrack Godown Sergeant (arrack or arak, a coarse spirit distilled from grain, rice, sugar cane etc; godown, a warehouse)
- Barrack Sergeant
- Bazar (or Bazaar) Sergeant
- Bullock Sergeant. An early form of Transport Sergeant responsible for organising the contracting of bullock carts in support of troop movements.[3]
- Cantonment Sergeant-Major
- Commissariat Staff Sergeant
- Engineering Sergeant-Major
- Garrison Sergeant
- Hospital Sergeant
- Key Sergeant
- Laboratory Sergeant
- Quarter Master Sergeant
- Road Sergeant
- Saluting Sergeant
- Sergeant Instructor
- Sergeant Overseer
- Signal Sergeant
- Store Sergeant
FIBIS resources
- Peter Bailey, "The 'Unattached List'," FIBIS Journal, No 12 (Autumn 2004). For details of how to access this article online, see FIBIS Journals.
- Annual Unattached List - only 3 names transcribed but provides an example of information included.
Records
India Office Records at the British Library:
- Bengal Army Muster Rolls and Casualty Returns: IOR/L/MIL/10/181 1859 includes Unattached List
- Bengal Army Muster Rolls and Casualty Returns : IOR/L/MIL/10/183 1860 includes Unattached List
- Bengal Army Annual Returns - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/10/201-252 1859-1907
- Bengal Army Monthly Casualty Returns - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/10/253-300 1866-1907
- Madras Army Annual Returns and Casualty Rolls - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/11/186-231 1863-1907
- Madras Army Quarterly and Monthly Returns and Casualty Rolls - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/11/232-276 1853-1907
- Bombay Army Monthly Returns and Casualty Rolls - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/12/198-265 1855-1907
- Bombay Army Annual Returns - Unattached List IOR/L/MIL/12/266-280 1893-1907
- Supply & Transport Corps: Register of services of British subordinates of the Supply & Transport Corps, 6th Poona Division, Bombay Army IOR/L/MIL/12/289 1872-1914
- India Unattached List Annual Returns IOR/L/MIL/14/144-175 1908-1944
- India Unattached List Annual Returns - Burma Division IOR/L/MIL/14/176-182 1904-1910
- India Unattached List Monthly Increase and Decrease Statements IOR/L/MIL/14/183-190 1907-1914
- India Unattached List Monthly Increase and Decrease Statements - Burma Division IOR/L/MIL/14/191-194 1904-1907
Microfilms held elsewhere
- LDS (Mormon) films:
- Bombay Army monthly returns and casualty rolls - unattached list, 1855-1907 L/MIL/12/198-265 Film Catalogue
References
- ↑ Calcutta Annual Register 1821
- ↑ Most of the information in this section comes from this India List April 2000 post by Peter Bailey
- ↑ A document forwarded by email dated 1 July 2010 to User:Maureene accessed “a while ago” from the website rlc-conductor.info , but not apparently accessible at 3 July 2010