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However, in railway employment, it was virtually compulsory for all employees, both European and Eurasian, to enlist in the Railway Volunteer Regiments. For men who were employed by the Army(non-volunteers), it may be possible to find them in the Army army records. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2003-07/1059448463 post] advises that an a Sergeant Instructor in the GIPR Volunteers was found in the [[Unattached List]] at the [[British Library]].
various minor
After the [[Indian Mutiny]] local volunteer infantry forces began to be set up. Cavalry corps started in the 1860s and the first volunteer artillery brigade was constituted in 1879. [[Railways|Railway]] companies also formed infantry corps from their staff beginning in 1869, more on which can be found in the [[Railway Regiments]] article.
The volunteer corps were open to Europeans and [[Anglo Indians|'Eurasians' ]] and, (with the exception of an adjutant,and others such as sergeant instructors, ) consisted mainly of volunteers. However, in railway employment, it was virtually compulsory for all employees, both European and Eurasian, to enlist in the Railway Volunteer Regiments.
===Indian Defence Force===
The IDF corps performed local security duties during the war and were not sent to the front. Some officers were transferred to regular [[Indian Army]] units.
However , a few units were formed comprising volunteers who wanted to fight the war. [http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-on-land/75-other-war-theatres/1072-indian-volunteers-in-the-great-war-east-african-campaign.html Indian Volunteers in the Great War East African Campaign] gives details of The North-Western Railway Volunteers,the Calcutta Volunteer Battery and the Indian Volunteer Maxim Gun Company in East Africa, although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission classifies them as East African Protectorate units in its records. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2000-01/0948180245 post] indicates that the North Western Railway Volunteers served in Mesopotamia .
After the War the IDF as an official organization was disbanded.
==Medals==
In 1894 the grant of the Volunteer Officers’ Decoration was extended to India and the Colonies, followed in 1896 by the Volunteer Long Service Medal for Indian and Colonial Forces.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=38plTGsBDAcC&pg=PR37 Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy - Vol. I], page 37 by John Horsley Mayo</ref> The qualifying period for the former was eighteen years<ref> [http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/territorial_decoration/volunteer_officers_decoration.htm Volunteer Officer’s Decoration] from [http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/british_index.htm The Guide to British War Medals] from North East Medals.</ref>and recipients were entitled to use the initials V.D. after their name.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Decoration Volunteer Decoration] Wikipedia </ref>
The latter medal was for men who were not officersNCOs and Other Ranks. The Volunteer Long Service Medal was replaced in 1930 by the Efficiency Medal “to reward the long and meritorious service of warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men”, and it applied after twelve years of service.<ref>[http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/1954/0008/latest/whole.html The Efficiency Medal] from New Zealand Legislation, a New Zealand Government website</ref>
It seems likely that the names of the medal recipients were gazetted in the ''Gazette of India'', as they do not appear to be in the ''London Gazette''.
==British Library holdings==
India Office records:
*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_3-2_1-2&cid=1-1-42#1-1-42 Collection 108 Volunteer Corps in India] '''IOR/L/MIL/7/4876-4945''' 1863-1919
**Collection 108/15 Volunteer officers' decoration. '''IOR/L/MIL/7/4891''' 1892-1894
