User talk:Symorsebrown

Redirects

Sy, I've worked out why those redirects weren't working. It's because there was a category above the redirect code. The #REDIRECT [[article]] needs to be the first thing on the page. Sarahb 12:18, 22 March 2009 (PDT)

Indian Army

Yes, that was a good idea to put (British), as 'from 1895' didn't then rule out the post-Indp army. I saw that wikipedia page too, it is helpful (and I might copy their table). As I didn't know that much about the Indian Army I used it to decide that things should only be categorised as Indian Army after 1895 and before that still as the Company Armies. As it said that before 1895 Indian Army was only an unofficial term I have decided to stick to that rule. If someone who knows much more about the Indian Army than us thinks it should be otherwise, then we can change it again. Sarahb 01:51, 25 March 2009 (PDT)

Its getting there! Sarahb 05:43, 25 March 2009 (PDT)

Skinner's Horse

I saw you put in that biographical information from the roots list. Do you know if it is a direct quote from the Dictionary of Indian Biography? If so, and that is not an out of copyright book, we cannot use it on the page. A rewrite in your own words (and then a reference) would probably be fine. Sarahb 01:51, 25 March 2009 (PDT)

Re:copyright As I understand the situation, anything on the site must adhere to UK/EU copyright law, regardless of who has added the information and where they are located. In cases where one is unsure, err on the side of caution so as not to cause problems for Fibis. In this case I don't think we can use the text, but it is perfectly acceptable to write a piece based on the text (and probably helpful just to acknowledge that in a references section). It's a nice background piece for Skinner's Horse so a rewrite and reference is probably the answer. Sarahb 05:43, 25 March 2009 (PDT)

Page names

I think it's probably proper (so to speak) to have the page titles be the full regiment name, which I assume then is 2nd Regiment of Foot (and maybe something in brackets where it is appropriate). If in the first sentence/paragraph of the article it states 'May be referred to as 2nd Foot or the Queen's Own' (or whatever is correct in this instance) then I think that should still work fine for google searches. You've already been doing that for some of the native regiments. I think it only need be done for the most common names or shorthands because all those other name changes come up in the chronologies. I don't think there can be a perfect solution to this as regiment names are a bit of a minefield, but that is my suggestion. What do you think? An alternative/additional solution would be redirects for those other common names. Sarahb 11:57, 25 March 2009 (PDT)

re various matters

• 19th Regiment of Foot

Sorry, didn't have time to reply yesterday but did fix the issue you mentioned - I just made the first sentence not a heading but bold instead. I'm sure you knew how to do that already but just couldn't see the wood for the trees for a minute. I think making the Cathy Day website article into a subarticle was fine, but I am just checking with Valmay about this in case there is a solution she would prefer. I think your chronology should probably go above the old article though, just to keep it is the same place on all articles.

• Skinner's Horse

Did you have a think about rewriting the copyright section? I can do it if you like as I don't think we should leave it up there too long in its present state.

• Church article

Thats got good information. Obviously we can't copy the text, but can include the info somewhere. For now I just made the Thalassery location article and put the link in there. Can be linked up with churches category somehow later, but for now its there for anyone looking up Thalassery.

Sarahb 13:39, 27 March 2009 (PDT)

29/3/09

• 19th Regiment of Foot

I checked this out with Valmay. The way you incorporated the old article was fine. I am going to make a little template to use for those with those articles transferred from Cathy Day's site and elsewhere, but don't worry about that - it'll make sense once you see it.

• Belwar & Belwar (Fort)

Truth is, I have no idea if a town of Belwar exists away from the fort, which is why I left as is for now. A quick google search shone no light on the issue. Belwar seems to be a tribe also? Let's leave two seperate articles for now (as it doesn't hurt) and just link them together. Hopefully, someone will know and be able to sort the issue out at a later date.

• Madras infantry matters

Hmm, I'm not totally sure as I don't know much about the Presidency infantry regiments. All the regiments I've come across for my own research have been cavalry or artillery (not that I know a great deal about those either!) so I haven't had much cause to investigate the infantry ones. I don't fully understand about the Native/European regiment issue. Looking at Madras infantry regiment category I see we have the following example -

• 24th Regiment of Madras Infantry
• 24th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry

I take it the first is the European regiment? My instinct is to keep them all in one category so as not to confuse someone browsing. I wonder if the European ones should be named as such (ie 24th Regiment of Madras European Infantry). Depends what their official name is I suppose. Do you have Peter Bailey's HEIC armies book? I don't, but wonder if it makes these issues any clearer. I don't think we need that extra category Madras Infantry inside the Madras Infantry Regiments category. Unless I have misunderstood, the two new articles you have created, Madras European Infantry and Madras Native Infantry are general articles covering all the regiments that fall under those titles. I am going to move the two articles up into the main category. They will be the perfect place to explain the differences etc between the two when you understand that.

• Wars/battles dates in categories

As far as I know, you cannot change the way the name displays in the list of categories/articles. Example - if the article on one of the Afghan wars does not have a date, we cannot make the wiki show one. The only way around this I can think of is to have an article that is a chronological list of wars/battles etc. I quite like the idea of that as it would provide a nice linked up history (also a good way to browse what is happening in India whilst your soldier ancestor is out there), although I appreciate it might be a bit of a task. Perhaps even just a list of wars/campaigns and major battles might work. What do you think?

Let me know if I've forgotten anything! Sarahb 10:48, 29 March 2009 (PDT)

Re Madras Infantry

I'm not sure if I have misunderstood all that about the European/Native infantry. If I'm reading your articles right, there were 3 Euro regiments and about 50 Natv ones? Then how does that affect the example I gave above about the 24th regiments? Are they in fact the same regiment and the articles should be merged? Sarahb 11:39, 29 March 2009 (PDT)

Bilwa

Sy, I'll answer your other comments when I have more time tomorrow, but I was trying to find out something about Belwar/Bilwa and came across this article: NZ Chronicle archive (I've found some very useful articles on there over the past few months). Bilwa is mentioned about a third of the way into the article and it clearly demarcates the town and the fort (to my reading, anyhow). Can't find it on google earth though so still don't know if it exists anymore. Sarahb 12:47, 30 March 2009 (PDT)

Other matters

• Chronological list of wars

Ok, lets do this then. It's donkey work I'm afraid, but it doesn't need to be rushed. Now, you have input all the battles so you are best placed to know this - are there lots of battles that don't form a part of specific campaigns? Do you think the list should just be wars, campaigns and isolated battles, rather than say list all battles of the Indian Mutiny? (That could be its own article perhaps.) Right, I have made a page here - Chronological list of wars and battles and a rough lead sentence and structure. We can change the article name if you think something else is more appropriate. I think we should break the list into double decades for readability and usability, so have done a few, but if I haven't started early enough, just put those in or if you think it should be broken into smaller sections go ahead. I have done a table format to keep it all uniform. Let me know if you need a hand working it out. We can add more columns if you think of something else important to go in. Anyhow, like I say, I have only made a rough version to get going with and we can make any changes necessary. I suggest going through the wars category by alphabet to fill this in and make a note on the talk page of the chronological list as to which letter you have got up to. Then we can both work on the list when we have time but still know what the other has done. Does that make sense?

• Battle of Belwar Fort

Good idea to put that article snippet in. I fixed the picture size - just have a look on the edit page and you can see what I did. I might've found Belwar on a modern map. Not sure - see what you think. It's about 30 miles SE of Gorakhpur and just north of the larger town Deoria on this map. This account about it seems to fit, but I just don't know. We better not copy that one by the way!

• Native regiments etc

I agree that the way to go is have only one page for a regiment and then redirect any alternative names. Then those redirects can go in the appropriate categories. I don't think there will be a perfect way to do this due to the complexities of the regiment histories, so I think what you are doing now is the best way.

• Bold titles

Yes, I changed that bold title so that it didn't appear in the table of contents. About having it bigger - there is already a big title at the top of the article. A bold statement at the beginning probably draws enough attention the size it is now.

• Copyright etc

This was the page with the text from another webiste that I wondered if we shouldn't be copying - 9th Bengal Light Cavalry. It seems a bit long and when it is from someone else's website I think it is a bit different to quoting from a book. I am worried they might see it more as copying than quoting. If it was rewritten and then there was a line to say the source was the British Empire website that would probably be ok. I'm just erring on the side of caution.

I have quite a few things to catch up on here on the wiki so better do those before I start anything else but please point out anything to me I have said I would do and forgotten! Sarahb 13:23, 1 April 2009 (PDT)

Chronological list

With respect to categories, it can go in the top level of the wars and campaigns and then anywhere else we think it'll be useful, but lets leave it out until its got going a bit. As for changing categories, lets leave that for now as well - there's no rush to change them and lets gt this article sorted out properly first. I'll have a look at how many will be affected in order to know how much work it will be.

You asked shall we mix up battles and campaigns. That is what I was trying to ask your opinion on, but I just worded it very badly! The article should definitely be wars and campaigns. As for including battles, if most individual battles are in the Mutiny then we could leave those ones out (and just have '1857-58 Indian Mutiny' and a link to the category or whatever) and perhaps then include other individual, isolated battles in the list. What do you think?

Yes, I thought some campaigns would spread over 2 sections. I thought doing 2 decade blocks would minimise that as much as possible. I don't really know how to avoid it otherwise - the list needs to be split up somehow or it will be unreadable. Would it seem strange to put such a campaign in both '1860s & 1870s' and '1880s & 1890s' (for instance)? Sarahb 13:13, 3 April 2009 (PDT)

Replies

I agree with everything you said about the chronological list - campaigns/wars only for now (I'll change the title, but we can always change it back if needs be - do you think 'Chronological list of wars and campaigns' is ok?) and putting the campaign into the starting decade seems the most sensible solution.

Regarding H.M. regiments, I completely agree with you and it isn't picky. I was just changing the title of a previous article that already employed that convention and so I assumed it was deemed desirable, but if the use of initials has been pointed out before then I'll change this one as it's obviously an anomaly. Sarahb 08:15, 5 April 2009 (PDT)

I've been tinkering around with some software and have found a way to quickly change lots of articles to be in a different category (ie Category:1st Afghan War 1839-42 to Category:1st Afghan War). Seeing as its so easy, I think it's probably a good idea to do that before we start putting the wars into the chronological list (as we would only have to change the links again afterwards). I'm just going to check with you first though in case there's something I haven't thought of here. If you think it sounds ok, I'll start zipping through them tomorrow. Sarahb 11:34, 5 April 2009 (PDT)

Hang on, I'll strike this out for now as I can't get the software working on this wiki. Will investigate. Carry on as before! Sarahb 11:55, 5 April 2009 (PDT)

Template use

Sorry for the delay in this reply - I haven't had a chance to do any work on here for a few days. All looked good to me - I just made a few minor adjustments (section instead of article for instance). I hadn't seen some of those articles. Those sections are very comprehensive aren't they! I particularly liked the Regimental details section of the 84th Regiment of Foot article. Maybe one day we could get around to borrowing that idea for the other regiments! Sarahb 12:52, 14 April 2009 (PDT)

4th Gurkha Rifles

I noticed you created a page for the 4th Gurkhas Rifles but that there was already a 4th Gurkha Rifles. I have redirected the new page but copied your more thorough chronology over to the old page. Hope thats ok - if you think the title should be Gurkhas rather than Gurkha, just swap them over, Sarahb 14:12, 5 May 2009 (PDT)

33rd Punjabis

Well I took the 'no big deal to keep as a redirect' attitude, but if you do think no one will ever search for them under that name, then it is just clutter. Will remove. Thanks for letting me know, Sarahb 07:47, 7 May 2009 (PDT)

12/5/09

• 4th Hussars - well I don't know what happened there! It was blank the two times I tried to load it, but is working today. Rolled back my change. Thanks for pointing out.

• Chronological list - Very good idea about the NWF campaigns. I've got a couple of things I need to finish then I'll set one up. I do think we should remove the dates from the categories now, I need to have another go at getting the method I was working on up and running. Will do so when finished with Apothecaries etc.

Keep up all that good work on the regiments. Sarahb 10:12, 12 May 2009 (PDT)

Chronological lists

Just for reference, I have started moving the battles from campaign categories with dates in their titles to ones without. It isn't using the fast method I had hoped, but a slightly faster one than totally manually (a browser plug in that will do find and replaces). Feel free to do any, but no need to make a point of it. I am going through them in the order they appear on the Chronological list. I set up a Chronological list of North West Frontier Campaigns, you can add the articles to that or I will when I get around to it! Sarahb 14:59, 13 May 2009 (PDT)

1st Belooch Regiment

I searched 1st Belooch Regiment on Google and it does come up with some hits (as does 2nd Belooch) so I think this one is a good candidate for a redirect. Unless you disagree, could you do it rather than me as I don't know for sure where it shpuld be redirected to! I don't think the article needs to be in the regiment category as it is just an alternative spelling (rather than an alternative name). Sarahb 10:44, 15 May 2009 (PDT)

Hmm, I suppose it isn't really desirable to have pages with no category. Lets put them here. Sarahb 11:49, 15 May 2009 (PDT) Forget all that, I confused myself. Most redirects don't need categories. There are lots of them (see Special Pages, List redirects). Sarahb 12:52, 15 May 2009 (PDT)

See the tool box on the left (under the search box). There is a special pages link that lists lots of interesting things. Sarahb 08:19, 17 May 2009 (PDT)

Re:Recent edits

NWF list not yet quite finished - I was thinking, whilst doing things related to the 2nd Maratha War today, that it might be nice to do the same for some of the wars. I've probably lost my mind though as it takes an age and I have a lot of things to do first. We'll see!

Battles - will make an article entitled Battles to fix matter. I'm not really sure where to put that old list as I agree it shouldn't actually be deleted. I'll think of something. Re Battles category being accessible from the military category - are there any battles that don't form part of any war or campaign?

The other issues - now some of those are what are called double redirects. When you move a page you need to check for them and I thought I picked most of them up, but obviously not. Basically, a redirect page that goes to a redirect page won't carry on to the intended page - if that makes sense. You can check the in-links to any page by clicking What links here in the toolbox. So if you look at the one for Barzai Expd here you can see what I mean. The 2 pages listed under Baiz Exp 1849 (a redirect) link to it and one of those is itself a redirect. I'll leave it for a bit so you can see. The reason I am bothering to explain (somewhat clumsily) is that its something to remember when moving pages. I will redirect it to the correct page so it doesn't cause any problems.

Now the reason I added ‘The Baizai Expedition of 1849 saw the Battle of Baizai Territory' was just to keep the Battle of BT in there for google search purposes. If it is a term that really doesn't exist, just take it out. I have only heard of it from the redirect page. I suggest we keep the redirect page for any future reference though as they really don't hurt, take up almost no computer space (as they are empty) and are totally hidden away.

With the other two is the only problem that there are redirects to them with redundant titles? If so, I am in favour of leaving them in case they are titles that people come across in records or old books. As I say, they do no harm. If there is another problem, please re-advise.

Now, a question for you. Have you any idea if these Hyderabad regiments are what this article calls the Hyderabad Subsidiary Force? Sarahb 11:35, 20 May 2009 (PDT)

Polygar War

Oh, another thing. In the 94th Regiment of Foot article, which I was adding sections and links to today, it mentions the Polygar War. Maybe you could add it when you have time? Unless we have it under a different name that is. I very quickly looked it up on wikipedia, but that seems to have had some dubious recent edits, so I recommend this slightly older revision of that article. Regards, Sarahb 11:43, 20 May 2009 (PDT)

The Mharwara Battalion

Noticed that the article title and the chronology spell the battalion name differently. Does the article need moving? Also, had noticed this (and some other similar articles) are titled The etc etc. I wonder if they should be moved for consistency? We don't have The 43rd Regiment of Foot, for example. Thoughts? Sarahb 12:04, 20 May 2009 (PDT)

Moved. Re other matters - Auxiliary Regts, yes there are an awful lot there! Everything will get done one day, I'm sure. Besides, you are doing a sterling job working out all of the Native regiments. I find them very confusing and I'm sure most other people do too, so I think the pages you've been working on are very important. Re chronol. lists - oh yes, listing the actions in each war is a much better idea. I had noticed you had started doing that in places actually. Re pages you have recently put for deletion - I think I am going to keep Jacob's Horse as a redirect as it is quite possible someone will search for that, I agree with the other's though. Scinde horse might be the same case - is there only one reg called that? Sarahb 12:06, 21 May 2009 (PDT)

Nizam's Army

I've created a category called Hyderabad Contingent as I think those regiments shouldn't only appear in the Indian Army Category (and I assume they would be misplaced under Madras Army). We could probably do with some info on what exactly this contingent was at some point, but no rush. Sarahb 10:46, 4 June 2009 (PDT)

Oh I see, so the Nizam's Regts are even more confusing than the Madras Regiments (was just doing the checking on your recent changes, I don't know how you're picking your way through those). I only brought this up as I was adding some info to the Secunderabad article and I needed a link to the Hyderabad Contingent (so made a category). I was sort of guessing that the HC was synonymous with the Nizam's Army, but if that is not correct we can amend as necessary. This page of the Imperial Gazetteer mentions some stations of the HC.

As for the naming system you have chosen for the Madras regiments, sounds fine to me. The most important thing surely is picking a system and sticking to it. Sarahb 04:54, 5 June 2009 (PDT)

Tables

For a clearer explanation than I can probably give, see Help:Tables. Obviously get back to me with any questions. I recommend copying this table. Sarahb 03:59, 9 June 2009 (PDT)

Duar War

Could you add this when you have time? Happened across it. Many thanks Sarah 12:15, 9 June 2009 (PDT)

Replies

Just had a look through all the maps and they're looking great. A nice thing about the route marked on terrain view is that you can see the army weaving around the mountains. I just think the map instantly makes the whole thing make more sense. Being able to see where all these battles are in relation to each other makes a big difference.

Enjoy your trip, if that is what you are up to. It will be very quiet on here! Sarah 05:48, 11 June 2009 (PDT)

Wars

Hello Sy. It was bothering me that the pages for the wars (mostly category pages, although some of those are getting so full of info they could be converted to articles) didn't have an infobox like the battle pages. It felt like there was something missing. So I have made a basic one (here and have put two tests at Category:1st Maratha War and 1st Afghan War. Could you have a look and see if there is anything else you can think of that would be useful in such a template? Thank you, Sarah 16:17, 23 July 2009 (PDT)

Thanks for your thoughts. If at any time you think of anything to be added to the template, it's never too late. Re your first two points, you are right about the formats. Mine are just wrong as I very quickly put two tests up. As for the links section, well that might not be the best title. The subcategories in the box on the 1st Afghan page are the main use I can think of at the moment. Now, I strongly feel that each war should have it's own article, where the infobox would be and all of the other excellent content you've been adding. Once there is a lot of information on the category page, the listed articles all get a bit hidden away at the bottom. As far as I am concerned, articles are for content, categories are for organisation. Anyway, if the infobox was on an article page the link to the category would make sense, although maybe the link title could be 'All battles and actions' or something like that. Keep going as you are though, I will convert them over when I eventually get some time (still haven't finished taking the dates off those categories yet!)

A few typos every hundred edits aren't many! Anyway, that is what the checking is for. Tiny mistakes are inevitable and often need a second eye. Sarah 12:09, 24 July 2009 (PDT)

Chronologies

Right, I think you've lost me. I understood what you said on my talk page and I agree that is probably the clearest way to go about things, but I can't quite follow this Predecessor/Successor business. 12th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry for instance, I can't see how the two fit together. Maybe a little line of explanation is needed at the top of each section.

The other matter is the regiments that mutiny. The chronologies stop at the point of mutiny (which obviously I understand). But how, in reality, are (for instance) 17th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry and 2nd Gurkha Rifles connected? I am guessing that once the 17th had mutinied that number was then free to be reassigned in 1861, and so there is no actual connection between the regiments. Is that right? If yes, we need some way of making that clear on the 17th's page. We could go with the wikipedia-style method of a little disambiguation line in italics at the top saying 'For the post-1861 regiment of this name, see the 2nd Gurkha Rifles'. It worries me that it's too confusing otherwise.

I see you are getting in a lot of edits before your holiday! Sarah 07:08, 31 July 2009 (PDT)

Affghanistan!

Do you know, I did wonder for a minute if that was how it should be spelt in that particular case! I thought though it must be a typo as none of the other Afghanistan Battle Honours had the double f. I meant to put "typo, I think" in my edit summary. I absolutely agree that the spellings as they are on the BHs should be used. I'll reverse my 'correction'. Sarah 12:25, 10 September 2009 (PDT)

Oude Campaign

I see you are bravely sorting out the Mutiny battles! We now seem to have two things listed as the Oude campaign (Category:Oude Campaign and the one listed here). Is that second, earlier one correct? If so, we will need to distinguish between these two somehow. Ideas? Sarah 14:17, 10 September 2009 (PDT)

Madras NI

Re a couple of recent edits to:

• 43rd Regiment of Madras Native Infantry
• 44th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry
• 45th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry

Are those italicised notes correct? Obv I do not know, just checking as regiments are MNI and the notes are concerning the BNI. Sarah 11:39, 14 September 2009 (PDT)

Image template

Template:ImageOL or shortcut imageol

I gave it the stupidly difficult to remember title 'Image Origin and License'. Sarah 05:42, 30 September 2009 (PDT)

Another template

Oh, in case this is ever of use to you, I copied a template from wikipedia that allows the table of contents to be right-aligned (useful when it has got very long). I have used it on Apothecary. You can find it at Template:TOC right. It probably isn't right for things with an infobox though. Sarah 05:48, 30 September 2009 (PDT)

Jheeghun

Sy, the easting co-ords for Battle of Jheeghun are missing. I couldn't pinpoint Jhinjhan to fix it myself, sorry Sarah 12:29, 5 October 2009 (PDT)

Amristar photos

Nice uploads. Re the license, it's a little bit unclear what you mean. Perhaps change to something like external use with author's permission only (if that is what you mean) or maybe you might like this license. Sarah 07:07, 14 October 2009 (PDT)

License - I'll get back to you about this as I want to check exactly what our policy is supposed to be.

Massacres - I think if it isn't considered a battle it shouldn't go in that category. The Indian Mutiny events you raise are a good point. Bibigarh and possibly Delhi are not really actions between two armed forces - they can just be in the Indian Mutiny category alone. Not sure about Trimmoo Ghaut. Although an annihilation, if there is fighting involved between recognised parts of the armed forces then perhaps it is a battle? It's fine to have articles on the Mutiny that aren't in the Battles category. So the Massacre at Ajnala article you have written doesn't need to go down as a battle too, just a part of the Indian Mutiny. I don't think we need anything additional, but if you prefer we could always just have Events during the Indian Mutiny or something nonspecific like that.

Mutinies - yes, I noticed them and did think maybe a new category was needed. You are right they would be strange in the Mutinies category but we can put whatever category we make into Mutinies as well as Indian Mutiny. Btw, it's ok to use the battle infobox on anything you think appropriate as it doesn't specifically mention 'battle' anywhere on the box. Well, we can't call the category Indian Mutiny Mutinies...how about something like 1857 Bengal Army Mutinies? Sarah 11:38, 14 October 2009 (PDT)

Battle maps

Yes, I can change that link. What do you think is best? A link to Maps (with a better explanation)? A link to Category:Campaigns with FIBIS Battle Maps (with a bit of explanation added)? Or we can make a whole new intermediary page. Also, I'm not sure I quite catch your drift but are you saying you want to change the name from Battlemaps to something else? Sarah 11:46, 15 October 2009 (PDT)

I actually think you are right and that maybe we should change the name to Campaign maps (even though its less catchy!) as really that is more self-explanatory too. That will involve making a couple of changes to the template (not a problem) and then changing the categories. If you are sure about that then say the word and I'll do the template.

As for renaming the Battles category Battles and Actions, I do agree it is a more accurate title, but I note there are 650 articles in the category... Sarah 14:58, 18 October 2009 (PDT)

Tibet

• The internal link change I have made affects a recent edit by Maureen Evers - I didn't want you to think I was changing yours! :-)

HughWilding 19:52, 21 November 2009 (PST)

• Sy-If you would prefer to have Allen's book under the standard heading Recommended reading, I'm sure a review from the Independent would support it being "Recommended" Maureene 13:53, 12 December 2009 (PST)

Black Mountain Expedition 1891

Perhaps you could also add the alternative spelling Izazai in brackets after Isazai Field Force as both spellings seem to be used. Then if you serached either name, a link would come up.Maureene 22:14, 13 December 2009 (PST)

Biographies

Just wanted to say I like the new biographies sections. Sarah 14:13, 5 January 2010 (PST)

Yes, I think they would be nice on the main war page too. As for Wellington's dispatches, I would always err on the side of a book not being digitized yet if you expect it to have been published. I don't know how the digitization projects happen or work but I'm sure there is scope for some haphazard or seemingly random selections. Anyway, I found Vol X on archive.org and it says Vols 1-3 are India. So it does exist. Going to search for it some more. Sarah 15:30, 6 January 2010 (PST)

Forgive me if this was not what you were actually looking for, but I found two copies of Vol 3, one not even labelled as such here and another that is patchily scanned here. I got a bit sidetracked reading Wellington quips on wikiquote along the way! Sarah 15:54, 6 January 2010 (PST)

3rd LDs

Please see Talk:3rd Light Dragoons Sarah 12:00, 7 January 2010 (PST)

Battle Of Arnee

Hi Sy - I Was looking at Battle Of Arnee page and consider date should be June 1782 - Eyre Coote died in April 1783. Also wikipedia link to his name in Battle box doesn't open onto his specific page. Beverly 8 jan

Bengal Regiments

Before I do anything else, spreadsheet? If you've emailed it to me I haven't got it. Sarah 16:06, 11 January 2010 (PST)

Historical Books

Hi Sy - "Campaigns of the North West Frontier" by Nevill is shown as recommended reading in places . As this text appears available at archive.org, I am thinking the entries could be moved to "Historical Books " online. I assume it is the same book - although date is different and wording is "on" and not "of" ...? Beverly12 Jan

22nd Light Dragoons

Hi Sy I was looking at the external link on the 22nd light Dragoons page, and it appears to be for the 22nd Rgiment of Foot, not for the Light Dragoons. Cheers Maureene 04:11, 13 January 2010 (PST)

Bengal Regts

Sy, further to my email - in case you are unaware, we have a list with links to almost all copies of the Asiatic Journal. Sarah 15:50, 13 January 2010 (PST)

Bengal topics

Sy, I have made a little template to tie Bengal Army topics together and make navigation smoother. Suggestions for additions welcome. I have added it to all the regiments you have recently edited, but would you be able to add it in as you access further relevant pages? It is just a very simple addition of {{Template:Bengal Army}} to the top of each page. Many thanks. Sarah 13:05, 15 January 2010 (PST)

Thanks. Yes, I was thinking some sort of table might be needed. Anyway we have a precedent in 101st - 109th Regiments of Foot - Lineage. I think the format you suggest will work, if I understand what you have said. Will the table you have in mind be okay for multiple battalions? I am picturing that a person will be able to say "My ancestor was in the 18th Regiment in 1789", look at the line for regiments called 18th and in the column with the date nearest to 1789 see that this was the 12th Reg in 1824 (and then click through to see the 12th Reg's page). Is that what you mean? Sarah 15:22, 16 January 2010 (PST)

Gordon Highlanders

Maureen has asked why we have the content for the 92nd Regiment of Foot redirected to the 100th Regiment of Foot (which they were only called for 4 years). Do we have a particular naming convention that has caused this? If not, I suggest reversing the redirect. Sarah 06:06, 18 January 2010 (PST)

Military online autobiographies

Hi Sy This is a copy of a post to Sarah:Can you suggest a page for military autobiographies where they seem to have changed regiments a lot, so you can’t put them on the Regiments page, I can't work what war or battle to place them in, but the book seems to contain content of interest. Would a section on the bottom of Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns be satisfactory?
Eg

• Memoirs of the early life and service of a field officer on the retired list of the Indian armyby Major David Price 1839 Google Books (service from 1780)
• Military reminiscences: extracted from a journal of nearly forty years' active service in the East Indies Volume 1 by James Welsh of the Madras Establishment 1830 Volume 2 (Service from 1790)
• Forty One Years in India: From subaltern to commander-in-chief Volume 1 by Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar 1897 Chapter 6 onwards. Archive.org (I did put this one under Indian Mutiny) Volume 2 1898 Regards Maureene 22:55, 18 January 2010 (PST)

Hi Sy I added another comment on Sarah's talk page. Regards Maureene 23:13, 20 January 2010 (PST)

Bengal regiments again

This is incredibly confusing. Thank you for sticking with it. Ok, I think the table will be fine as long as we add a good explanation. I think when finished it will actually help a lot to make sense of these regiments. I find the fact it starts with a name a bit confusing, but I suppose it has to be that way. We could always use a bit of colour to highlight certain important number changes, if needs be. I am going to fill in a test version of the 1st Battalion on the talk page in a minute to check I understand how it works.

On the other matter, I think it might be less confusing all round if we make a new page for those regiments such as the original 19th. That has the added bonus of there being a page for the table to link to. The new table will be able to field people in the right directions so I don't think we need to worry about making a note on the actual 19th Reg page. We will link the table from all the pages. I suggest calling the page the 19th Battalion of Bengal Native Infantry rather than a name such as 19th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (1764). What do you think? Sarah 06:44, 19 January 2010 (PST)

I actually quite liked the 'boxed panel' but I think it gave undue prominence to the former regiment's chronology, therefore confusing the real focus of the page. Re the page as it looks with all 74 regts - crikey, it'll probably be a bit overwhelming at first glance, but I actually think it makes perfect sense. Sarah 11:35, 19 January 2010 (PST)

Broken Links

Hi Sy – On page Battle of Jugdulluk Crest 1841 the link to Somerset Record Office is broken. I cannot find to where it should be redirected. Is it your original link ? Any ideas? --Lee 01:29, 21 January 2010 (PST)

Bengal Infantry Table

I'll keep my eye out for another list of regiments. The table is looking good but I don't know how you're managing not to tie yourself in knots. Just wait until you're happy with it before going 'live' and let me know if you want me to help with anything. What ever you are doing, enjoy your well earned break from the Bengal regiments! Sarah 11:48, 21 January 2010 (PST)

Further to

I wonder if we should rename the table along the lines of Bengal Infantry Regiment Numbers or Bengal Infantry Regiment Finder? I am tempted by the 'finder' option myself, emphasizing it is a tool. What do you think? I will also add the table to the Bengal Army template (once name finalised). Well done for getting so far with it. I made a few minor changes to the intro and am about to test out a column highlight. The history of changes in the Bengal Infantry article is also a really good addition. Sarah 07:47, 25 February 2010 (PST)

What do you think of the highlighting? Sarah 07:57, 25 February 2010 (PST)

Columns

I put the 4 short tables into columns as you suggested. I am not really sure about it though. Sarah 15:38, 1 March 2010 (PST)

Have removed. The other problem was only that you forgot to 'close' the table with a |} Sarah 13:26, 2 March 2010 (PST)

Bengal regiments...

I quite understand losing the will to live over this. Well done for basically finishing it. I've done a few spot checks. Of those, am querying:

• should the column titled 1795 actually be 1796?
• 1781 - 5th Regt
• 1775 - 6th Btn

Didn't spot any other problems. Also, have we got an explanation of Purgunnah anywhere? Sarah 07:39, 15 March 2010 (PDT)

Macau Exp

Sy, when you get a minute could you please categorize this: Macau Expedition 1809. I expect it needs to be moved to an undated title, but have not done so myself in case there is another such expedition to confuse it with. Thanks, Sarah 07:02, 25 March 2010 (PDT)

Thanks. I wasn't really sure what criteria has been used to decide what is a minor campaign. Anyway, this has reminded me I never did finish removing all those dates from the war titles... Sarah 15:04, 25 March 2010 (PDT)

Formatting

You may be interested in the following formatting technique (which I have managed to not learn until today). Sarah 13:52, 17 April 2010 (PDT)

'''British forces'''
*300 infantry

producing:

British forces

• 300 infantry

can be quicker achieved by typing:

;British forces
*300 infantry

Trichy image

Image:Trichinopoly 1753.jpg. Regards, Sarah 14:27, 11 May 2010 (PDT)

Google Map linked to Invasion of the HEIC Army

Hi Sy. Doing some patrolling and thought I would follow the Invasion on the Google map - terrific stuff. Can I just comment that I thought the colour (slamon) chosen for Willshire's expedition confusing because of its close proximity to Lewis's route which is marked out in the same coour. Maybe better to swap to a different colour? Just my tuppence worth - Hugh 11:47, 29 May 2010 (UTC)

Digital Library of India website

Hi Sy Online books#Digital Library of India has a section which could perhaps be expanded a bit.

Go to the Digital Library of India site. Search for the book History of the Indian Mutiny by Ball. I could only find Volume 2 Click Book Reader 1, and if you have not already done so, download the Alternatiff plug in which you see on the screen. Then make sure you can see the bottom of the screen which has the arrows and the page numbers. If you can’t see it, there are two scrolling devices on the side of the screen, and you will need to scroll the bottom one until you can see the arrows etc. Click over the page number shown to delete it, and type 101 in the space, and press enter on your computer. This should bring you to computer page 101, or actual page 92. Regards Maureene 12:11, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi Sy I looked up the FAQ on the Alternatiff site, and unfortunately it said it doessn't work for Mac users (I have Internet Explorer). There is a Book Reader 2, which doesn't work for me, but perhaps this one may work for you. If that doesn't work,and Sarah doesn't kmow, maybe you could ask the India List if anyone knows. Regards Maureene 14:05, 7 June 2010 (UTC) PS It sounds as though you can at least read the text, what you are looking for is a way to select the page you require. Regards Maureene 21:29, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi Sy I have found some links about plug-ins for Mac users which I have added to Online books#Digital Library of India Regards Maureene 06:27, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Taku Forts

Hi Sy Battle of Taku Fort 1858, Battle of Taku Fort 1859 but Battle of Taku Forts 1860. For consistency, should the first two be Battle of Taku Forts, (plural) ? Regards Maureene 11:57, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Naval matters

In case you are not aware of its existence, this could be used for some of the articles you are currently working on: Category:Naval and Maritime Regards, Sarah 19:35, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Internal/external links

OK, I am asking the question but Sarah is away until the weekend. FWIW my feeling is that the Location Infobox is the break-out point for this precise purpose which is quite different from that of the Location field in the Battle Infobox. BTW I looked for the discussion you had with Sarah but couldn't find it - can you point me in the right direction? Thanks. Hugh 10:15, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

St. John the Evangelist Church, Colaba

Hi Sy - Sorry about my error. I see Wikipedia has it as a Presbyterian Church , and that is where you have put it. However it seems to have been an Anglican Church at least initially, and perhaps up until independence, so I will change it to Anglican. Regards Maureene 12:49, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

19th Light Dragoons

Hello there Sy,

I was looking at Special:WantedPages and spotted we have 5 redlinks to 19th Light Dragoons (these are the instances of the redlinks). I see you only deleted that page last week, but my preference would be to reinstate it as a redirect to fix these red links. Otherwise, everytime it is appropriate to link to '19th Light Dragoons' we will need to type the lengthier '19th Lancers|19th Light Dragoons'. What would you prefer?

Usually, before I delete a page I check the 'What links here' to make sure no other pages depend on or link to the one about to disappear and then fix those links accordingly.

Regards, Sarah 19:28, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Map template

Excellent factory map. I fiddled with the template (well, I nicked one of the other templates - Bengal Army - and adjusted that) and I think it works better this way up, as you suggested. The Bengal Army template had a section for a title, so I left that in, but can scrap if you prefer. Sarah 19:52, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Operations in Waziristan

Hi Sy Operations in Waziristan has Category: North West Frontier Campaigns 1849-1908 but the content is 1936-1937. Also the box on the RHS says the same thing. Regards Maureene 00:30, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

North West Frontier Campaigns

Many thanks Sy. Unfortunately Categories can't be renamed. The only way around it is to create a new category and change the categorisation of all the other pages in that current category to the new category. --FIBIS Webmaster 08:25, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Reginald Malpas Gore

I think we probably need to start a Biographies category for this sort of article.

Just to let you know I have added a gallery for the images you added to the Reginald Malpas Gore page today. Many thanks for your help with this Sy. It's looking great! --FIBIS Webmaster 17:14, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Battle of Tigree

Hi Sy - A random page hit! I've tried to find some information and add it. Please feel free to change in any way you consider an improvement - I am not very conversant with the format of battle pages. Beverly

Reginald Malpas Gore

Hi Sy-I think the photos are great. Regarding the captions, perhaps Niffs (2 photos) could be defined (? Native Infantry Field Force) as my dictionary says a niff is a smell. Also one of the captions says ”Stiffs all!” What does this mean? It’s not an expression I have come across (although there is a different Australian expression with a sexual meaning). One of the meanings my dictionary gives of stiff is intoxicated which I doubt is intended. Regards Maureene 02:45, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Corps of Royal Engineers

Thanks Sy. I wasn't quite sure where to put thr link. Regards Maureene 09:05, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Quick comment

Sy, excellent stuff on the military commanders. Really good idea linking everything together like that. Sarah 18:07, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

De Meuron Regiment

Hi Sy, These images are from Wikipedia

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regiment_de_Meuron_Indien.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regiment_suisse_de_Meuron_.png

I’m somewhat unsure about uploading images, and the associated details, and in this case whether it is OK to do so, so if you want to add these to the de Meuron Regiment page, could you do this. Regards Maureene 10:23, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

People by occupation

Hi Sy, I previously discussed this with Sarah some weeks ago (emails 27-28 March 2011) Regards Maureene 22:29, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes, Maureen is correct (sorry Maureen - I didn't realise so much time had passed *shame*). I apologize for not having set the category up as I said I would. I would prefer if the Category:People by occupation be renamed Category:Lists of people by occupation. If there are no major objections to this I will sort it out. I am also in favour of moving the lists of people out of their occupation articles in to their own articles (ie List of surgeons or List of notable surgeons - with notable possibly being used so that everyone doesn't add their own chap to the list when there are no published sources to link to about him). Any thoughts? Sarah 21:48, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Henry Havelock

Hi Sy - have sent an email in acknowledgement. Has link to a chart which was recommended to me. Beverly

Lord Lawrence

Oops! Glad you spotted that! Beverly

Hancox pictures

Gosh, that was organised of me. I don't even remember doing it! No problem; I was probably doing a general tidy up of uncat'd images and that is usually quicker than it looks like. Sarah 15:31, 31 October 2011 (PDT)

FibiwikiProject Locations/Members

I've emailed him via the Email this user option in the toolbox to the left of the page when on a users page. Hopefully he will get the email OK and get in touch as he isn't a FIBIS member, so I don't have any contact details. --FIBIS Webmaster 08:28, 13 November 2011 (PST)

Thanks

Dear Sy, hallo and thanks for your kind note. Im happy to be able to help out, and Valmay told me to get in touch with you, apropos the Map building for Abbottabad--indeed, I also sent a hand drawn map with some corrections to Sarah and Valmay will also probably be sharing that with you soon. I shall also send you information regarding the sites I have listed, so you can add these to the map--and I shall definitely have a look at the Calcutta page as suggested. Very best regards, Omer OSKT 03:27, 2 December 2012 (PST)OSKT

The thing is, why I wish first of all for you to see the map I sent, is that the map given on Google (and on the Abbottabad page) has a number of basic problems--it is first of all not correct in terms of roads and locations of the area/s that are of interest/relevance to us here on FIBIS; and secondly, certain place names or designations arent quite correct eg the Old Christian Cemetery of Abbottabad on the junction of Hill Road and Circular Road is labeled as usual 'Gora Qabristan' but its more commonly known here as the OCC, Old Christian Cemetery, or 'Purana Masihi/Isai Qabristan'--the Gora Qabristan and British Cemetery being terms that people have only recently begun to use to refere to it, since the 1990s; All the old Abbottabad residents that are left (and my family are amongst the oldest natives, first moving here circa 1880s-90s) will tell you that its the OCC. Iv tried to give a proper lay out for the streets in the Old/original cantonment too, as much as possible, reflecting the present situation on ground, new names and streets and landmarks etc. Would be v grateful if you could kindly first study this map, and then we can perhaps discuss and clarify things further? thanks, OSKT 03:45, 2 December 2012 (PST)OSKT

Hallo, have you been able to see the Abbottabad map that I sent yet? OSKT 04:23, 6 December 2012 (PST)OSKT

GIPE Pune Digital Books

Hi Sy It seems the website is offline, perhaps due to maintenance. It is 9.25 am in Sydney, so it would be night time in India. The main University website is also offline (I checked using http://downorisitjustme.com). It will come back on, perhaps India daytime, but could be longer Regards Maureene
it seems to be OK now 5.42pm Sydney Summer Time. Regards Maureene