Bombay Army

The Bombay Army was one of the three Presidency Armies of the East India Company. In 1859, following the Indian Mutiny, the armies were restructured when India was brought under the control of the British Government. The Bombay Army ceased to exist when the official Indian Army was formed in 1895.

A list of Bombay Army regiments can either be found in the Bombay Army Category or alphabetically, by type, in Bombay Army Regiments.

Divisions

• Bombay Artillery
• Bombay Cavalry Regiments
• Bombay Infantry Regiments
• Bombay Sappers and Miners

FIBIS Resources

• FIBIS database: Applications for Cadetships in EIC Armies 1789-1860 includes Bombay Army. These are records for officers. The series is divided into two separate sub-series:- Cadet Papers (1789-1860) L/MIL/9/107-254 and Cadet Registers (1775-1860) L/MIL/9/255-269.
• FIBIS database: Registers of Bombay Army European Soldiers 1793-1860. These are the full copies of the records taken from the British Library records,IOR/L/MIL/12/109-116, refer below
• FIBIS database: Soldiers’ and Widows’ Pension details -1896 IOR/ L/MIL/14/214 & 215 Includes previous members of the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, including men from the Unattached List. May also include a few members of the Indian Army which officially was formed in 1895. These records are available on LDS microfilm 2029979 Items 1-2 with catalogue entry, however the FIBIS database record contains all the information available in the microfilm
• "Searching for Gopal Drooge and the Murder of Captain William Richardson" by Tim Willasey- Wilsey FIBIS Journal Number 31 (Spring 2014) pages 16-25.

Gopal Drooge is identified as the modern Kabbal Durga. The murders took place in September 1783 when thirteen officers from the Bombay Army, including Captain Richardson of the 3rd Bombay Sepoys and four officers from the British Army were killed on the orders of Tipu Sultan.

• "The Memoirs of John Norton of the Bombay Mint" by Joan Harrison FIBIS Journal Number 34 (Autumn 2015) pages 18-26.

John Norton left England in November 1819 for Bombay, as an artilleryman in the Bombay Artillery. He was appointed to the Gun Carriage Manufactory and subsequently became a Sub Conductor of Ordnance. He was subsequently appointed to the Bombay Mint, where he was required to resign from the Army.

For details of how to access these articles, see FIBIS Journals.

Records

Main article: East India Company Army

British Library

• History of the Bombay Army by Sir Patrick Robert Cadell 1938. Two copies are available UIN: BLL01004156631 and BLL01009578085 . Searchable, but not viewable Google Books
• Records available in the British Library India Office holdings include:
  • Bombay Army Records IOR/L/MIL/12 Discovery catalogue entry which includes links to subgroups. Alternatively, use The British Library’s "Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts". Example, use the search term “IOR/L/MIL/12” (including punctuation marks) and click on “Browse this collection”

Please note that the records Registers of Bombay Army European Soldiers IOR/L/MIL/12/109-116 1795-1862 commenced in 1831 and only contain men still serving in the Army at that date. These records have been transcribed by FIBIS, refer above. If a man left the Army prior to 1831 for any reason, including death, he will not appear in these records. The Muster records are an alternative source of information.

FamilySearch (LDS (Mormons)) have filmed many of these records, most of which are now available as digitised microfilm. Search the Microfilm catalogue by entering keywords such as Bombay Army.

In particular, "Bombay Army muster rolls and casualty returns, 1708-1865" catalogue entry are available.

Bombay Army Lists 1759-1855 catalogue entry are available.

Note: FamilySearch microfilm ordering services ceased September 2017, however microfilms have been digitised and those originating from the British Library are currently available for viewing on a FamilySearch computer at a FamilySearch Centre or FamilySearch Affiliate Library. Locate these records through the FamilySearch catalogue. See FamilySearch Centres for viewing details.

At least some of the records in the series Miscellaneous Bombay Army officers' marriage notifications IOR/L/MIL/12/108 have been transcribed by the British Library and are available on India Office Family History Search

• Military Department Library: Bombay Army IOR/L/MIL/17/4 1794-1913 (Discovery catalogue entry) includes
  • Bombay Army List IOR/L/MIL/17/4/1-362 1823-1895
  • Bombay Army Regimental Histories IOR/L/MIL/17/4/564-578 1877-1939.

• Soldiers’ and Officers’ Wills IOR/L/AG/34/30 1825-1881 (varies according to Presidency and whether a soldier or an officer). These records are available on findmypast

Other sources

The National Army Museum holds a card index detailing officer's services. This index is unpublished and not available elsewhere. See the NAM article for details.

External links

• Bombay Army in The Victorians at war, 1815-1914: an encyclopedia of British military history by Harold E. Raugh, 2004
• Details of James Macmurdo (1785-1820), of the Bombay Army are included in "Fresh Light on the Peninsula of Gujarat in the Early Nineteenth Century" by Suresh C. Ghosh Journal of the American Oriental Society Volume 96, No 4, Oct-Dec 1976, pp570-575 ( part of Roger Bilham's AB2007). This article may also be read online, free, on the JSTOR website see Miscellaneous tips
• "Cadet William Lambert writes from Bombay in 1780" 29 November 2018. British Library Untold Lives blog.

"From Westmorland to India – William Lambert of the Bombay Army" 4 December 2018. British Library Untold Lives blog.

• "An examination guide for Bombay Army officers" 30 September 2021. British Library Untold Lives blog. Concerning the 1868 book A guide to candidates for admission into the Staff Corps (Native Infantry Branch), being a series of questions and answers in nearly every subject on which they are usually examined by Captain Newman Burfoot Thoyts of the Bombay Staff Corps, including the clothing issued to Native officers and other ranks. The book is available at the British Library.
• Distribution Return of Her Majesty's and the East India Company's Troops Serving under the Presidency of Bombay, 1 April 1857 The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle (page 171 of the Finding Aid)
• The Civil and Military Patronage of the East India Company, 1784-1858 by John Michael Bourne 1977 PhD thesis, University of Leicester.
• "The Dress Of The Bombay Soldier" by Patrick Cadell Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Vol. 26, No. 108 (Winter, 1948), pp. 143-146. jstor.org. Register with jstor.org and read online for free (limits apply). See Miscellaneous tips for more details. Cadell was the author of The History of the Bombay Army, available at the British Library, refer above.
• "Perspectives from the Periphery: The East India Company's Jewish Sepoys, Anglo-Jewry, and the Image of "the Jew"" by Mitch Numark from Chapter 12, page 247 On the Word of a Jew: Religion, Reliability, and the Dynamics of Trust 2019. academia.edu

Historical books online

• The Presidential Armies of India by Colonel S Rivett-Carnac 1890 Archive.org has chapters on the Bombay Army.
• "Army" Chapter 11, page 326 Imperial Gazetteer of India. The Indian Empire Volume 4 Administrative 1907. Archive.org
• Lists of the officers of His Majesty's and the Hon. Company's troops serving under the Presidency of Bombay from Adjutant General's Office January 1st 1798. Google Books.
• Alphabetical List of Officers of the Indian Army 1760 to 1834 compiled by Dodwell and Miles, 1838, corrected to September 30, 1837 includes section relating to Service History of Officers of the Bombay Army 1760-1834 Google Books. Note: Should you wish to scroll through the book, you may need to change from the "two page" icon to the "one page" icon (top left hand corner).
• The British Officer: his Position, Duties, Emoluments and Privileges… by J H Stocqueler 1851 Archive.org. Includes "Part VI The East India Company’s Service", from page 260. Contents, Part VI.
• Indian Army Uniforms under the British from the 18th century to 1947: Cavalry by W Y Carman 1961. Archive.org Lending Library. Includes a Regimental index, page 232.

Indian Army Uniforms by W Y Carman 1969. Full title: Indian Army Uniforms under the British from the 18th century to 1947 : Artillery, Engineers and Infantry. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. Note: Original colour plates are in black and white and most illustrations are of poor quality.

• Itinerary and directory for Western India, being a collection of routes through the provinces subject to the Presidency of Bombay, and the principal roads in the neighbouring states by Captain John Clunes, 12th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry. 1826 Archive.org
• A List of all the stations in the Bombay Presidency, with details, page 235 Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Bombay, Volume VII, New Series 1861 Google Books
• Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Sanitary State of the Army in India : with Abstract of Evidence, and of Reports Received from Indian Military Stations 1864 Archive.org
  • "Abstract of Sanitary Details in Reports from Principal Military Stations in India. Bombay Presidency" page 443
  • "Remarks on the Climate of Stations. Bombay Presidency" page 542
• Lists of the officers of His Majesty's, and the Hon. Company's troops, serving under the presidency of Bombay. Adjutant General's Office. January 1st. 1798 Google Books
• A compilation of all the ... orders ... 1750 to ... 1801 operating on the Discipline or Expenditure of the Bombay Army, by Edward Moor 1801 Google Books
• A general code of the military regulations in force under the presidency of Bombay 1st January 1824 by Captain John William Aitchison 1824 Google Books
• Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government. No CIV New Series: Selected Minutes of the Honorable Mountstuart Elphinstone in the Military Department 1820-1827. 1867 Archive.org
• ‪Second Supplement to the General Code of Military Regulations in force under the Presidency of Bombay including those relating to Pay and Allowances. 1st January 1832 Google Books
• Code of Military Regulations at present in force under the Presidency of Bombay compiled under the authority of government by Captain G.I. Jameson, Deputy Military Auditor General. Bombay 1844. Contents Google Books. Also available British Library Digital Collection.
• Code of Regulations for the Medical Department of the Presidency of Bombay 1849 Google Books
• "Colonel Edward Hamilton of the Honourable East India Company’s Service" by Lieut.-General Sir J Spencer Ewart page 771 Blackwood’s Magazine, Volume 208, 1920. Archive.org. Edward Hamilton was born 1733 and joined the Bombay Army c 1756. Following a massacre of Europeans at Patna, he was ordered to join a force which was sent to Calcutta as reinforcements where he was involved in hard campaigning c 1765.
• "Sir Henry Oakes". Appointed 1775, died 1827 Naval and Military Magazine Volume 2, page 590, 1827
• Memoirs of the early life and service of a field officer on the retired list of the Indian army by Major David Price 1839 Google Books. Born in 1762, he was recruited into the East India Company Army in London in 1780 and was in the Bombay army until 1805. He died in 1835 and his obituary appears on page 529. Also see Scholars or antiquarians
• Recollections of the Deccan, with Miscellaneous Sketches and Letters, by an Officer of Cavalry (Junius (pseudonym)) 1838 Google Books
• Sketches of a Soldier's Life in India by Staff Sergeant Thomas Quinney, Hon. East India Company’s Service, 1853 Google Books. He arrived in Bombay May 1827 and transferred to the Bombay Artillery c 1830. He was invalided in January 1841.
  • Pension payments page 175
• "Reminiscences of A Sindian Outpost" by Capt Hart, Bombay Native Infantry from Colburn's United Service Magazine Part 2 1843 Google Books
• "Reminiscences of Upper Sinde. Convoys" by Capt Hart, Bombay Native Infantry from Colburn's United Service Magazine Part 3 1843 Google Books
• Records of Sport and Military Life in Western India by Lieut-Colonel Thomas Gamble Fraser 1881. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India; British Library Digital Collection. Born 1807, he joined the Bombay Army, (1st Bombay Fusiliers), as a young Cadet, aged 16 c 1823 and retired 1st January 1856. Includes some reminiscences of James Outram.
• Memories of a Long Life by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir David Davidson 1890 Archive.org. The author left for India in late 1827 for the Bombay Army, where he remained for 20 years
• A Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson by George Rawlinson 1898 Archive.org Born 1810, he joined the Bombay Army in 1827. In 1833 he was sent to Persia, the start of a long association with this country. He was recalled to India in 1839 and in 1840 was appointed Political Agent in Western Afghanistan and was involved in the 1st Afghan War until the end of 1842. In October 1843 he was appointed “British Political Agent in Turkish Arabia” 1844-1849 and 1851-1855. He there resumed an interest in Cuneiform Studies. Also see Iran
• Oriental campaigns and European furloughs:the autobiography of a veteran of the Indian Mutiny by Colonel E. Maude 1908 Archive.org. The author joined the Bombay Army in 1844 and his last posting was Aden, from where he returned to England in 1866.
• The Decisive Battles of India : from 1746 to 1849 inclusive by Colonel GB Malleson Fourth Edition, New, 1914, first published 1883. With maps. 2nd edition 1885 Darker text, but lacks some maps. Archive.org.
• Vignettes From Indian Wars by Lieut-General Sir George MacMunn, Colonel Commandant Royal Artillery 1932 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• Honourable Company by Margaret Bellasis 1952. Archive.org Lending Library. Bombay and the Bellasis family. John Bellasis (1743-1808) went to Bombay in 1768 as an Ensign of Artillery. He rose to Commander-in Chief, Bombay.
• "Sketching from Nature: Soldier Artists in India" by Patricia Kattenhorn page 17 Under the Indian Sun : British Landscape Artists edited by Pauline Rohatgi and Pheroza Godrej 1995. Published by Marg Publications, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bombay. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.