First World War

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

Division	Theatres	Arrival in first theatre
1st (Peshawar)	-	Remained in India
2nd (Rawalpindi)	-	Remained in India
3rd (Lahore)	France & Flanders, Mesopotamia	October 1914
4th (Quetta)	-	Remained in India
5th (Mhow)	-	Remained in India
6th (Poona)	Mesopotamia	From November 1914
7th (Meerut)	France & Flanders, Mesopotamia	October 1914
8th (Lucknow)	-	Remained in India
9th (Secunderabad)	-	Remained in India
10th	Egypt	Formed in Egypt 1914
11th	Egypt	Formed in Egypt 1914
12th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1915
13th	-	Not formed
14th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1916
15th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1916
16th	-	Remained in India
17th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1917
18th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1917
Burma Division	-	Remained in India
1st Indian Cavalry	France & Flanders	November 1914. Renamed 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916
2nd Indian Cavalry	France & Flanders	December 1914. Renamed 5th Cavalry Division in November 1916

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)”

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. By the September of 1917 the Anglo-Indian Force had drawn more than 950 men.[25]

The Anglo Indian Battery, an Artillery unit which was part of the Anglo Indian Force, 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

• The Anglo -Indian Force - WWI angloburmeselibrary.com
• Britain’s Betrayal In India: The Story of the Anglo-Indian Community by Frank Anthony 1960. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org mirror version. Chapter VII "World Wars I and II", page 122, includes the Anglo Indian Battery.

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 Access to Archives website (See External links. 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) held at The National Archives – (See War Office: Officers' Services, First World War, Long Number Papers (numerical) in External links

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. There are also the records, Applications for appointments to the India Army Reserve of Officers ‎ (1916-1918) IOR/L/MIL/9/552 to IOR/L/MIL/9/552. Search by name, in the British Library's Archives and Manuscripts catalogue.

FIBIS database: A List of Officers (I.A.R.O.) recruited to or Re-engaged during the Year 1916 and up to the middle of January 1917

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

British Army Territorial Force troops in India

Territorial Force troops were sent to India so that regular units could be released for service in France.

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).

See British Army Territorial Force troops arriving in 1914‎ for those Regiments and Batteries arriving with the first two Divisions above, and their initial postings.

The Territorial Battalions in India generally experienced a movement of personnel, as drafts were provided for Regiments in Mesopotamia, and men transferred to specialist services. The Battalions in India in turn received drafts from Britain. As an example, 1/5th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry lost nearly half its original personnel in 2½ years in India. Wounded and other ill soldiers from Mesopotamia were returned to India for treatment and convalescence. Some of these sadly became part of the group of soldiers who died in India.

A regimental history which describes experiences of Territorials in India during the Great War is A Strange War: Burma, India and Afghanistan 1914-1919 by C P Mills. The Regiment was the 2/5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.

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. By the end of the war there were 18 Garrison Battalions in India.

In India, men unfit for frontline duties in regiments about to leave India for war zones, were transferred into Garrison Battalions already serving in India.

Some of the soldiers who served in the Garrison Battalions in India served on the North West Frontier in Afghanistan in 1919, in the 3rd Afghan War, almost certainly along the lines of communication.

Very little has been written about the Garrison Battalions of World War I in post-war regimental histories. Battalions were disbanded within days of returning from service overseas and their four or five year existence was apparently regarded as of little consequence in regimental history. . A diary, including a description of the journey to India of a “unit of middle-aged and medically downgraded men”, and letters home may be found in 1st Garrison Battalion The Manchester Regiment, India, Singapore, Hong Kong & Siberia by Robert Bonner

The April 1919 Indian Army List shows the following Garrison Battalions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Garrison Battalions, Bedfordshire Regiment; 1st Garrison Battalions Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), East Yorkshire Regiment; 2nd Garrison Battalion, Essex Regiment, 1st Garrison Battalions Gordon Highlanders, Lincolnshire Regiment, Manchester Regiment, Norfolk Regiment; 2nd Garrison Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers; 1st Garrison Battalions Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Somerset Light Infantry, South Staffordshire Regiment and Yorkshire Regiment.

Special Service Battalions

Formed from April 1919 in India from drafts of demobilisees (from Mesopotamia) arriving by ship in Bombay. See "Mutiny in India 1919" for more details about these Battalions. One Special Service Battalion, No.17, served in the Third Afghan War

External links

• Border Regiment “The Long, Long Trail”. 2/4 (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Battalion, Border Regiment sailed for India 4 March 1915 and was in India throughout the First World War.
  • 2/4 Border Regiment in India 1916-1919 includes photographs taken at Gharial, (Murree Hills), and the Mohmand Blockade Line. king-emperor.com
• East Surrey Regiment “The Long, Long Trail”. 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.
  • 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.
• Hampshire Regiment "The Long, Long Trail". There were Territorial Force battalions in India and Mesopotamia.
• The Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) “The Long, Long Trail”. 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.
  • 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
• South Wales Borderers "The Long, Long Trail". 1/1st Brecknockshire Battalion, South Wales Borderers
 arrived in Bombay 3 December 1914, almost immediately went to Aden, subsequently returned to India and remained in India throughout the war, probably stationed at Mhow.
• Voyage to India: Memoirs of the 1st/3rd Kent Battery 1914 Frank William Critchley was 22 years old and a sergeant in the 1st/3rd Kent Battery, Royal Artillery. He travelled to India on the troopship Grantully Castle which departed Southampton 29 Oct 1914 and arrived Bombay 2 December 1914. One board were: Artillery 450. East Surreys 400. 4th Queens 800. voyagetoindia.co.uk
• The Diary of Sergeant Ben Nicholas 1914 to 1917. 4th (Service Battalion) Kings Shropshire Light Infantry. "A record of his exploits in India, Burma, Singapore and Malaysia during World War One". Includes the 1915 Singapore Mutiny. html version pdf wulfrunianinlondon.files
• DEG Quelch, far from Flanders He was in the 18th (London) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, based at Table Island, where there was a wireless station, near the Cocos Islands. "Great War London"
• 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
  • Indian/South-Asian Industrial Locos: Military Trains (irfca.com by Simon Darvill has a section (scroll down) on the British Library collection of Lance Corporal Howgego who served in India with the 1/25st Battalion, The London Regiment between 1916 and 1919. Includes a transcript of a 1917 letter to his mother regarding the flooding at Tank. (British Library catalogue entry Sgt Reginald Mortimer Howgego: Mss Eur C340 1914-1920)
• The "Karachi troop train incident" of the 5th June, 1916, resulted in the death of nineteen Territorial Troops due to heat stroke on a troop train between Karachi and Lahore. "Death Of Territorials In India". House of Lords. Hansard 25 July 1916 vol 22 cc911-6, 01 August 1916 vol 22 cc1037-42. "Karachi Troop Train Incident". House of Lords. Hansard 18 May 1920 vol 40 cc390-404, 21 July 1920 vol 41 cc413-20. 10 August 1920 vol 41 cc1169-79
• "The British Campaign in Aden, 1914-1918" by Mark Connelly Journal of the Centre for First World War Studies Vol. 1, No. 3, 2005. pages 65-96, now archived. Mentions the heat fatalities of the 4/South Wales Borderers (Brecknockshire battalion)
• 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.
• WO 374/20814 - service record of Horace Charles Druett flickr.com.He applied for the India Army Reserve of Officers in October 1917 when he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. Application form. He was seconded 21st December 1917 and was in India until the end of 1920, at least the latter part with the 1/54 Sikhs FF at Jullundur flickr.com

Historical books online

• Kitchener's Army and the Territorial Forces page 164 by Edgar Wallace 1915 Archive.org
• Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha, by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt, page 255 "The Territorials in India" 1922 Archive.org
• 2/4 Battalion. Hampshire Regiment 1914-1919 Published 1920?. State Library of Victoria. May be slow to open. The Battalion was in India January 1915-April 1917, where it provided many drafts for Mesopotamia, and was then in Palestine and France.
• Memoirs of the Great War by James Racine c 1920. Pages 80-102 cover the author's voyage to India from October 1916 and his period in India as an officer with the 2/5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment in Secunderabad until the Battalion was transferred to Egypt. Archive.org
• Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916 from Robert Palmer 1916 Archive.org. He went with a draft from the 6th Hants, (Hampshire Regiment) in India since November 1914, to reinforce the 4th Hants. Both these regiments were part of the Territorial Force. He was killed June 21, 1916, aged 27 years. The initial letters were written in India.
• Diary of 2/4th Battalion the Border Regiment, 1914-19 in India and Afghanistan. This Battalion was formed during the First World War and was part of the Territorial Force. Archive.org
• Memoirs Of A Camp Follower(1934) by Philip Gosse. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Full title/some editions: Memoirs of a Camp-Follower : a Naturalist Goes to War. At least one later edition published under the title A Naturalist Goes to War. The author was a doctor in the RAMC, a Temporary Captain, who served in France and Belgium 1915-1917, then subsequently in India, based at Poona, 1917-1918. Review of the book. JRAMC. Scroll to the end.

Regular British Army troops in India

• 1st Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
• 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment
• 21st Lancers were in India on the North West Frontier

Indian Army troops in India

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

Aden

• "The British Campaign in Aden, 1914-1918" by Mark Connelly Journal of the Centre for First World War Studies Vol. 1, No. 3, 2005. pages 65-96, now archived. Includes brief mention of 26/King George's Own Light Cavalry, 7/Rajputs, 9/Gurkhas, 23/Sikh Pioneers, 51/Sikhs, 62/Punjabis, 75/Carnatics, 108/Infantry, 109/Infantry , 126/Baluchistans
• "Military Operations in Aden 1914-1915" by Harry Fecitt, from Harry’s Sideshows kaiserscross.com. Includes mention of the 26th (King George’s Own) Light Cavalry, 14th (KGO) Sikhs, 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force), the 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force), the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force), the 62nd Punjabis Rifles (Frontier Force), 109th Infantry and the 126th Baluchistan Infantry.

Burma

• The Kachin Hills Uprising: Burma from January to February 1915 by Harry Fecitt from Harry’s Sideshows kaiserscross.com

At sea

During the First World War ships of the Royal Indian Marine carried troops and other war stores from India to Egypt, Mesopotamia and East Africa. When mines were detected off the coasts of Bombay and Aden during the First World War, the Royal Indian Marine went into action with a fleet of minesweepers, patrol vessels and troop carriers. The Royal Indian Marine also played a leading role in landing troops in Mesopotamia and their small river craft did very useful work on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

• 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. British Library digital file, with illustrations. A different digital file: Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
• Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy-1915 National Maritime Museum rmg.co.uk. The crews originated from all over the world and on some vessels the British nationals were in a minority

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 Biographies reading list. Also see Mesopotamia Campaign.
• Spencer, William First World War army service records : a guide for family historians The National Archives, 2008 See Review in Military reading list.

Records

British Library holdings

• Also see Medal Rolls for British Library records in respect of rolls of honours and rewards.

The links for the following catalogue references are National Archives Discovery links. For British Library equivalent links, search directly in the British Library’s "Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts".

• IOR/L/MIL/14/142 1914-1921. Indian Army Officers Casualty Returns: Alphabetical lists of casualties by death among British officers of the Indian Services in the Great War giving rank, age, unit, date, place and cause. Possibly may provide information additional to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database information (refer below). British Library article about these records, which indicates Warrant Officer (Conductor) deaths are included.
• IOR/L/MIL/15/22 British Army in India: Burial returns of officers and others in India, 1914-1918. Also available on LDS microfilm 2029981 ( see FamilySearch Centres). Possibly may provide information additional to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database information (refer below)
• IOR/L/MIL/7/17154-18939 Collection 425 First World War 1914-1918 ‎ (1914-1920). There is no TNA catalogue link, but it appears most of the records have been destroyed.
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/245-299 1903-1947. Military Department Library: Indian Army Orders. Includes volumes coving the war years from IOR/L/MIL/17/5/256 1914
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/1133-1231 Military Department Library: Indian Army Divisional and Brigade Movement Programmes/Distribution Lists. The dates appear to be for 1914/early 1915, and 1920 only. Most are titled "Distribution of the troops...."
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2380-2420 Military Department Library: Indian Army First World War - General ‎ (1914-1931)
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2421-4246 1914-1921. Military Department Library: Indian Army First World War - War Diaries.

The entries which include War Diary in the individual entry are from IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3001. War diary, Army Headquarters India, Indian Expeditionary Force 'A' [France]. IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3086-3149; IE Force 'B' and ‘C’ [East Africa] IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3150-3222; IE Force 'D' [Mesopotamia] IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3223-3892, including IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3788 A table of the contents of the war diaries of the Mesopotamian Campaign; IE Force 'E'/'E' & 'G'/Egypt and F. IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3893-3950; IE Force 'G' [Mediterranean] IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3951- 3953; Aden Force IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3954-4056; India, Afghan War IOR/L/MIL/17/5/4057-4065; India, Frontier Operations IOR/L/MIL/17/5/4066-4121; Persia IOR/L/MIL/17/5/4122-4223.

Some of these volumes are Indian Army Casualty Returns, explained in the British Library article "Finding Indian soldiers who served in World War One"

• The Military Department Library also contains items relating to the First World War catalogued according to regions including IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41-138 Iraq ‎ (1914-1944)
• 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. Some volumes are available online.
• 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 Temporary Commissions & Indian Army Reserve of Officers 1917-1921, above
• See also Indian Army

The National Archives

Included in the many records held at the National Archives Kew is the series WO 95 - War Office: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries.

Some War Diaries, many of which are handwritten, have been digitised and are available (on a pay basis) online from various sources: from the National Archives through the Discovery catalogue, from Naval and Military Archive (Western Front only), part of Naval & Military Press, which also publishes print and DVD-ROM versions, and through Ancestry which contains two databases "UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920" and "UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916", containing selected war diaries only. The Ancestry databases also contain War Diaries for some Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and other regiments. Transcribed (the handwriting has been deciphered for you!) (series title) Gallipoli Diaries edited by Martin Gillott, publisher Great War Diaries and some Western Front (series title) Great War Diaries from the same editor/publisher, both series for British and some Indian Army regiments, are available through Amazon.co.uk in Kindle editions which have a Search facility (anyone with Kindle Unlimited can read them for free). (Download of a free Kindle App is available onto a PC, Mac or tablet - you don't need Kindle).

The Australian War Memorial website contains Australian and New Zealand Army War diaries (available for free).

• Details of War Diaries available at the National Archives, Kew, UK for Indian Army Regiments.

Category:India including Category:All Indian units collaborativecollections.org. The website also includes pages in respect of British, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and other units.

• A Guide To WW1 Indian War Diaries: Researching Indian Soldiers Using War Diaries. empirefaithwar.com.
• "Orders of Battle: India"

WO 95/5484: 1915 Nov. - 1920 Mar., WO 95/5485: 1920 May - 1921 Dec., WO 95/5486: 1922 Jan.-Dec.

The National Archives also holds many maps relating to operations during the War, which however have not been digitised. For more details, see the Research Guide Military maps of the First World War. As an example, military maps for Mesopotamia are to be found in WO 302.

Other

• See also
  • British Army - Records - Other pension records
  • British Army - Records - Other sources
    • Soldiers’ wills
    • Soldiers’ effects records at the National Army Museum
    • WFA WW1 pension record cards
    • Prisoners of War - ICRC Archives
  • Royal Air Force
  • Royal Navy
• British Red Cross First World War Volunteers. Free online Search of British Red Cross record cards for their Volunteers during WW1, many of whom were women.

Findmypast, a pay website, contains a database "British Red Cross Register Of Overseas Volunteers 1914-1918" (located in Armed forces & conflict/Regimental & service records). This database also contains records for members of other volunteer organisations: Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU), First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), Order of St. John Ambulance, Scottish Women’s Hospital, Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) and Liverpool Merchants’ Hospital.

Details of Red Cross work may be found in the 1921 HMSO publication of 823 pages: Reports by the Joint War Committee and the Joint War Finance Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England on voluntary aid rendered to the sick and wounded at home and abroad and to British prisoners of war 1914–1919, with appendices, now available in a reprint edition.

• The Friends Ambulance Unit was set up by Quakers in the UK during World War I. The personnel records from this service are now available to search online. Library of the Religious Society of Friends, London.

Related articles

• Western Front
• Mesopotamia Campaign‎
• Actions in Egypt 1914-15‎
• Norperforce
• Railway units in the First World War
• Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre
• China (First World War)
• East Africa
• Egypt, Palestine, Syria (First World War)
• Gallipoli
• Salonica and the Balkans (First World War)
• Medals
• Medal Rolls
• Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)
• POW Camps in India - First World War
• Kent Cyclist Battalion
• Imperial Service Troops. Troops provided by the Princely States

External links

• UK National Archives First World War Portal The National Archives' First World War resources
• WO 339 War Office: Officers' Services, First World War, Long Number Papers (numerical) The National Archives Discovery catalogue. Records of British reserve officers who were commissioned into the Indian Army were originally held separately, but later added to this series.
• WO 374 War Office: Officers' Services, First World War personal files (alphabetical). This series contains records and correspondence for officers with temporary commissions and Territorial Army officers who served in the First World War. - The National Archives Discovery catalogue.
• Indian Army during World War I Wikipedia
• Battles of WWI involving British India Wikipedia
• Historical Orders of Battle and TOEs 1900-1938. Includes British Army and Indian Army during WW1. orbat.com, now archived.
• The Army In India – July 1914 by Prof Charles Tustin Kamps. Orders of Battle, now archived.
• Indian Infantry Regiments - World War I by Paul Watson September 23, 2007 indianmilitaryhistory.org, now archived. Taken from the book The Indian Army in the Great War 1914-1918: Cavalry Regiments, Infantry Battalions, Mountain Artillery Batteries, and Sappers & Miners Units by Paul Watson 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0982054123
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission [CWGC] Searchable database. The dates covered for commemoration on the CWGC website are 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921, for the six member counties Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, but also including some other Commonwealth forces.

"Northeasterners in the World Wars" by P. Ramirez. includes an Excel file download for all CWGC Indian Army deaths for WW1. Brahmaputra Studies Database.

• Records for the War Dead of WW1 Includes sources for the Royal Navy and for some European, and American nationals, including online sources. greatwar.co.uk
• Geoff Sullivan’s Great War Assortment.
• The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918
• Great War Forum is a message board for the First World War which was originally part of the website "The Long, Long Trail", but is now a separate, independent entity.
• British Army Medical Categories 1914. The criteria subsequently changed at various times throughout the War.
• A Guide to WW1 Causes of Discharge - Paragraph 392 of King's Regulations 1912
• The Western Front Association (WFA) Although the main emphasis is on the Western Front, other areas are also included.
• The World War I Document Archive gwpda.org
  • There is an older version of this website still in existence , which in at least the section Diaries, Memorials, Personal Reminiscences has content which is not included in the current site. wwi.lib.byu.edu.
  • In respect of the Category "The Medical Front" there is an associated website available on vlib.us/medical which has later updates- a later Bibliography has been noted, so this website appears preferable.
  • The World War I Document Archive includes a category The War at Sea which includes the category Bibliography. A slightly later dated Bibliography than appears on the website is WWI Naval Bibliography
• The British Official Histories of the Great War longlongtrail.co.uk. Details of the volumes. In addition, a further Official History was issued titled The Occupation of Constantinople 1918–1923 by Brigadier-General J. E. Edmonds. Originally written in 1944, it was not finally published until 2010. (Imperial War Museum/Naval&Military Press).

History of the Great War Wikipedia.

• Digital First World War Resources: Online Official Histories — The War On Land by Dr Robert T Foley defenceindepth.co
  • L'Esercito Italiano nella Grande Guerra 1915-18 The Italian Army in the Great War 1915-18 Official Report on the Great War. From the home page select Storia/ La Grande Guerra/ L'Esercito Italiano nella Grande Guerra 1915-18. Italian Army website (In Italian language) (Google Chrome will translate).

Digital First World War Resources: Online Official Histories — The War At Sea And In The Air by Dr Robert T Foley defenceindepth.co

• Cross & Cockade International (CCI) Journal of the First World War Aviation Historical Society. Cross & Cockade GB was formed in, and published from, 1970 as the British arm of Cross & Cockade in the USA, which was formed in 1960. The name changed to Cross & Cockade International when the US society ceased in 1986. In 1986 Cross & Cockade [USA] amalgamated with/became associated with Over the Front, Journal of the League of WWI Aviation Historians, which holds the archives of Cross & Cockade [USA] 1960-1985.

CCI Journals include a series of articles "Gazetteer of Flying Sites in the UK and Ireland 1912–1920", catalogue details.

• British strategy and oil, 1914-1923 by Martin William Gibson 2012 PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.
• "The Infantry cannot do with a gun less": The Place of the Artillery 
in the British Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918 by Sanders Marble gutenberg-e.org. Colombia University Press. Based on the author's Ph D thesis, University of London, 1998.
• India and the Great War A Joint USI (United Service Institution of India)-MEA (Ministry of External Affairs, India) Commemorative Project
  • Details of India and the Great War Project. Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, USI . Contains photographs
• Memorials to Indian soldiers and sailors - First World War cwgc.org, now an archived webpage.
• Empire, Faith & War: The Sikhs and World War One Includes categories Tell their Story/Research Your Soldier. A project of the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association.
• "Finding Indian soldiers who served in World War One": Casualty Appendices to the War Diaries by Dorota Walker 09 September 2014. British Library Untold lives blog. Retrieved 11 September 2014
• "India and WWI: balancing demands of war with defence of Empire" by Adam Prime, 20 August 2014 “India at LSE” London School of Economics. Retrieved 26 August 2014
• India's contribution to First World War by Mandeep Singh Bajwa, Hindustan Times June 16, 2013
• Remarks by High Commissioner WWI Commemorative Event at India House 9 December 2014. Contribution of Indians during WW1
• Article Treasure trove: Awesome collection in awful condition by Sonia Malik 8 July 2011, The Tribune, Pakistan. Records in the Lahore Museum of over 100,000 Indian soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War.
• See Nurse for some information about Australian Army nurses in India.
• The Indian Army - 1st January 1917: Cavalry Regiments by Paul Watson October 4, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• The Indian Army - 1st January 1917: Sappers and Miners; Railway Battalion; Divisional Signal Companies by Paul Watson November 15, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• Indian Army 1917 Mountain Artillery Batteries by Paul Watson November 22, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• "Indian Artillery In World War 1" by Major General Rajendra Prakash, Indian Army (Retd). indiaww1.in
• "India and the Great War: Colonial Anxieties, Fantasies and Discontent" by 
Gajendra Singh Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2014. academia.edu
  • "The Forgotten Shaheeds of Dagshai" by K. S. Sarkaria. Includes images of pages from relevant books concerning the Ghadar (Ghadr) Mutiny (Conspiracy) of 1915. kssarkaria.org
• Series of articles: India and the First World War LSE South Asia Centre.[London School of Economics].
• The Labour Corps 1917 – 1921: Foreign Labour , now archived. Briefly mentions the labourers from India. Subsequently a book was published No Labour, No Battle: Military Labour During the First World War by John Starling and Ivor Lee.

"Indian Labour Corps" by Radhika Singha. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net.

"North East India and the First World War" by Pratap Chhetri February 4, 2016. The Indian Labour Corps: Lushai Labour Corps, Khasi Labour Corps, Garo Labour Corps, Naga Labour Corps, Manipur Labour Corps and enlistments from Tripura. These men served on the Western Front, in Mesopotamia and in Egypt. "The Centre for Hidden Histories" [WW1]

• "Remembering the Bengalis who fought for France in WWI" by Stéphanie Trouillard 2014-02-25 france24.com
• "Women's War-Work" edwardianpromenade.com. Stated on the website to be from the 1922 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Includes details of volunteer organisations, including hospitals and other facilities run by these organisations.
• "Medical Women and the Medical Services of the First World War" by Ann M. Mitchell, pages 91-112 Festschrift for Kenneth Fitzpatrick Russell : proceedings of a symposium arranged by the Section of Medical History, A.M.A. (Victorian Branch), 25th February, 1977, published 1978. Wellcome Library Digital Collection. catalogue reference RAMC/1456.
• U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center’s World War I Holdings. A bibliography. Much general information, although main emphasis is American.

Historical books online

• Also see Mesopotamia Campaign; Egypt, Palestine, Syria (First World War); East Africa (First World War); Gallipoli; Norperforce; Salonica and the Balkans (First World War) and Western Front for online books about those campaigns.

Official histories, political memoirs, etc.

• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Military Operations. See the various Fronts mentioned above.
• War Memoirs of David Lloyd George. New edition 1938. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. Originally published in 6 volumes 1933-1937. It is stated elsewhere that the new edition is complete and unabridged apart from essential revisions. David Lloyd George was Prime Minister of the UK 1916-1922.
• The World Crisis publications by The Rt. Hon. Winston S Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty 1911-1915. Archive.org

The World Crisis 1911-1914 First published 1923; The World Crisis 1915 F. p. 1923; The World Crisis 1916-1918 Part I F. p. 1927; The World Crisis 1916-1918 Part II F. p. 1927; The World Crisis The Aftermath F. p. 1929; The World Crisis The Eastern Front F.p. 1931

The World Crisis 1911-1918. Abridged and Revised edition 1932, first published 1931. Sandhurst editon of The World Crisis 1933

The World Crisis 1911-1918 Revised edition 1938. Volume 1, Volume II

• The London Gazette World War 1 despatches. Links to all the military despatches from commanders-in-chief. thegazette.co.uk.
• US Army Centre of Military History online books Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War (5 Volumes) and United States Army In The World War (17 Volumes). Links to Pdf downloads.
• Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. 12 Volumes include Gallipoli, France, Sinai and Palestine. Australian War Memorial.
• Official History of The Canadian Forces in the Great War, 1914-1919 Scroll to various volumes. Canadian Forces website.
• New Zealand World War I History. Links to transcribed histories from New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington Library.

Medical Services

• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Medical Services; General History by G W Macpherson Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 includes Egypt and Palestine, Volume 4 includes Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Salonika, East Africa. Published 1921-1924. Archive.org

Other books in this series: Medical Services: Diseases of the War Volume I, Volume II; Medical Services: Surgery of the War Volume I, Volume II; Medical Services: Pathology 1922-1923 Archive.org

• The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War Archive.org. A series of 15 Volumes, some with 2 Parts, and 1 Supplement, total c 19 volumes. Also included in the link is a book about the US Navy Medical Department.
• Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918 in three volumes. Australian War Memorial. Volume III Special Problems and Services 1943. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War 1914-19 : The Medical Services by Sir Andrew MacPhail 1925 Archive.org. Includes page 295 “In Foreign Parts”
• The New Zealand Medical Service In The Great War 1914-1918 by Lieut.-Col.A. D. Carbery N.Z.M.C. (Res.). New Zealand Electronic Text Collection. A transcription.
• Memoranda on some medical diseases in the Mediterranean war area, with some sanitary notes HMSO 1916
• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Medical Services: Casualties and Medical Statistics of the Great War by Major T. J. Mitchell and Miss G. M. Smith. 1931 Hathi Trust Digital Library
• The Anatomy of Courage by Lord Moran, Medical Officer to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, (later Physician to Winston Churchill). 1967 American edition, first published 1945. Archive.org Lending Library.
• Military Psychiatry in Peace and War by C Stanford Reid 1920 Archive.org
• The Psychoneuroses of War by Dr G Roussy and J Lhermitte, translated from the original French by W B Christopherson. 1918 Archive.org
• Report on Medical and Surgical Developments of the War by William Seaman Bainbridge 1919 Archive.org.
• A Surgeon in Khaki by Arthur Anderson Martin 1915 Archive.org. Includes the process of the author’s commission, description of a Field Ambulance structure.
• Women as Army Surgeons; being the history of the Women's Hospital Corps in Paris, Wimereux and Endell Street, September 1914-October 1919 by Flora Murray 1920 Archive.org.
• Fifty Thousand Miles on a Hospital Ship by “The Padre” [Charles Steel Wallis] 1917 Archive.org. The hospital ship that Padre Wallis joined in 1915 was most likely the 'Goorkha'. She was then an Indian Hospital Ship staffed by doctors from the Indian Medical Service, although subsequently became a British Hospital Ship.
• One Hundred Years of Army Nursing : The Story of the British Army Nursing Service from the time of Florence Nightingale to the present day by John Hay Beith 1953 Archive.org. Contains chapters on WW1.

General history of the war, including origins

• History of the Great War: Principal Events, 1914-1918 compiled by the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. 1922 Archive.org
• Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire during the Great War, 1914-1920 The War Office HMSO 1922. Contents Archive.org
• The Great War and the British People by J M Winter. 1986 Archive.org Lending Library (register to borrow). Sample pages 2003 reprint, including Contents Google Books.
• The Origins of the War, 1871-1914 by J Holland Rose, University of Cambridge. 1915 Archive.org
• The Cradle of the War: The Near East and Pan-Germanism by Henry Charles Woods 1918 Archive.org
• British Documents on the Origins of the War, 1898-1914 edited by G.P. Gooch and Harold Temperley. HMSO 1926-1938. A series of publications in 11 volumes, 2 with 2 parts, 13 in total. Details of the volumes. Volume 1; Volume 2; Volume 3; Volumes 4-11 All Archive.org.
• The Diplomatic History of the War, including a diary of negotiations and events in the different capitals, the texts of the official documents of the various governments, the public speeches in the European Parliaments, an account of the military preparations of the countries concerned, and original matter by MP Price, first published November 1914 Archive.org.
• The World War: a Short Account of the Principal Land Operations on the Belgian, French, Russian, Italian, Greek and Turkish Fronts by Colonel G J Fiebeger 1921 Archive.org.

Atlas to accompany The World War: a Short Account... Link to pdf download, Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library [USA].

• History of the Great War based on Official Documents: Seaborne Trade by C. Ernest Fayle 1920 -1924. Volume I : The Cruiser Period; Volume II: From the Opening of the Submarine Campaign to the Appointment of the Shipping Controller; Volume III: The Period of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Archive.org.
• Official History of the War: History of the Great War based on Official Documents. History of the Blockade of Germany and of the countries associated with her in the Great War: Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, 1914-1918 by A C Bell 1937. Pdf download Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune India]
• The Naval Blockade, 1914-1918 by Lieut. Louis Guichard, French Navy. Translated and edited by Christopher R. Turner. 1930 Archive.org. The economic impact of the blockade.
• Turkey in the World War by Ahmed Emin 1930. Archive.org. Series Economic and Social History of the World War: Turkish Series. Published for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Division of Economics and History. Also available as a pdf download, Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune India].
• The New Warfare by Georges Blanchon, translated by Fred Rothwell 1917 Archive.org
• History In The Making. The First World War by Richard Thoumin, translated by Martin Kieffer. Archive.org. Translation of La Grande Guerre, (3 Volume anthology) 1931.

Corps, Munitions

• The Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army, Volume II by Colonel R H Beadon 1931. Link to an Adobe pdf download. Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Includes the First World War period, with chapters on the British Expeditionary Force , Gallipoli, the Balkans, Egypt and Palestine, Mesopotamia, East Africa, Italy, North Russia, England and India.
• A History of the Army Ordnance Services, Volume III: The Great War by Major General Arthur Forbes 2nd edition 1932, first published 1929. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Includes chapters on the Western Front (Part I) and chapters on Other Arenas (Part II): The Home Base; the Base in the Levant and Mediterranean [Egypt]; Gallipoli; Salonika; Palestine; Mesopotamia; East Africa; Italy; Russia and Siberia.
• "Inland Waterways and Docks, Royal Engineers in War Time, with special reference to the mystery port of Richborough (Lecture & Discussion)" by Captain A E Battle, RE Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1923-1924, pages 104-116. Includes Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia, and brief mention of other theatres of war Egypt, Salonika, East Africa, Italy and Northern Russia. Melbourne University Digital Collection.
• History of the Ministry of Munitions Volumes 1-8, of a 12 volume series, published 1922 by HMSO. Archive.org. Note: Each Volume may consist of a number of different parts, separately numbered, each with its own Contents page. Volumes 10 and 12 The Supply of Munitions, and additional restricted viewing editions Hathi Trust Digital Library. Volume 10 consists of Guns, Gun Ammunition: General, Gun Ammunition: Shell Manufacture, Gun Ammunition: Explosives, Gun Ammunition: Filling and Completing, Anti-Aircraft Supplies. Volume 12 consists of Aircraft, Aerial Bombs, Tanks, Mechanical Transport Vehicles, Railway Materials and Ropeways, Agricultural Machinery.
  • Technical records of explosives supply, 1915-1918 no.1-9 Ministry of Munitions and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. HMSO 1920-1922. Hathi Trust Digital Library. No.9 is also available on Archive.org.
  • Hand Grenades: a Handbook on Rifle and Hand Grenades by Major Graham M Ainslie 1917 Archive.org

The Great Munition Feat, 1914-1918 by George A B Dewar 1921 Archive.org.

Doing their Bit: War Work at Home by Boyd Cable 2nd impression 1916 (first printed 1916 also) Archive.org. Also see Western Front for works of fiction by this author.

• The Motor Cycle. Link is to Volume 16, January to June 1916. Links for other available online volumes may be accessed here. Archive.org. Mention of Despatch Riders and the Motor Machine Gun Service (MMGS).
• The "Tanks" : (by request, and with permission) by Colonel E.D. Swinton, Royal Engineers. 1918. Archive.org. Reprinted from The World’s Work (a monthly magazine, published in New York).

Eyewitness. Being Personal Reminiscences of Certain Phases of the Great War, Including the Genesis of the Tank by Major-General Sir Ernest D Swinton, R E (Retired) 1933 Hathi Trust Digital Library

There are additional online Tank books linked on the page Western Front.

In the Air

• The War in the Air: being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force. Volume I by Walter Raleigh 1922. Volumes II-VI by H A Jones 1928-1937. Part of the series History of the Great War based on official documents. Volume I, Volume II (including Gallipoli), Volume III (inc East Africa), Volume IV, Volume V (inc Egypt/Palestine, Mesopotamia, Macedonia), Volume VI (inc Palestine, Mesopotamia, India) Archive.org. Includes Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).
• The U S Air Service in WWI Volume 1, with links to 3 other volumes. Archive.org
• Zeppelins and Super-Zeppelins [by R P Hearne] [1916] Archive.org

Zeppelins, the Past and Future by Edwin Campbell 1918 Archive.org

Zeppelins against London by Kenneth Poolman 1961. Archive.org Lending Library

Naval

• History of the Great War based on Official Documents: Naval Operations.Volumes I-III by Sir Julian Stafford Corbett, Volumes IV-V by Henry Newbolt. Published 1920-1931. Archive.org and Hathi Trust (Vol. V): Volume I, Volume II, includes Gallipoli. Volume III Includes Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Volume IV , includes Mesopotamia. Volume V. Naval-History.net has transcribed editions which additionally contain maps from a separate case for Volumes II and III.

History of the Great War based on Official Documents: The Merchant Navy by Archibald Hurd 1921-1929. Volume I, Volume II, Archive.org. Volume III is available as a transcribed edition on Naval-History.net

Books by E. Keble Chatterton, late Lieutenant-Commander RNVR : Q-Ships and their Story 1923 Archive.org. Q-ship Wikipedia. Q-Ships were armed ships, originally merchant ships, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. Danger Zone; the Story of the Queenstown Command 1934 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Seas of Adventures: the Story of the Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean [1914-1918] 1936 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also see Gallipoli and East Africa (First World War).

Pushing Water by Eric P Dawson, Lieutenant, RNVR. 1918 Archive.org. The Auxiliary Motor Boat Patrol, also known as the Mosquito Fleet.

Dover during the Dark Days by a "Dug-Out" (Lieut.-Commander Stanley W Coxon RNVR). With contributions by other officers of the Dover Patrol. 1919 Archive.org. A volume in the On Active Service Series.

• Britain's Sea Soldiers. A Record of the Royal Marines during the War 1914-1919. Compiled by General Sir H. E. Blumberg, Royal Marines 1927. Hathi Trust Digital Library.
• Indiscretions of the Naval Censor by Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas Brownrigg [1867-1939] 1920 Archive.org
• A Captive on a German Raider by F G Trayes 1918. Archive.org The author, who was retiring from Siam, was a passenger on a Japanese ship "Hitachi Maru" which was captured by the German "Wolf" on 26 September 1917, two days after leaving Colombo. For more about the "Wolf", see Royal Navy.

Memoirs

• From Private to Field-Marshal by Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson 1921 Archive.org. He held many senior positions during the War, including Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
• Experiences of a Dug-Out, 1914-1918, by Major General Sir C E Callwell 1920 Archive.org. The author was appointed to the high ranking role of Director of Military Operations (DMO) at the War Office at the outbreak of the war. [Dug-Out: a retired officer, recalled to employment].
• The First World War, 1914-1918: Personal Experiences of Lieut.-Col. C. à Court Repington 1920. [An autobiography]. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. Charles à Court Repington 1858-1925. Wikipedia. The author was a former British Army officer who was military correspondent for The Times 1904–1918, who had many influential contacts with officers in the Army's highest ranks.

Secret Service and Spies

• The Secret Corps : a Tale of "Intelligence" on all Fronts by Captain Ferdinand Tuohy 1920 Archive.org
• Secret Service by Major-General Sir George Aston, formerly of the Naval Intelligence Department and the Secretariat of the War Cabinet 1930 Archive.org
• The National Archives series KV1 The Security Service: First World War Historical Reports and Other Papers is available as a series of free downloads from the National Archives website, catalogue entry. This series contains the official history of the Security Service work during World War I. The duties of the Security Service were principally the control of aliens within and entering the UK, and counter-espionage within the UK and within the Empire.
• Detective & Secret Service Days by Edwin T Woodhall 1929. Pdf download, STOU Digital Repository Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. The 1937 edition was titled Detective and Secret Service Days. The author chronicles his experiences beginning briefly with his early days in 1906 in the London Metropolitan Police Force, and then on to when he subsequently became attached to the CID at Scotland Yard, the Special Political Department, the Secret Service Department and the Special Central Department
• The following book appears to have been published under three slightly different titles: Memoirs Of A British Agent; Memoirs of a British agent : being an account of the author's early life in many lands and of his official mission to Moscow in 1918; and British Agent, by R H Bruce Lockhart 1932. Two transcribed formats: gwpda.org and spyculture.com. Also pdf download Digital Library of India. R. H. Bruce Lockhart Wikipedia.
• My Secret Service: Vienna--Sophia--Constantinople--Nish--Belgrade--Asia Minor, etc by 'The Man Who Dined With the Kaiser' 1916. Archive.org. The author was in Constantinople when the evacuation of Gallipoli was announced. A press report of the time indicates the author was a special reporter representing the London Daily Mail, and speculates he was a Dutchman.
• Celebrated Spies and Famous Mysteries of the Great War by George Barton 1919 Archive.org
• German spies at bay, being an actual record of the German espionage in Great Britain during the years 1914-1918, comp. from official sources by Sidney Theodore Felstead.[1920] HathiTrust Digital Library.
• Also see the various Fronts mentioned above.

India and the Indian Army. The Empire.

• The Empire at War edited for the Royal Colonial Institute by Sir Charles Lucas, in five volumes, with a catalogue contents description. (Volume 1 British Library Digital file; Volume 4 Africa Google Books North America region only, A and B). Volume 5, 1926, covers WW1 The Mediterranean colonies ; Egypt and Palestine ; Aden ; India ; Ceylon ; Malaya ; China. Volume 5, British Library Digital file, Contents Also available as a pdf download from the Digital Library of India Vol-vth, Archive.org version.
  • The Empire at War Volume V Part IV: India by Sir Francis Younghusband Edited for the Royal Colonial Institute by Sir Charles Lucas 1926 Contents Archive.org
• Gazette of india and Calcutta Gazette - for editions published during the war period, see separate list.
• Turmoil and Tragedy in India, 1914 and After by Lieut.-General Sir George MacMunn 1935 is available on the Digital Library of India catalogued as Turmoil The Tragedy In India 1914. Pdf download. Archive.org version.
• The British Library digitised manuscripts include some India Office Records relating to the First World War. A search using the key word India, and adjustment of the dates will locate the documents , or the direct links include
  • IOR/L/MIL /17/5/2383 India’s Contribution to the Great War published by authority of the Government of India 1923. Contents. Also available as a pdf download, Digital Library of India, Archive.org version.
  • Also see the various campaign pages, mentioned below.
• Role Of Indian Army In The First World War by Shyam Narain Saxena 1987 is available as a pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• India and the First World War by ‪Budheswar Pati 1996‬ Google Books
• "Despatch: Brief review of the part played by India, including the Native States, in the prosecution of the war" by General Munro, Commander-in-Chief in India London Gazette Supplement 25 July 1919, Supplement 31476, pages 9537-9549.
• The Punjab And The War compiled by M S Leigh ICS 1922 Panjab Digital Library. This book may also be read as a pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
  • "Seven Years of War and the Salt Range" by ‘Punjab Captain’ page 454 Blackwood’s Magazine, no 210 July-Dec 1921. Archive.org. Many men in the Punjab were still absent in the Army overseas.
• Indias Services In The War by M BL Bhargava 1919 "Popular edition." Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• India's Services In The War. Printed by K D Seth at the Newul Kishore Press, Lucknow 1922.
  • Vol-i General, Archive.org version; Vol. 3, Archive.org version; Vol. 4 Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India, Archive.org version. Also available Volume III United Provinces, Volume IV Bengal, Bombay Pdf downloads from DSpace at West Bengal State Central Library. Alternative links for the latter: Vol. III, Vol. IV.
• Patiala and the Great War : a brief history of the services of the Premier Punjab State 1923. Link to a pdf download. Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• Speech by Lord Chelmsford, Governor General of India mentioning Anglo-Indian Force - Archive.org
• "Letter from Sir Charles Monroe, C-in-C in India, dated Simla, August 15, 1917" regarding conditions in India from The First World War, 1914-1918, Volume II, page 110 by Charles Repington 1920 Archive.org
• United Empire: The Royal Colonial Institute Journal Volume 6 New Series 1915 Archive.org
  • "The Indian Expeditionary Force" by HT Montague Bell. page 21. Includes a list of Officers killed and wounded.
  • "India and the War", by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Francis Younghusband, page 439
• Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt 1922 Achive.org, from page 210 describes the author’s service in India during the First World War, including his responsibility for the arrangements for all "enemy subjects" of military age in India, both civilians living in India and prisoners of war from East Africa, Mesopotamia Persia etc . Turkish prisoners were sent to Burma. Others including the Germans were placed in an interment camp at Ahmednagar, near Poona. For war actions in India, also see North West Frontier Campaigns.
• The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org Contents
• Despatches on military operations in the Indian Empire since the outbreak of war including Aden, Persia and the North West Frontier London Gazette Supplements.
  • To 9th March 1916 LGS 4 July 1916; To 31st March 1917 LGS 31 October 1917; To 31st May 1918 LGS 17 March 1919; To 30 April 1919 LGS 5 August 1920
• Compendium of the More Important Army Order 1919. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Full title: Compendium of the More Important Orders of the Government of India, Army Department and India Army Orders issued from the 1st August 1914, to the 31st December 1917

History series and periodical publications

• The Times History of the War. Illustrated. 22 Volumes including Index. Appears to be based on (but not a reprint of) the weekly publication by The Times, London from August 25, 1914 to July 27, 1920; Title varied: pts. 64-273, The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the War. Individual volumes include Contents, Index (at the end) and alphabetical Index of Illustrations (at the end). Vol 22: Index 1921. Vol 1: The Battlefield of Europe 1914. (This title appears to be the American edition); Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, Vol 5 all 1915; Vol 6, Vol 7, Vol 8, Vol 9 all 1916; Vol 10, Vol 11, Vol 12, Vol 13 all 1917; Vol 14, Vol 15, Vol 16, Vol 17 all 1918; Vol 18, Vol 19, Vol 20 all 1919; Vol 21 1920.
• Nelson’s History of the War by John Buchan Archive.org. Link to the 24 volumes in the series, published 1915-1919: Vol. 1, From the Beginning of the War to the Fall of Namur; Vol. 2, From the Battle of Mons to the German Retreat to the Aisne; Vol. 3, The Battle of the Aisne and the Events down to the Fall of Antwerp; Vol. 4, The Great Struggle in West Flanders; Vol. 5, The War of Attrition in the West; Vol. 6, The Campaign on the Niemen and the Narev; Vol. 7, From the Second Battle of Ypres to the Beginning of the Italian Campaign; Vol. 8, The Midsummer Campaigns, and the Battles on the Warsaw Salient; Vol. 9, The Italian War, the Campaign at Gallipoli; Vol. 10, The Russian Stand, and the Allied Offensive in the West; Vol. 11, The Struggle for the Dvina, and the Great Invasion of Serbia; Vol. 12, The Retreat from Bagdad, the Evacuation of Gallipoli, and the Derby Report; Vol. 13, The Position at Sea, the Fall of Erzerum, and the First Battle of Verdun; Vol. 14, From the Fall of Kut to the Second Battle of Verdun; Vol. 15, Brussilov’s Offensive and the Intervention of Rumania; Vol. 16, The Battle of the Somme; Vol. 17, From the Opening of the Rumanian Campaign to the Change of Government in Britain; Vol. 18, From the German Overtures for Peace to the American Declaration of War; 19, The Spring Campaigns of 1917; Vol. 20, The Summer Campaigns of 1917; Vol. 21, The Fourth Winter of War; Vol. 22, The Darkest Hour; Vol. 23, The Dawn; Vol. 24, Victory.

A revised, largely rewritten and condensed series was published in 1923 as A History of the Great War by John Buchan Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV Archive.org.

• The Illustrated War News, published weekly by the Illustrated London News
  • Volume 1, Nos 1-12. August 12- October 28, 1914 Archive.org. Number 15, Nov. 18, 1914, Number 21, Dec. 30, 1914 gutenberg.org. A compilation of issues from October, November and December of 1915. Link to a pdf download in 5 separate parts. Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library [USA].
  • New Series: Volume 1 from June 14th 1916, Volume 2 from Sept 6th 1916, Volume 3 from November 29th 1916, Volume 4 from Feb 21st, 1917, Volume 5 from May 16th, 1917, Volume 6 from August 8th 1917, Volume 7 from Oct 31st 1917, Volume 8 from Jan 23rd to April 10th 1918 Archive.org
  • Also available to search on illustratedfirstworldwar.com The entire 1914-19 archives of the Illustrated London News and the Great Eight Illustrated magazines collection. The Illustrated War News; The Illustrated London News; The Sphere; The Tatler; The Bystander; The Sketch; Sporting & Dramatic News.
  • The Illustrated War News is also available to search on findmypast, category "Newspapers & periodicals", and to browse or search on the British Newspaper Archive (both pay websites with the same content). The latter website contains the date range. The Tatler is similarly available from 1901.
• The War illustrated Album de Luxe: The Story of the Great European War told by Camera, Pen and Pencil edited by J A Hammerton, published 1915-1919 Archive.org. Vol.1 The First Phase; Vol.2 The Winter Campaign 1914-1915; Vol.3 The Spring Campaign-1915; Vol.4 The Summer Campaign -1915; Vol.5 The Second Winter Campaign -1915-1916; Vol.6 The Spring and Summer Campaign of 1916; Vol.7 The Autumn Campaign of 1916; Vol.8 Ending the First Three Years; Vol.9 The Fourth Year, 1917-18; Vol.10 The Last Phase

These volumes appear to have most, but not all, of the content of the weekly periodical The War Illustrated (greatwardifferent.com, archived) which in turn was republished in at least nine volumes, which however do not appear to be available online, except for The War Illustrated Weekly issue 12 August 1916, No.104, Vol.4. Archive.org.

• The Great War. The Standard History of the All-Europe Conflict: Volume 9 Edited by H. W. Wilson and J A Hammerton 1917. “Profusely illustrated” . Hathi Trust Digital Library. Volume 13 with General Index University of Hong Kong. A series of 13 volumes, most of which are available on Hathi Trust Digital Library, restricted to North America etc readers.
• Harper's Pictorial Library Of The World War 1920 Archive.org. Links to 12 volumes. The 12 titles are listed on the Volume 1 file.
• The Story of the Great War. Published by Collier and Son, New York in sixteen volumes. Scroll down to Contents outline. There is an associated eight volume series, (perhaps condensed to 80%, with fewer illustrations) with some editions titled The Story of the Great War. History of the European War from Official Sources. Complete Historical Record of Events to date. Edited by Francis J Reynolds and Allen L Churchill , published c 1916-1920.

Sixteen volume series, mostly Archive.org: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4 (includes The Dardanelles); Vol. 5; Vol. 6; Vol. 7; Vol. 8; Vol. 9 (includes Mesopotamia, East Africa); Vol. 10; Vol. 11; Vol. 12; Vol. 13, (includes Palestine); 14; 16 Hathi Trust Digital Library

Eight volume series Archive.org Vol.1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3 (includes the Dardanelles); Vol. 4 (includes Mesopotamia); Vol. 5 (includes Mesopotamia, East Africa); Vol. 6; Vol. 7 (includes Palestine and Mesopotamia); Vol. 8

• The Great War by George H Allen et al. 1915-1921. v. 1. Causes of and motives for.--v. 2. The mobilization of the moral and physical forces.--v. 3. The original German plan and its culmination.--v. 4. The wavering balance of forces. --v. 5. The triumph of democracy. First Volume, Index; Second Volume, Index; Third Volume, Index; Fourth Volume, Index; Fifth Volume, Index Archive.org
• The Great World War: A History. General Editor Frank A Mumby. Published 1915-1920. Archive.org

Volume I Contents To December 1914	Volume I Contents To April 1915	Volume III Contents To August 1915	Volume IV Contents To December 1915	Volume V Contents To May 1916
Volume VI 1917 Contents To February 1917	Volume VII 1919 Contents To February 1918	Volume VIII Contents To November 1918	Volume IX1920 Contents Index- All Volumes

• The Times Documentary History of the War published 1917-1920 Archive.org

Volume I Diplomatic-Part 1	Volume II Diplomatic-Part 2 Index Vols I, II	Volume III Naval- Part 1 Index	Volume IV Naval-Part 2 Index
Volume V Military- Part 1 Index	Volume VI Overseas-Part 1 Index	Volume VII Naval-Part 3 Index	Volume VIII Military- Part 2 Index
Volume IX Diplomatic-Part 3 Index	Volume X Overseas-Part 2 Index	Volume XI Naval-Part 4 Index

• Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times. Initial volumes also had the title The European War. A similar series issued quarterly (same content) included the title European War for all quarterly volumes up to Volume XX to October 1920. Archive.org

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

• Source Records of the Great War, edited by Charles F Horne 1923. Archive.org. Also published in a later edition as The Great Events of the Great War. Seven volumes: The Causes, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1918-1919
• Official German Documents relating to the World War, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1923. Volume I, Volume II Pdf downloads, Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune].
• Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, Supplement, The World War, a publication of the US Department of State, is available for the following years (scroll down): 1914; 1915; 1916; 1917, Supplement 1, Supplement 2, the latter Volumes I and II (total 3 Volumes for 1917); 1918, Supplement 1 (Volumes I and II), Supplement 2 (total 3 Volumes for 1918) digicoll.library.wisc.edu.

A text version, which is searchable, is available on the US Department of State: Office of the Historian website, currently (April 2016) for 1914, 1915 and 1916 only, but the intention is to include all editions.

Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. The Lansing papers, 1914–1920 (in two volumes): United States Government Printing Office Washington 1939 and 1940. Transcribed, searchable editions from Office of the Historian: Volume I, Volume II. Digitised editions: Volume I, Volume II digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Robert Lansing was a lawyer, diplomat, Secretary of State during the Wilson Administration, and member of the American mission to negotiate a peace treaty following World War I.

• Blackwood’s Magazine, sometimes shortened to Maga. (Earlier editions were titled Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine) Archive.org. Contains many war related articles.

Vol. 197, 1915:1, Vol. 198, 1915:2, Vol. 199, 1916:1, Vol. 200, 1916:2, Vol. 201, 1917:1, Vol. 202, 1917:2, Vol. 203, 1918:1, Vol. 204, 1918:2, Vol. 205, 1919:1, Vol. 206, 1919:2, Vol. 207, 1920:1, Vol. 209, 1921:1, Vol. 210, 1921:2, Vol. 211, 1922:1, Vol. 212, 1922:2. For those in North America etc, Hathi Trust Digital Library and Google Books Vol. 196 and Vol. 208

• The World's Work. A History of Our Time. Published by Doubleday, New York. An Illustrated monthly publication. Vol. 28, May-Oct 1914, Vol. 29, Nov 1914 to April 1915, Vol. 30, May-Oct 1915, Vol. 31, Nov 1915-April 1916, Vol. 32, May- Oct 1916, Vol. 33, Nov 1916-April 1917, Vol. 34, May-Oct 1917, Vol. 35, Nov 1917- April 1918, Vol. 36, May-Oct 1918, Vol. 37, Nov 1918-April 1919 Archive.org. Editions for other periods are also available on Archive.org.
• The Quarterly Review Volume 223 , consisting of Nos.442 and 443, published January and April 1915 in London by John Murray. Includes articles on the war , particularly in No.443. Archive.org. Hathi Trust Digital Library editions accessible by those in North America etc.

Those who died

• The Bond of Sacrifice: a Biographical Record of all British Officers who fell in the Great War. Volume I: August-December 1914 edited by Colonel L A Clutterbuck, and Commander W T Dooner Archive.org. (Only two volumes were published, Volume 2 covered the first six months of 1915 and is available in some areas such as North America on the Hathi Trust Digital Library). Both volumes are available on findmypast (pay website).
• Officers died in the Great War, 1914-1919. London : His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1919. Also available on findmypast and Ancestry (pay websites). British Library digital file.
• The Roll of Honour. A biographical record of all members of His Majesty's naval and military forces who have fallen in the war by the Marquis De Ruvigny. Volume I, Volume III. Archive.org. Originally published in five volumes, the majority of the biographies relate to deaths in the early years of the war. Families needed to pay to be included, so entries reflect wealthier service personnel. All volumes are available on the pay websites Ancestry and findmypast.

Volunteers

• For Dauntless France: An Account of Britain's Aid to the French Wounded and Victims of the War. Compiled for the British Red Cross Societies and the British Committee of the French Red Cross by Lawrence Binyon [1918] Archive.org. Includes a List of British Subjects who went abroad on Red Cross and kindred war-work for the French up to December 31, 1917.
• War Pictures Behind the Lines by Ian Malcolm M P. 2nd edition, 1915. Archive.org. The author was involved in Red Cross work.
• At the War by Lord Northcliffe 1917 Archive.org. Published for the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross
• Summary of World War Work of the American Y M C A; with the Soldiers and Sailors of America at home, on the sea, and overseas; with the men of the Allied Armies and with the Prisoners of War in all parts of the world 1920. Archive.org. Includes Honour Roll. Pages 89-90 include mention of the Indian YMCA working overseas in Mesopotamia, East Africa, Palestine.

Prisoners of War

• Prisoners of War by Tighe Hopkins 1914 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Search Hathi Trust for other digitised books on this topic.
• The Prisoners of War Information Bureau in London: a Study by Ronald F. Roxburgh 1915 Archive.org.
• Prisoners of War by Herbert C. Fooks 1924. Link to pdf downloads in six parts. Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library [USA].
• My Escape from Donington Hall : preceded by an Account of the Siege of Kiao-Chow in 1915 by Kapitanleutnant Gunther Plüschow of the German Air Service. Translated by Pauline de Chary. 1922 Archive.org. Escape of a German officer from an English POW Camp.
• Books on Prisoners of War from Archive.org. Alternative link for Prisoners of War titled books on Archive.org. Select your own filters.

Miscellaneous

• The Military Service Act : fully and clearly explained by Philip Snowden. 1916? British Library Digital file.
• War Pensions and Allowances by J. M. Hogge and T. H. Garside 1918 Archive.org
• The London Censorship 1914-1919 by members of the staff past and present. Great Britain. Postal Censor's Department. [London, 1920] , British Library Digital Collection.
• Digger Dialects : a Collection of Slang Phrases used by the Australian Soldiers on Active Service by W.H. Downing, late 57th Battalion, AIF. [1919]. State Library of Victoria. Some of the words were probably also used by British and other soldiers.
• The Horse and the War by Captain Sidney Galtrey. Illustrated from drawings by Captain Lionel Edwards and from photographs. 1918 Archive.org
• Disenchantment by C E Montague 1922 Archive.org. Originally a series of articles which had appeared in the Manchester Guardian over the previous two years. Charles Edward Montague Wikipedia.
• Falsehood In War-time by Arthur Ponsonby MP (Lord Ponsonby). Tenth Impression 1940, first published 1928. Archive.org. Full title: Falsehood in War-time: Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War.
• Subject Index of the books relating to the European War, 1914-1918, acquired by the British Museum, 1914-1920 1922 Archive.org

A Check List of the Literature and Other Material in the Library of Congress on the European War by Herman H B Meyer 1919 Archive.org

• The Child's ABC of the War by Geoffrey Whitworth with Pictures by Stanley North 1914. Florida State University Digital Library.
• Digital Archive of Documents Related to Knitting contains the following books as pdfs. Scroll down. Knitting and Sewing. How to Make Seventy Useful Articles for Men in the Army and Navy by Maud Churchill Nicoll. 1918, 209 pages and Khaki Knitting Book by Olive Whiting 1917, 58 pages. University of Arizona On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics. Khaki Knitting Book Archive.org version. The Priscilla War Work Book, including directions for knitted garments and comfort kits from the American Red Cross, and knitted garments for the Boy Scout 1917 Archive.org.
• The subscription website UK Parliamentary Papers includes many Papers and Reports in respect of the First World War. See Subscription websites-online newspapers, journals and directories for details and suggested access. Your Library needs to have subscribed for the module for this period. Included are War Cabinet Reports. Also General Annual Reports on the British Army (including the territorial force from the date of embodiment) for the period from 1st October, 1913, to 30th September, 1919. Command Papers/ Accounts and Papers/ Session: 1921/Paper Number: Cmd. 1193. (Acronym sometimes used is GARBA)

Fiction

• Spy thrillers by John Buchan featuring lead character Richard Hannay, set immediately prior, or during WW1.

The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. First published 1915. Archive.org. Librivox Audio Archive.org. Wikipedia details of the book.

Greenmantle by John Buchan 1916 Archive.org. Librivox Audio, catalogued Version 2. (Other files are available). Archive.org. Wikipedia

Mr. Standfast 1919 Archive.org. Librivox Audio Archive.org. Wikipedia.