Royal Tank Corps

Armoured Motor Batteries and Armoured Motor Brigades of the Machine Gun Corps

Armoured Car Companies and Light Tank Companies of the Royal Tanks Corps

In 1920, twelve Armoured Car Companies were set up as part of the Tank Corps, absorbing units from the Machine Gun Corps; eight were later converted into independent Light Tank Companies. All disbanded before the outbreak of the Second World War.

By 1936 most armoured cars in service in India had been replaced by light tanks and the cars were distributed to volunteer forces in India and neighbouring countries.

Armoured Motor Batteries and Armoured Motor Brigades MGC 1915-1921

"Armoured Motor Units began to form in Spring of 1915 utilising vehicles donated by rich Indians and Europeans. This was overseen by Colonel Lord Montagu (Inspector of Motor Vehicles, India and later Brigadier General, Advisor on Mechanical Transport Services, India). Only No 1 AMU had reliable vehicles - three Rolls Royces which, like the other cars were armour-plated by Indian Railway Workshops, and this unit acted as a Brigade HQ for Nos 1, 2 & 3 AMUs. Most of the other vehicles were unsuitable and it was not until 1918 that improved cars were made available.

The Units were re-designated Armoured Motor Batteries in 1917 and during this period, British and Indian crews were gradually replaced by MGC personnel. The British crews had originally been provided by Territorials from garrisons in India. By 1919, Nos 2 & 3 Armoured Motor Brigades were formed from Nos 4 - 12 AMBs, whilst Nos 13 - 16 AMBs remained un-brigaded. At the commencement of the 3rd Afghan War, No 1 Armoured Motor Brigade was reorganised into five Regular and three Auxiliary AMBs which served in the Khyber and Chitral areas. HQ No 10 Armoured Motor Brigade, formed in the UK, commanded Nos 5, 6, 7 & 16 AMBs and operated in Waziristan and Mahsud".

The following War Diaries are available at the National Archives, Kew

• North West Frontier Force
  • WO 95/5392: 1919 May - 1920 Feb: Lines of Communication Defence: 1 Armoured Motor Brigade: Headquarters
  • WO 95/5392: 1919 May - July: Kohat-Kurram Force: Force Troops: 4 Armoured Motor Battery
• Waziristan Force
  • WO 95/5399 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps
  • WO 95/5399: 1919 June - 1921 Feb: 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps: Headquarters
  • WO 95/5399: 1919 Aug. - 1921 Aug: 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps: 5 Armoured Motor Battery
  • WO 95/5399: 1919 July - 1921 Sept: 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps: 7 Armoured Motor Battery
  • WO 95/5399: 1920 Aug. - 1921 Oct: 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps: 16 Armoured Motor Battery
  • WO 95/5399: 1921 Nov. - 1922 Feb: 10 Armoured Motor Brigade Machine Gun Corps: Brigade Armoured Car Company

7th Armoured Motor Battery, MGC A member of the 7th Armoured Motor Battery, MGC gained the Indian General Service Medal with clasp Waziristan 1919-21 Pte A N Showell MGC. charliesmedals.co.uk. He is also mentioned in this link from Artfact, quoting details from a Spink and Sons sale in 2007. "7 Armoured Motor Battery was formed Dera Ismail Khan in July 1915 with Indian crews and served in India with Derajat Brigade. Took part in operation on the North West Frontier with 10 Armoured Motor Brigade during the Third Afghan War. Their cars were transferred to 10 Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps in October 1921".

External links

• Machine Gun Corps Wikipedia
• From Jose Luis Castillo‘s blog "Armoured Cars in the WWI"
  • Jeffery-Russell Armoured Cars of the 7th Armoured Motor Battery (AMB). Waziristan, ca. 1920
    • Advises that on transfer to the 10th Armoured Car Co in 1921
      • 5th AMB: 3 x Jeffery-Russell
      • 7th AMB: 4 x Jeffery-Russell
      • 13th AMB: 3 x Wolseley 12/16
      • 15th AMB: 3 x Cadillac ???
      • 16th AMB: 3 x Wolseley 24/30
    • Distribution of Troops in Waziristan on 6th May 1919.
      • Bannu. Nos. 5 & 6 Armoured Motor Batteries
      • Dera Ismail Khan. No. 7 Armoured Motor Battery.
    • Troops Comprising Waziristan Force, 1919-20.
      • Headquarters:Dera Ismail Khan (later in Tank) Machine Gun Corps: Nos. 6 and 7 Armoured Motor Batteries.
  • Standard Armoured Car 'Indian Pattern', 10 AMB (10th Armoured Motor Battery) Ferozepore, Punjab, India 1915
  • Napier Armoured Car 'Indian Pattern', 10 AMB (10th Armoured Motor Battery) Ferozepore, Punjab, India 1915.
  • Straker-Squire Armoured Cars 'Indian Pattern', 11th AMB. 1915, Ambala, India.
  • Cadillac Armoured Car 'Indian Pattern', Calcutta, India, 1916 15th Armoured Motor Battery (15 AMB) formed by three Cadillac Armoured Cars (type closed roof) Calcutta 1915 Rebuilt in 1916 by the East Indian Railway Workshops at Lilooah, near Calcutta. Was called Noah’s Ark by the special form of the roof (closed and high), designed for street fighting.
  • Fiat Armoured Car ‘Indian Pattern’. North-West Frontier, c. 1918 from Jose Luis Castillo‘s blog "Armoured Cars in the WWI"
• Rootsweb Great War Forum post includes a reference to the book Machine Guns, their History and Tactical Employment (being also a History of the Machine Gun Corps, 1916-1922) by Graham Seton Hutchison; published Macmillan, London in 1938. Available at the British Library
• Photograph: A motor cycle machine gun team, c 1919 North West Frontier National Army Museum. "Two Motor Machine Gun Batteries, numbers 19 and 22, served during the 3rd Afghan War (1919) and the revolt in Waziristan (1919-1920). They were equipped with Matchless, Premier, Zenith, Enfield and Clyno motorcycles, many of which were fitted with Vickers machine-guns mounted on sidecars. Both units also had armoured car sections".

Royal Tank Corps

Service in India

This link is from the medal dealer DNW and lists various medals for sale in 2004 awarded to members of the Tank Corps. Generally details of the Company are not given. Note these are the medals from one collection, so the list is not exhaustive

• India General Service 1908-35 with clasps
  • Malabar 1921-22 this was awarded for the Moplah Uprising and the 8th Armoured Car Company was involved
  • Waziristan 1921-24
  • North West Frontier 1930-31
  • Mohmand 1933
  • North West Frontier 1935
• India General Service 1936-39 with clasps
  • North West Frontier 1936-37
  • North West Frontier 1937-39

1st Armoured Car Company

• The 1st Armoured Car Co. equipped with Rolls Royce cars was sent to Iraq in March 1920 to help put down a rebellion
• This Great War Forum post indicates that 6 LAMB became part of the 1st Armoured Car Co. of the Tank Corps at the end of 1920. 6 LAMB had a Rolls-Royce armoured car called Cleopatra in 1920. Others were called Harvester, Avenger and Chatham. This comes from the unit war diary of the time, which is found under WO 95/5206 at Kew. 6 LAMB were under 17th Indian Division at the time and was based at Ramadi, Iraq.
• The 1st Armoured Car Co. had arrived in India by 1925
• Private Harold Bryant’s gravestone at Peshawar reads: "Private Harold Bryant. 1st Armoured Car Company. Royal Tank Corps. Killed 23rd April 1930. Aged 25 years. Erected by the officers, NCOs and men of the 1st Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps." He was a despatch rider who was knocked from his machine during a riot situation in Peshawar, had a petrol soaked carpet thrown over him and was burnt alive.
  • Photographs from the National Army Museum:
    • Riots in Peshawar, 1930 A despatch rider was killed and set on fire, (refer above), his body igniting the armoured car seen burning in this photograph.
    • Troops and armoured car during 1930 riots
• A member of the 1st Armoured Car Company gained the India General Service Medal with clasp North West Frontier 1930-31 Pte P J Goodard R Tank C charliesmedals.co.uk
• C 1933, the 1st Armoured Car Co. was at Cawnpore and Calcutta. .
• The 1st Light Tank Co took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937.
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed

2nd Armoured Car Company

• The 2nd Armoured Car Co. equipped with Rolls Royce cars was sent to Iraq in March 1920 to help put down a rebellion and had arrived in India by 1925
• C 1933, the 2nd Light Tank Co. was at Peshawar.
• Photograph 7th May 1934: An officer of the 2nd Light Tank Company on patrol near the Khyber Pass in Afridi tribal territory. In the background is the Safed Koh range of mountains with the entrance to the pass itself. Getty Images
• Page 6 of this link has a photograph captioned: Light Tank Mk IIB Indian Pattern of the 2nd Light Tank Company RTC, crossing the Nahakki Pass by mule track, Mohmand Operations, North West Frontier, September 1935
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed
• 2nd Armoured Car Company Royal Tank Corps Badge cultmancollectables.com

6th Armoured Car Company

• A forum post stated "My grandfather served in the Tank Corps until his demob in 1922. He was last posted to 6 Armoured Car Company, Bareilly, India." In response "6th Armoured Car Coy was formed in Baghdad in 1921 from spare personnel of 1st & 2nd Armd Car Coys (themselves ex-4th Bn Tank Corps). They took over the Austin armoured cars and personnel of 7th Light Armoured Motor Battery, Machine Gun Corps until they got new Rolls-Royces. At the end of 1921 the 6th went to India to join the 7th-11th Coys", quoting Liddell-Hart's The Tanks Vol.1
• C 1933, the 6th Armoured Car Co. was at Peshawar (for Razmak).
• The 6th Light Tank Co. took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed

7th Armoured Car Company

• This Great War Forum post indicates the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car "Silver Snipe" served during the 1920s in India as part of the 7th Armoured Car Co.
• The 7th Armoured Car Co Tank Corps arrived in India in February 1921 with Rolls Royce Cars. They went to Peshawar and then to the Frontier. They formed protection picquets. In 1922 a section was sent to Malakand to assist the Chitral Relief Column and in May 1924 to Kohat for the Ellis murders. Pte P Donegan R Tank Corps was awarded the Indian General Service Medal with clasp Wazaristan 1921-24 charliesmedals.co.uk
• Photograph:7th Armoured Car Co. in Peshawar, late 1920s/early 1930s
• C 1933, the 7th Light Tank Co. was at Quetta.
• In 1935 the 7th Light Tank Co. in Quetta was called out to patrol the streets after an earthquake to prevent looting. They also used their vehicles to pull down the damaged buildings.
• The 7th Light Tank Co. took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed

8th Armoured Car Company

• Captain George Archibald Rosser served in Malabar, in command of No 8 Armoured Car Co., later transferring to No 9 Armoured Car Unit, then serving in the Waziristan Campaign
• Page 108 The Mapilla Rebellion 1921-1922 Printed by the Superintendent Government Press Madras 1922 Archive.org, mentions the 8th Armoured Car Co. in the Moplah Uprising or Malabar Rebellion.
• The 8th Armoured Car Co. was in Kirkee in 1926, with commanding officer Lieut Colonel Charles Arthur Bolton
• This link refers to photographs taken by Private H J Dibble No 2 section 8th Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps taken in India from October 1925 to January 1930.
• William (Bill) Marsden 1911-1969 entered military service on 12th Sept 1930, enlisting in the Royal Tank Corps as a regular soldier. He spent four years in India on the North-West Frontier, whilst attached to No 2 Section, 8th Armoured Car Company.
• Download a 1976 Interview with Nigel William Duncan Reel 7 Aspects of period as officer with 8th Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps in India, 1931-1932: posting to unit in Dehli, 1931; crowd control duties including electrification of armoured cars; crowd control duties at Chandi Chowk; question of suitability of armoured cars for policing role; health problems in India; character of Crossley Armoured Car. Imperial War Museum

Note: No. 2 Section 8th Armoured Car Company may have operated independently, as it appears it was on the North West Frontier in 1931, not in Delhi.

• Photographs North-West Frontier Province, 1930s The photographer was probably a member of the 8th Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps. From “Andrew M Brownhill"
• C 1933 , the 8th Armoured Car Co. was at Delhi (for Peshawar).
• The 8th Light Tank Co. took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1937 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed after its action in Waziristan

9th Armoured Car Company

• The 9th Armoured Car Company arrived in India in April 1921, with the 10th ACC.
• C 1933, the 9th Armoured Car Co. was at Razmak (for Delhi).
• The 9th Light Tank Co. took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937
• This link, (dnw.co.uk) concerning the medals of Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant E. L. Parkin contains an image of a certificate for “Devotion to duty” awarded to L/Corpl E L Parkin 9th Light Tank Company during Waziristan Operations 1936-37 (Final Phase)
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed

10th Armoured Car Company

• The 10th ACC arrived in India with the 9th ACC in April 1921. They proceeded to Bareilly for training with Ford Box bodies. At the end of 1921 they went up to NW Frontier and there absorbed the 5th, 7th & 16th Armoured Motor Batteries now all called the 10th Armoured Motor Brigade they were armed with Jeffrey Quads.

They all operated on both the Takki Zam line and in the Tochi Valley and were active daily patrols. Two noteworthy events happened.

1) March 1922 at Idak a pigeon carried by the cars reported an ambush, flying five miles in five mins.

Later in year the Company was in action against a raiding party at Hinnis Tangai Ridge.

In July 1923 six cars moved 140 miles in 17 1/12 hours taking part in the surrounding of the Hisa Mahal Nabha State. The Maharaja received an ultimatum and soon afterwards was dethroned. Colonel K Wigram congratulated the cars on their performance.

Pte P C Chalmers R Tank Corps was awarded the Indian General Service Medal with clasp Wazaristan 1921-24 charliesmedals.co.uk

• Grave at Quetta - "In memory of No. 7878958 Private P.C. Griffiths. 10th Armoured Car Company. Royal Tank Corps who died at Quetta 15 June 1930."
• C 1933, the 10th Armoured Car Co. was at Kirkee.
• Obituary of Captain Frank Naughton, GC who as a private in the 10th Light Tank Company, based at Kirkee, saved a colleague from drowning August 5 1936 and was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal. The Telegraph 22 Jun 2004 There is a photo of him in this link
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1937 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed.

11th Armoured Car Company

• C 1933, the 11th Armoured Car Co. was at Lahore.
• The 11th Light Tank Co. took part in operations in Waziristan during 1937
• The 11th Light Tank Co. was part of the Razmak Brigade in Waziristan in 1939
• The Company does not appear on a listing for 1939 indicating it had been disbanded and/or absorbed later in the year.

Regimental journal

The Tank Corps Journal, first publishe 1919-1920. The title changed in 1923 to The Royal Tank Corps Journal. The National Army Museum catalogue lists volumes from No 1 1919–1920 to No 15 1933-1934 (missing No 11-12) .

This link says several articles on the campaigns in Waziristan 1921-24 were published in the Tank Corps Journal in the early 1920s

Jeffrey Armoured Cars

• Jeffery armored car Wikipedia
• 1915 Jeffery-Quad Armored Car No. 1 (warwheels.net) advises a number were purchased by the British for use in India in 1916
• Jeffery quad armoured car (irishmilitaryonline) indicates: twenty sent to India originated in an order originally made for Canadian troops in 1915. However only sixteen arriving in India after four had been lost along with most of the spare parts when the cargo ship SS Shirala was torpedo by a German U boat U-57 on the 2nd of July 1918. Fifteen of the Indian Jeffery’s can be accounted for, serving with the A.M.B (armoured motor batteries) 4th 5th 7th 8th & 10th three Jeffery’s in each A.M.B during the 3rd Afghan War February to August of 1919. Further cars from the Canadian order may have been sent to India after use in Ireland in the early 1920s
• Jeffery-Russell Armoured Car. India, ca.1919from Jose Luis Castillo‘s blog "Armoured Cars in the WWI"
• Photograph: Jeffery Quad armoured cars on reconnaissance in Waziristan, 1920 National Army Museum

Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars

• Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars Wikipedia
• Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars rrec.org.uk
  • Scroll down to "Memories of times spent as a young Lance Corporal (fitter) in a Rolls-Royce armoured car company in India 1929-36" by J R Chapman
• Rolls-Royce Indian Pattern 9th Armoured Car Co. RTC c 1925 Description page 32, with illustration on page 33 from The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car by David Fletcher Preview Google Books
• Photograph: 1920 Pattern Rolls Royce armoured cars of 5th Armoured Car Co. RTC in Shanghai during the late 1920s WW2 Talk, originally from the Tank Museum’s Facebook feed. The 5th Armoured Car Co. does not appear to have served in India.

Crossley Armoured Cars

After the First World War, the British Army in India had a requirement for Armoured Cars for areas such as the North West frontier. A delegation was despatched to Britain to see what was on offer and particularly to look at the offerings from Rolls-Royce as their wartime models had performed well. As well as being expensive they surprisingly were unable to get over the gradient test on the cross country trial. There was also at the trials a 1 1/2 ton Crossley based on the chassis that had been intended for a Russian contract that came to nothing because of the Revolution. This was the chassis that was under consideration as a medium truck for India and eventually became the IGL1. It sailed through the trials. An order for 32 followed with bodies by Vickers and these were designated IGA1 by Crossley. These were delivered in 1923 and a further order followed. Total deliveries were about 450. All of these vehicles were fitted with solid tyres presumably to remove the risk of punctures but these were never very successful when used off road as their narrow profile inevitably led to the vehicle sinking up to its axles.

Crossley armoured cars did not prove popular with their crews who found them underpowered and underbraked due to the weight of the armoured body. Brakes were fitted to the rear wheels only which made handling these cars on the mountainous roads of the North-West Frontier of India a tricky business.

• Crossley Military Vehicles after WW1 crossley-motors.org.uk
• Crossley Indian Pattern Armored Car warwheels.net
  • One of the references quoted is "Crossley Armoured Cars: Inter-War Years" December 2007 issue of Military Machines International Magazine. This issue may be bought online from the publisher
• Crossley-Chevrolet M1939 Indian Pattern Armored Car warwheels.net
• Photograph:1930s Crossley India Pattern Armoured Car on the North West Frontier flickr.com
• Two photographs taken by Sergeant Harry Ewin with the Royal Artillery in India during the early 1930s. Imperial War Museum
  • Scenes with a marching column on the North West Frontier of India: Crossley (India pattern) armoured cars and crews parked-up during the march. All crewmen are wearing Royal Tank Corps issue overalls
  • Scenes with a marching column on the North West Frontier of India: Crossley (India pattern) armoured car and crew parked-up during the march.
• Photograph: Crossley-Chevrolet Armoured Car flickr.com

External links

• Royal Tank Regiment Wikipedia
• The Royal Tank Regiment 1916–1998 army.mod.uk
• The Tank Museum at Bovington Dorset
  • Archive and Reference Library
• The Royal Tank Regiment Association

Photographs

• Photographs North-West Frontier Province, 1930s The photographer was probably a member of the 8th Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps. From “Andrew M Brownhill"
• Photographs of Royal Tank Corps armoured cars in India 1920s, from ‘through their eyes' photostream flickr.com
• Photograph of Crew 1, tagged India 1930s flickr.com, Photograph of Crew 2, tagged India 1930s flickr.com
• Photograph of 7th Armoured Car Company in Peshawar, late 1920s/early 1930s from The History of the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiments:1918-1939
• Light Tank Mark II flickr.com
• Photograph of Tank Light Mk IIA flickr.com A comment under the photograph advises this type of tank was in service in the 1930s on the North West Frontier of India .
• Photograph of Light Tank Mark IVA Indian Pattern The description says "This tank was only used in India so was probably at Ahmednagar, in the mid 1930s"
• Light Tanks, Lahore New Years Day 1936 flickr.com
• The following photographs were possibly taken during the Waziristan Campaign 1936-37
  • Christmas Day scene with the Royal Tank Corps at Khaisora Camp, North West Frontier 1930's (hmvf.co.uk/forum) Includes 2 other photographs. All three are also available on flickr.com, some with additional comments
  • Christmas Day celebrations at Khaisora Camp. "Note the determined look on Howells & Lewellyn's faces as they open the bottle. None of them remember me taking this". flickr.com
  • The night before the Coy. moved into Khaisora Camp. Most of the lads were fed-up! flickr.com
  • British Army Khaisora Camp- North West Frontier - 1930s Includes Tank Corps personnel. flickr.com
  • A Vickers Light Tank Mk 11A - Royal Tank Corps - North West Frontier - 1930s shown crossing a river flickr.com