Stations of British Army troops in India
Sources for locating the stations of British Army regiments, battalions or batteries in India.
See also:
Army stations are frequently listed in directories and publications such as The Army and Navy Gazette, the United Service Magazine and even some newspapers. These may be consulted online where available, refer Military periodicals online, or in national libraries. This article details some online sources that may provide significant shortcuts when it comes to finding regiments.
Nafziger Collection documents
The following table links to pdf documents from The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle which are derived from sources such as The Army and Navy Gazette.
Please note that some years do not contain information relating to the Royal Artillery.
Although there does not appear to be any information relating to British troops in India after 1904 on the Nafziger Collection website, there is information available prior to 1862. Use search terms such as "stations india YYYY" (where YYYY equals a year). Disregard the Search box which does not appear to be functioning and instead click on the wording Finding Aid (pdf format) which appears, initially hidden , in the wording "Download the collection's Finding Aid (pdf format) to view a complete list of titles available for searching". This pdf file is searchable and will provide a URL for your search term, which you can then copy and paste in your browser.
Afghanistan 1878-1882
- Regiments, Battalions, Batteries, &c Serving in Afghanistan, 1878 -1881
- Distribution of the South Afghanistan Field Force, 14 January 1879
- Strength and Distribution of the Southern Afghanistan Field Force 16 May 1879
- 2nd (Khyber) Division North Afghanistan Field Force, September 1879
- Troops Warned for Movement to Afghanistan, 14 December 1879
- Strength of the Kabul Field Force 31 December 1879
- British Troops in the Kurram District, Afghanistan, April 1880
- British Garrisons in Afghanistan, 30 June 1880
- Distribution of Troops on Line of Communication in Afghanistan 30 June 1880
- British Forces in Afghanistan, 10th August 1880
- British Forces in Southern Afghanistan Assigned to the Relief of Kandahar 17 August 1880
- British Forces in Southern Afghanistan, 24 August 1880
- Stations of 1st & 2nd Divisions of the Southern Afghanistan Field Force 30 October 1880
- British Garrisons in Afghanistan, 31 March 1882
- Distribution of Troops on Line of Communications in Afghanistan 31 March 1882
1911 England and Wales Census
This National Archives catalogue entry shows the regiments in India which were included in the 1911 Census. The items (17 in total) are RG 14/34978-34992, 34995, 34997. It appears that there were additional regiments in India at the time which are not included in the list, so the census is not complete for British Army regiments, or British Army personnel in India. Search the 1911 census data, free to search, but a pay site to view data.
Other sources
- Indian portion of In Search of Forlorn Hope by John M Kitzmiller - lists the location/year of all British regiments that served in India and related regions. Locations given can be quite general.
- Location of British Army Infantry and Cavalry Regiments 1878-1891 Remembering The Past. There are references to Regiments in India
- The British Army 1902 by Graham E.Watson from Orbat.com html version, original pdf version Select pages 6 and 7 of the document for India.