Calcutta and Presidency Battalion
The Calcutta and Presidency Battalion were an auxiliary regiment formerly known as the Calcutta Volunteer Rifles.
Chronology
Calcutta Battalion
- 1863 raised as the Calcutta Volunteer Rifle Corps on the 3rd February[1]
- 1898 reconstituted 1st Battalion, Calcutta Volunteer Rifles, 24th March[2]
- 1917 became 5th Calcutta Battalion, 1st April[2]
- 1920 became the Calcutta Battalion, 1st October[2]
- 1926 amalgamated with the Presidency Battalion to become the Calcutta and Presidency Battalion, 23rd July[2]
Presidency Battalion
- 1888 raised as the Presidency Volunteer Reserve Battalion, 30th March[2]
- 1891 became the Presidency Volunteer Rifle Battalion
- 1898 became Presidency Battalion, Calcutta Rifle Volunteers, 24th March[2][1]
- 1901 redesignated 2nd (Presidency) Battalion, Calcutta Volunteer Rifles by GGO No.868 of 1901[1]
- 1917 became 37th Calcutta Presidency Battalion[2]
- 1920 became the Calcutta Presidency Battalion, 1st October
- 1926 amalgamated with the Calcutta Battalion to become the Calcutta and Presidency Battalion, 23rd July
Cadet Battalion
- 1863 raised as the cadet battalion of the Calcutta Volunteer Rifle Corps on the 3rd February[1]
- 1901 redesignated 3rd (Cadet) Battalion, Calcutta Volunteer Rifles by GGO No.868 of 1901[1]
Details
Headquarters - Calcutta, for all three battalions
Uniform
In 1901:[1]
- 1st Battalion - Khaki
- 2nd and 3rd Battalions - Khaki drill
By 1940:[2]
- Uniform - Khaki
- Facings - White
- Badge - Arms of Calcutta surmounted on crossed rifles
- Motto - Per Ardua Stabilis Esto
External links
- India-British-Raj post by Chris Wood about the Calcutta Volunteer Rifles.
- 2nd. Batt. Calcutta V.R. Motor Cycle Machine Gun Detachment (1913):
- 35 Europeans with (15) motor cycles including 'Triumph' 3½h.p, 'Indian' 1912 V-Twin and an American 'Rambler', plus 4 motor cars, with .303 Maxim machine guns, personal arms being the Mk III Short Rifle. Designed as a mobile detachment. "Details from the Journal of the Institute of Military Historical Research"
- 23rd July 1925 consisting of 4 Infantry companies, 1 Armoured Car Section, 2 Light Motor Patrols, 1 Motor Cyclist Platoon
- Photograph[3] of Rolls Royce Silver Ghost armoured cars of the Calcutta Presidency Battalion Auxiliary Force that assisted the Calcutta Police in 1919 for over 2 months in curbing the disturbances that occurred then. Seen outside the battalion garage.
- Battle By Accident: The Battle For Longido Mountain, 3 - 4 November 1914 [East Africa] by Dennis L. Bishop and Holger Dobold. Contains a brief reference to “a section of the Calcutta Volunteer Maxim Battery (2 machineguns)”
Notes