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→Indians in the British Army
===Indians in the British Army===
There were a limited number of Indians who were part of the British Army. There Prior to 1924, there were Indian soldiers serving in the Royal Artillery as drivers, and native gunners in ammunition columns serving as wagon-men. <ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/armiesofindia00macmuoft#page/182/mode/1up Page 182] ''The Armies of India'' described by Major G F MacMunn (Painted by Major Lovett) 1911 Archive.org</ref> During the [[First World War]], there are Medal Index Card references to Lascars in the Inland Water TransportRoyal Artillery, this rank was also known as a [[Gun Lascar]]. In 1924, [[Mountain Artillery|Indian Mountain/Pack Batteries]] became Batteries in the Royal Engineers Artillery, and which was the situation until 1939 when the Indian Mountain Batteries were transferred from the Royal Artillery during to the Indian Regiment of Artillery.<br> During the [[First World War]]there are also references to Lascars in the Inland Water Transport, and for the Royal Artillery possibly laterEngineers. <br>From c 1921, there were Indian Mechanical Transport Companies, which were part of the [[Royal Army Service Corps]], until subsequently transferred to the Indian Army.
==Records==
This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-04/1303469139 post] mentions '''WO 120''' and '''WO 121''' records. Catalogue references are:
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14328?v=r '''WO 120'''] "From about 1812 dates of death have been noted and in the last series these dates extend to 1877" The WO 120 records are available on [[LDS]] microfilm with this [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=315468&disp=Regimental+registers+of+pensioners%2C+ar&columns=*,0,0 catalogue entry].
**The book ''British Army Pensioners Abroad, 1772-1899'' by Norman K. Crowder includes all British Army pensioners who retired to any place outside of Great Britain for which records are available (1772-1899). There are 8,934 entries, transcribed from [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C1923393?v=r WO 120/35] and [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C1923427?v=r WO 120/69-70]. Each entry has one line, in the form "51st Regiment of Foot; Josh ABBOTT; pension awarded 27 Sept 1842; residence - Hobart Town, Australia; died 22 Apr 1871. Source WO120 Volume 69 page 206". <ref>[http://homegrthom.vicnet.net.au/~grthominfo/cpindex.html Chelsea Pensioners - Out Pensions] by Grahame Thom</ref>
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14329?v=r '''WO 121'''] records. These records are available online on findmypast as part of British Army Service Records 1760-1915, refer [[British Army#Chelsea Pensioners|above]]. The records include "Register of men discharged without pension", 1884 to 1887. Although the catalogue does not mention this, there are many records of men leaving the army in India under the heading "Nominal list of men discharged by the Commander-in-Chief in India." As the register provides name, regimental number, rank, corps, date and cause of discharge, attestation date (and a few other administration details) it is an invaluable resource for those not able to find these details elsewhere. Searching the records is free, but charges apply to view the records, although they can be viewed for free at TNA (and other institutions with a FMP subscription).
====Absent Voters Lists: 1918- c 1923 (UK)====
Generally arranged by Electoral District. Mainly contain military personnel, but also men and women who were engaged in war-related work who were still living away from home . Some are available online, other sources Sources are major libraries and record offices nearest to the place in question. Some of these records are available online including Ancestry, [[British Army#Miscellaneous online sources|see below]], and FamilySearch images for [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1546473 Swansea West Division (Wales, West Glamorgan)]. The [[London Metropolitan Archives]] holds some AVL AVLs to 1939.<ref>[https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Documents/10-electoral-registers-at-london-metropolitan-archives.pdf Electoral registers at London Metropolitan Archives: Information Leaflet Number 10]</ref>, however it appears that information such as a serviceman’s rank, unit and number, only appeared initially for a few years.<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/britain-absent-voters-lists-1918-1921 Scroll to Discover more about these records] findmypast</ref>
*[http://mlfhs.org.uk/guides/researching_absent_voters.pdf Absent Voter Lists]. Guide by Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society. May 2015
*[http://www.1914-1918.net/soldiers/avl.html Finding soldiers through the 1918 Absent Voters Lists] 1914-1918.net
In October 2015, [[Findmypast|findmypast]] introduced a database "Britain, Absent Voters Lists 1918-1921" (located in Census, Land & Surveys/Electoral Rolls), based on records from the British Library. The coverage is set out in [http://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/britain-absent-voters-constituency-list?_ga=1.75209553.2135388719.1444195952 Britain, Absent Voters Constituency List]. Data additional to the initial release is expected to be added. ====Attestation , or Enlistment books (Army Book 358) from 1920====Following the restructure of the Army in 1920, new Attestation, or Enlistment books (Army Book 358) were introduced, the originals of which were sent to various Regimental Museums in the early 2000s <ref>Great War Forum thread [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214248&hl= Attestation books - where they were sent by the MOD/Nat Archives] started by Justin 11 July 2014</ref> Some of these records are now in regional Record Offices and Archives. The [[National Army Museum]] holds these records for some regiments, including the five Irish Regiments disbanded in 1922.
The attestation records for the Royal Artillery and the Tank Corps are available online on the pay website [[Findmypast|findmypast]].
The Army Personnel Centre Historical Disclosures Section holds Army Service records for officers whose service ended after April 1922 and soldiers whose service ended after January 1921.
Note however that some records may not have survived, such as some records for those who were awarded a disability pension.,<ref>JeffH01 [http://boards.ancestry.com.au/topics.Military.uk.britarmy/2537.2.3/mb.ashxJohn Henry James Fairbrother (Harry)] ''Rootsweb British Army Message Board'' 21 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015</ref> or due to 'weeding'.
The service records of Army personnel serving after these dates remain closed to the public. To obtain details from such records you will often have to prove kinship. Charges may apply. Application forms should be sent to
*[http://www.britishmedals.us/kevin/intro.html The Asplin Military History Resources], about British Army history in the Victorian era, includes pages relevant to the British Army in India.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131117052045/http://www.hargreave-mawson.demon.co.uk/46thmen.html 46th Foot.com] includes a detailed account of the 1834 attestation of a private, Frederick Crosland.
*Army Service Numbers**[http://www.samrainc.org/Pdf/Whats%20In%20a%20Number.pdf "What’s In A Number? The Personal Numbering System of the Australian Army"] by 2151240 Graham Wilson. Scroll to the section titled "Background – The British Experience". **[http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/2009/07/army-service-numbers-1881-1918-index.html Army Service Numbers 1881-1918: Index] armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com**[http://www.1914-1918.net/renumbering20.htm Renumbering of the army in 1920] 1914-1918.net. Introduced by Army Order 338 of August 1920. A seven-digit number was issued in 1920 to all men then serving in regular or Territorial units. Once issued, the man retained the same number irrespective of his transfers and postings within the army. Generally the new numbers did not have prefixes but the Royal Army Service Corps was an exception. RASC numbers were prefixed S (Supplies), T (Transport), M (Mechanical Transport) or R (Remounts).
*[http://www.ceylondatabase.net/military.html International Ceylon Database: Military] from Kyle Joustra’s [http://www.ceylondatabase.net/Genealogy.html website]. Includes lists of names by regiment.
*[http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India.html Soldiers of the Queen: The Jewel in the Crown]. Photographs of soldiers in India, Ceylon,The North-West Frontier Afghanistan. Includes [http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India-TwoPrivatesaServantaDogandaMonkey.html Two Privates with a servant and pets], [http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/india-SergeantEdgarJobEvansandWife.html Sergeant E. J. Evans in the tropical version of his regimental "Mess Dress" uniform, with wife], [http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India-ArtillerySergeantandFamily.html Artillery Sergeant and family c 1900]
