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British Army

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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==
====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. 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 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]].
*[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]
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