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* Jackson, Donovan
''India's Army''.
London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1940
Available in a number of reprints, "Major Donovan Jackson's comprehensive compilation of histories of individual regiments of the Indian Army is an almost essential reference tool for those interested in the Indian Army during the British Colonial period. In the author's forward he notes that much of the contents of the book originally appeared as a series of articles in ''The Statesman'' during 1938-39. All the histories were compiled from official or regimental sources. For each regiment Major Jackson covers its development and changes of names, with relevant dates, actions, awards, notes on uniforms, etc. The book is copiously illustrated with photographs and drawings of badges. No regiment is excluded, with brief histories of the units of the Auxiliary Force (Volunteer Regiments) included, as well as lengthier descriptions of the Indian States Forces, Body Guards and Irregular Regiments. The only criticism is that there is neither a bibliography nor a subject index provided. However, the overall content makes this an outstanding work of reference on the Indian Army from its earliest days as EIC Army regiments up to the outbreak of WWII". (Sylvia Murphy, 2008)
* Mason, Philip
''A Matter of Honour : an account of the Indian Army, its officers and men''.
London: Cape, 1974
"Philip Mason (1906-99) was for 40 years an Indian Civil Servant. On his retirement he wrote some excellent books on India. One was ''A Matter of Honour'' which traces the history of the Indian Army from its origins under the East India Company through to Independence in 1947. All the main campaigns of the Indian Army and of course the disintegration of the Bengal Army in the Mutiny and its later painful reconstruction are chronicled.
A major theme is how you instill loyalty in what can be seen effectively as an army of occupation. The answer according to Mason is only by the highest standards of military conduct.
If your ancestors were in the Indian Army, whether under the East India Company or later, this book is highly recommended". (Richard Morgan FIBIS trustee, 2008)
* Yeats-Brown, Francis
''Lives of a Bengal Lancer''.
This book won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography in 1930. It is a palatable sized introduction to the life of a Bengal Lancer from 1905 until the time his regiment was disbanded at the end of the First World War. However it is not a mere military account as the book divides naturally into three sections of interest. Primarily, the life of an English cavalryman in the Bengal lancers is presented. Days of regimental routine interspersed with pig sticking, polo playing and visiting nautch girls. The cavalry regiment comprises both English and Indian soldiers and the author easily assimilates the attitudes of both worlds – the society of the west and the mysticism of the East.
During the First World War Yeats-Brown is sent to France and later joins a flying corps in Mesopotamia – where is he captured by Turks. He eventually escapes and returns to India. However his days as a lancer are soon over and the reader is presented with a wonderful tour of India as he goes in search of practising gurus to learn the secrets of yoga and inner truth. An evocative and satisfying read. Recommended. (Beverly Hallam, FIBIS trustee)
→Army: ditto
Inscriptions from graves and monuments of some 1100 soldiers, mostly officers, together with additional biographical notes. Originally published as volume 2 of the Indian Monumental Inscription Series, this covers the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir and Afghanistan.
