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The '''Volunteer Artillery Battery''' took part in the [[Mesopotamia Campaign]] during the [[First World War]]. This unit may '''possibly''' also have been known as the '''Mobile Battery'''. Detachments of the Volunteer Artillery Battery were captured at Kut.
The majority of the men were from Burma. They were known as the Volunteer Artillery Battery (Rangoon Contingent) and probably had a connection to the [[Rangoon Port Defence Volunteer Corps]] , which had an Artillery section.
They sailed from Bombay 16 July 1915, arriving in Basra 24th July.<ref>''En-Dor Unveiled : The Story behind The Road to En-dor'' by Tony Craven Walker, refer External links, above</ref>
The Volunteer Artillery Battery included several men of the Bombay Volunteer Artillery, "some of whom made the great sacrifice".<ref name=TOI>"Volunteers At Kut: How the Gunners Fought" ''The Times of India'' 16 Oct 1919: page 12 </ref><ref> 'Searle of the Bombay Artillery' (with a footnote specifying Bombay Volunteer Artillery ) is mentioned as a POW following the fall of Kut in "Trumpeter Inwood, an Anglo-Indian hero of the Kut Garrison" by Rosemary Reardon page 25, ''[[FIBIS Journal]]'' No 32, Autumn 2014, quoting TNA WO 157/1059. However, his name does not appear on a list of Volunteer Artillery Battery members.(see following Reference). Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, the Bombay Volunteer Artillery men may have been part of the [[First World War#Anglo-Indians|Anglo Indian Battery]].</ref>
The Battery, soon after arrival from India, was divided into two sections, one preceding up the Euphrates and the other up the Tigris river. <ref name=TOI/>
***[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7361734 WO 95/5028 1917 Apr. - 1918 Aug] Euphrates Defence and Communications
*The Imperial War Museums, Department of Documents holds the papers of Major Sir Alexander James Anderson, who commanded the Volunteer Artillery Battery, catalogue reference AJA<ref>Discovery [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/f33813e5-7b63-429d-8a6b-603604e83d9a?src=1&sK=062-aja2.txt catalogue entry]. Previous [https://web.archive.org/web/20141027110711/http://apps.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=062-aja2&cid=-1#-1 catalogue entry]</ref> The papers Include a manuscript diary, with later transcription, kept during September 1915 - April 1916, during which time the Battery was involved in the defence of Kut . The diary includes a list of officers, NCOs and men in his unit, giving their civil occupations and ultimate fates. (pp.1-5).
==Individuals==
*''The Rangoon Times'' says:- It is regrettable that the first news of the Moblie Battery should be the sad news of the drowning of J C Jordan,… who was accidentally drowned in Mesopotamia on 31 July… the son of Mr Chater Jordan, the late well-known barrister of Rangoon.<ref>"India And The War" (1915, Aug 17), page 7 ''The Times of India'' Retrieved from <nowiki>http://search.proquest.com/docview/500180775?accountid=13902</nowiki></ref>
*Rangoon, June 5. An official communication has been received from the Adjutant-General in India, giving the following twenty-eight names of non-commissioned officers and men from the Volunteer Artillery Battery, who were made prisoners at Kut. Sergeants Heals and Rollo; Bombardier Baroni, Christison, and Gunners Wells, Abrahams, Archer, Ariss, Dias, Illingworth, Lether, Ghosh, Macgowan, Grant, Mitchell, Prazer, Wall, Foley, Lecky, Thompson, Loader, Pearse, Sharp, Sirt, Warson, Blazey, Dawes, Webb and Wilcox.<ref>"Rangoon Volunteers In Kut". (1916, Jun 07), page 7. ''The Times of India''. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://search.proquest.com/docview/596274855?accountid=13902</nowiki></ref>
*Believed Prisoners of War: Volunteer Artillery Battery: Major A J Anderson, Captain K F Freeland, Lieutenant R Spence, 2nd Lieutenant E H Jones.<ref>"The Roll Of Honour: Losses in the War" (1916, Jul 31), page 8 ''The Times of India''. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://search.proquest.com/docview/310895555?accountid=13902
</nowiki></ref>
*"Kut Heroes: Bombay's Welcome": Corpl. Hutt and Gunners Archer, Gosh, Anderson, Ariss, Mitchell and Dias, all R.F.A. Volunteer Field Battery<ref>''The Times of India'' 30 Dec 1918: page 9</ref>
==External links==
*''En-Dor Unveiled : The Story behind The Road to En-dor'' by Tony Craven Walker February 2014. [http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hesperuspress.com%2Fthe-road-to-en-dor%2Fdownloads%2FEndorUnveiled.pdf html version], [https://www.hesperuspress.com/the-road-to-en-dor/downloads/EndorUnveiled.pdf pdf], [http://www.hesperuspress.com/the-road-to-en-dor/download-free-ebook.htm link to other downloads] hesperuspress.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014. Contains correspondence from E H Jones, refer "Historical books online" below. He was part of the Contingent from Burma.
*Biographical details of [http://homefrontmuseum.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/elias-henry-jones/ Elias Henry Jones] homefrontmuseum. Retrieved 27 October 2014
*[http://www.angloburmeselibrary.com/anglo-indian-forces-1914-1919.html World War One - The Anglo Indian Force] Extracts from the Muster Rolls of the Anglo-Indian Cavalry, the Anglo-Indian Battery and the Anglo-Indian Infantry, plus additional lists of men who were domiciled in Burma and served in other Imperial forces.
:[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2MlSwe-Ef2qOGNiNWMyN2EtZmQyMy00MmUzLWJmMDQtODUyYTQwNGNiNTMw/view?pli=1 The Anglo Indian Force-WW1] The latter particularly contains men from the Volunteer Artillery Battery, and the Mobile Battery, It is unclear whether these are the same or different units.
===Historical books online===
*[https://archive.org/details/roadtoendor00unkngoog ''The Road to En-Dor; being an account of how two prisoners of war at Yozgad in Turkey won their way to freedom''] by E H Jones Lt. IARO, 1920 Archive.org The author, Elias Henry Jones was captured at Kut and had previously been in the [[Indian Civil Service]] in Burma.
