123rd Outram's Rifles
Known as the 23rd Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in the Bombay Army
Known as 123rd Outram's Rifles in the Indian Army
Chronology
- 1820 formed as 1st Battalion, 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry
- 1824 became 23rd Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry
- 1841 became 23rd Regiment of Bombay Infantry (Light)
- 1889 became 23rd Regiment (2nd Battalion Rifle Regiment) of Bombay Infantry
- 1901 became 23rd Bombay Rifles
- 1903 became 123rd Outram's Rifles
- 1922 amalgamated with five other regiments, including the 125th Napier's Rifles, to become the 4th Battalion (Outram's) 6th Rajputana Rifles
- 1945 became 4th (Outram's) Battalion Rajputana Rifles
- 1947 allocated to India on Partition
Regimental histories
- See "Historical books online" below.
- Also see 6th Rajputana Rifles for further histories.
1930s
Memoirs of Brigadier William Alston's service in the Indian Army are in the collection of the National Army Museum, London, catalogue reference 8005/151. A description of the papers (8005/151/4) Volume III of his memoir, covering the period 1933-1935, indicate in Chapter 18 that he was a Coy Commander at Mhow March 1933. Chapter 19. Left in October 1934 for Wana, South Waziristan; training, building barracks, etc. Late Nov 4-day column to Tiarzha as Bde Intelligence Officer.[1]
Second World War
4/6th Rajputana Rifles was part of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade 23/9/39 - 8/7/43, and was also attached 1/44 to 6/44. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was raised at Jhansi on 23 September 1939 from 9th (Jhansi) Brigade.The movements of the Brigade were as follows
- India 23/9/39 - 23/9/39
- At sea 23/9/39 - 3/10/39
- Egypt 3/10/39 - 21/12/40
- Sudan and East Africa 21/12/40 - 13/4/41
- Egypt 13/4/41 - 8/6/41
- Syria 8/6/41 - 10/41
- Egypt and Libya 10/41 - 4/42
- Palestine 4/42 - 10/6/42
- Egypt 10/6/42 - 1/1/43
- Cyrenaica 1/1/43 - 13/3/43
- Tripolitania 13/3/43 - 16/3/43
- Tunisia 16/3/43 - 6/7/43
- …
- Italy 22/11/43 - 8/12/44[2]
External links
- 123rd Outram's Rifles British Empire website
- Rajputana Rifles Wikipedia
- 123rd Outram's Rifles Wikipedia
- 6th Rajputana Rifles Wikipedia
- Richhpal Ram [4th Battalion] 6th Rajputana Rifles was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for outstanding acts of courage at Keren [Cheren], Eritrea. February 1941 cwgc.org, now an archived webpage.
- Richhpal Ram Wikipedia
- Remembering the Battle of Keren 75 years on 29 March 2016 cwgc.org, now an archived webpage.
- Keren War Cemetery & Cremation Memorial Eritrea. ww2cemeteries.com
Historical books online
- Record Of The Service Of The 23rd Bombay Light Infantry During The Campaign In Burma, From July 1886 To May 1888 by W A M Wilson. Archive.org mirror version from Digital Library of India.
- Outram’s Rifles: A History of the 4th Battalion 6th Rajputana Rifles by H. G. Rawlinson 1933. Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository version. Archive.org mirror version.
- It is also available in a reprint edition,[3] which in turn is available online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3 (located in International/Military Books/India).
References
- ↑ 8005/151 Alston Papers at National Army Museum, London. Discovery catalogue entry discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
- ↑ WW2Talk Forum thread 4/6 Rajputana Rifles reply by 'dryan67'. David A Ryan is co author of books on the Indian Army in WW2, see the WW2Talk Forum post Indian Army: An Organisational History (retrieved 11 August 2016)
- ↑ Outram’s Rifles: A History of the 4th Battalion 6th Rajputana Rifles by H. G. Rawlinson, originally published 1933. Naval & Military Press reprint edition.