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→Indian Defence Force
During the [[First World War]] compulsory service was deemed necessary and the Indian Defence Force Act was passed in 1917. The volunteer corps became units of the IDF and were redesignated. European British men between the ages of 18 and 41 were subject to compulsory service within India. Some corps allowed Indians to join as volunteers.
The IDF corps performed local security duties during the war and were not sent to the front. Some officers were transferred to regular [[Indian Army]] units. However there appear to be exceptionssome Volunteer regiments were formed during the war. [http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-on-land/75-other-war-theatres/1072-indian-volunteers-in-the-great-war-east-african-campaign.html Indian Volunteers in the Great War East African Campaign] gives details of The North-Western Railway Volunteers, the Calcutta Volunteer Battery and the Indian Volunteer Maxim Gun Company in East Africa, although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission classifies them as this South African in its records. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2000-01/0948180245 post] indicates that the North Western Railway Volunteers served in Mesopotamia
After the War the IDF as an official organization was disbanded.
