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There were engineers, planters, banking and insurance men, shipping clerks, and to make up the numbers, three time-serving privates from the regular Army.
There was a week’s initial training at Rawalpindi followed by training at the newly established Machine Gun School at Campbellpur. It was here that their guns were changed from Maxims, weighing 60 pounds, and water- cooled, to Vickers, weighing 45 pound, and air-cooled. They were trained at Campbellpur until the commandant of the Gunnery School deemed them fit for posting to a battle zone.
==Subsequently==
25 Battery, Machine Gun Corps (Motors), was established in India, in May 1917. Moved to Egypt July 1917. Disbanded January 1918.<ref>[http://www.1914-1918.net/mmg.htm The MGC Motor Machine Gun units of 1914-1918] "The Long, Long Trail"</ref> Note , this was a British Army regiment.
A booklet by Major F W Heilgers, the CO, was published in 1919, giving details of its service and giving a list of personnel (with addresses but no army numbers). The battery was formed in October 1916 from personnel of the [[Calcutta and Presidency Battalion|Calcutta Presidency Battalion]] and other Indian volunteer units and was mobilized on 1 May 1917 and sent to Egypt on 13 June 1917. It was issued with 18 sidecar outfits (presumably Clynos) and 10 solo machines in August 1917. The Clynos proved unsuitable for desert work and the battery was disbanded in December 1917. Some of the personnel were posted to other MGC units, others were sent back to India and a few were commissioned (including quite a few into the RFC/RAF). It appears the personnel were issued with numbers in the 96300 to 96380 range.
<ref>gunner parr [http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=221584&p=2239601 Volunteer Motorcycle Machine Gun Battery (from Calcutta, India)] ''Great War Forum'' 16 March 2015.Retrieved 17 March 2015</ref>
There is one Medal Index Card reference where the regiment is "25th Calcutta Motor Machine Gun Battery" <ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D1648470 Medal card of Ainslie, C A Corps: 25th Calcutta Motor Machine Gun Battery] </ref> and five seen where the regiment is "Volunteer Machine Gun Corps", including that of Charles Nida, some of which indicate Indian Army.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D4261762 WO 372/14/227845 Medal card of Nida, Charles H G Corps: Bombay Volunteer Rifles 8153, Volunteer Machine Gun Corps 96334 Gunner] , also [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D1386392 WO 372/2/200259 Medal card of Bolst, Bertram Sydney], [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D2053567 WO 372/5/136998 Medal card: Indian Army: Curtis, P H], [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7564237 WO 372/28/1399 Medal card of Rann, P H], [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D4917265 WO 372/17/58151 Medal card of Roblin, M L]</ref>The available information is therefore sometimes indicating British Army, and sometimes Indian Army.
