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British Army

132 bytes added, 02:11, 9 May 2021
Enlistment in India
It was possible for a man born in India to enlist in the British Army in India, a fact to be considered when researching. Enlistment was possible for men with European parents, or [[Anglo Indian|Eurasian]] men of fair complexion―those whose looks allowed them to ‘pass’ as white.<ref> [http://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/satoshi.html Loyalty, Parity, and Social Control-The Competing Visions on the Creation of an ‘Eurasian’ Military Regiment in late British India] by Satoshi Mizutani ''The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies'' Volume 10, No. 1, 2010</ref>
There are some early 1800s references to mixed race soldiers, mainly musicians, with 'black' complexions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100922100136/http://www.wellingboroughrec.org.uk/blackh/blackarm.htm "Black Soldiers in Northamptonshire Regiments of the British Army"] by John Ellis wellingboroughrec.org.uk , now archived.</ref> There is one reference to an Anglo Indian Boy Trumpeter in the [[Royal Artillery]] c 1936<ref> Pages 122-123, ''Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' by William Pennington 2003. Now [https://archive.org/details/pickupyourparrot0000penn/mode/2up available online] Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.</ref> 
===Enlistment and birth in other overseas British Empire countries===
When researching, keep in mind that similar to the situation in India, it was also possible for men from other countries to enlist when regiments were stationed in their countries.<ref> Rootsweb Australia Message Board 19 October 2004 post [http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/localities.oceania.australia.general/4184/mb.ashx?pnt=1 Chelsea Pensioners - soldiers with an Australian connection] It includes details of two men who were born in Australia and served in the Madras Artillery</ref> Men whose fathers were in the British Army could be born anywhere in the world the British Army was stationed.
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