Hello I'm Steve and although I have been 'lurking' and reading posts on this brilliantly informative forum for many months now this is my first post. Looking at the 'Remembered on this Day' a question popped into my head that no amount of GOOGLE-ing could answer; that of the rank of Water Carrier. What exactly would these men do, be responsible for and is the 'rank' seen as on a par with Sepoy or beneath? look forward to any answers and contributing more Steve
Steve Welcome aboard ! Shades of Gunga Din ? Gunga Din - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Ps Don't let the xxxxxxs throw you The word you used is infra dig on this site
Hello, Steve. This is an informed guess: I think a Water carrier would fall into the category of 'enlisted/enrolled follower'. Indian units used semi-civilian followers to undertake domestic duties - cooks, sweepers, laundry (dhobi) and, presumably, water carriers. I think it stems from caste issues - I get the impression India was as much, if not more, class-conscious as Britain. There is, of course, that most famous of water carriers: Gunga Din
Idler this is pretty much what I thought (I had no idea Gunga Din was a water carrier however) and I think you right about the caste system, it's strictly (although not always acknowledged) adhered too. Steve
Hello Steve thread below AJUDHI Rank: Water Carrier Service No: 142805 Date of Death: 15/12/1945 Age: 22 Regiment/Service: Indian Army Medical Corps Panel Reference Memorial DELHI / KARACHI 1939-1945 WAR MEMORIALS Additional Information: Son of Luman, of Pakaria, Farrukhabad, India. CWGC - Cemetery Details http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/remembering-today/50389-remembering-today-15-12-45-water-carrier-ajudhi-142805-indian.html