1st Btn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, India late 1930s.

The band of an unidentified battalion of the 4th Gurkha Rifles, location unknown.

 

A Gurkha machine gun section complete with a range finder and a Rifleman covering the rear. Photographer Sitaram. Photograph No 108.

 

I have just checked Wikipedia which, although not the most reliable of sources, has the following regarding John Masters:

"On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry for a year before applying to serve with the 4th (Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North West Frontier with the 2nd battalion of that regiment." (2/4th Btn (P.O.W.O.) Gurkha Rifles).

I will have to re-read my copy of Bugles and a Tiger to refresh my memory.

 

A memorial to the men of the 4th (Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkha Rifles who gave their lives during the Great War.

This is an oddity as the memorial seems to be on an easel. It has either been newly completed or was transported with the battalion where ever they went, which seems unlikely.

 

A mixed group of soldiers. What I have never seen before are the figures 2 and 10 on a turban. This could represent the 2nd battalion, 10th Gurkha Rifles, who were based in Quetta from 1923, or the 2nd battalion, 10th Baluch Regiment.

My limited knowledge of turbans makes me think that they are one long piece of cloth, wound and unwound on a daily basis, which would make and marking such as 2-10 impossible to match each time the turban was wound around the head. Unless of course, there is a ready wound version that is put on like a hat.

 

Bingo!

I have just opened my copy of Bugles and a Tiger and the first few pages mention an incident in Waziristan in February 1935.

"But my company commander was waiting there at the far bank of the stream. He had ordered me to take the platoon at once up to the peak he pointed out, build a sangar, clear the scrub, and guard the hill-top till relieved. He did not know when that would be.
The evening advanced; the wind slashed deeper. One officer, one sergeant, three corporals, four lance-corporals and sixteen private soldiers of No. 7 platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, grew more paralysed with misery. The soldiers did not talk much. We had had nothing to eat since an early breakfast, and I had forbidden them to touch their emergency rations in case we had to stay up there all night. Gnawing hunger blended now with frozen clothes, aching hands, and stabbing winds to form the very pattern of utter dejection".

The owner of the photograph album was in 1 Platoon, A Company, so his overall experiences must have been roughly the same as John Masters during his time with the D.C.L.I.

 

"In the mess lived an echo from silver trumpets of the past. There impressions of light and tone were muted and wavering as in a cathedral under the sea. At dinner the Colours, cased and capped and crossed, stood like huge black rockets against the wall behind the president. On guest nights they were unfurled and lit the room with the embroidered battle honours of two hundred years."

John Masters. Bugles and a Tiger.

 

The bridge across the Indus river at Mari Indus.

 

Column at an unknown location. Photographer Sharma.

 

A building within the Razmak garrison, the sign in the brick work seems to say: Q.V.O.M. S & M. 1931 which is possibly a reference to Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers & Miners.
The building seems to be being used as a warehouse for the camp cinema, if indeed they are film posters in the photograph.

 

A Bristol Fighter force landed by the Shinki Bridge. Sadly no registration numbers are visible in the photograph so it my be difficult to identify the incident,date and squadron. Photographer Arora. Photograph No 0/51.

 

Pathans?

 

Mari Rest Camp, N.W.F. Photographer Arora. Photograph No 0/121.

 

An artillery salute, possibly at the Razmak Brigade garrison.

 

Crossley Armoured Cars.

 

Fort Sandeman, Zhob, Baluchistan. Photographer Arora. Photograph No O/148.

 

Over loaded camels.

 

Camp Coffee.

 

Breaking camp.

 

Chalwesnti Camp. Photographer Arora. Photograph No L.O. 80/79.