Can anyone tell me where I can find Service Histories for BIA Indian-born officers, and the war diaries of their battalions. In particular, the 4th Bn 14th Punjab Regt (4/14 Punjabis) Looking for March 1945. Cheers Pete
Hi Peter, I don't know if the following helps: For Indian Army Records Up Until 1947: INDIAN ARMY - SERVICE RECORDS OFFICE The Adjutant General's Office Army HQ, West Block No lll R K Puram New Delhi 110066 INDIA Maybe a call to the Indian Embassy could help.
Dear Pete, I don't know if this will help you in your specific inquiry, but the records of the India Office's Military Department are held by the British Library. Best, Alan
Dont know if this would help Maharatta Regimental Center, in an MES (Military Engineering Service) Inspection Bungalow after getting off a train in Belgaum from Delhi. It is a musuem but it is not easy to get in. You probably need to know someone to invite one. Let me know if it is helpful I am also trying to find out about 114th Indian Mahrattas with my Grandfather Captain Humphrey Weaver based in Sikkim 1903 and spent time in Murree and from there in 1915 went to Mesopotamia where he was killed in Battle 1916
Hi Pete, Always a difficult one this. War Diary for the 4/14 Punjabis is at the NA WO172/7745 The address we were trying to think of last week with Diane is the one Andy has posted above. I tried that for a couple of Indian born officers with no success. The British Library has the service records of some officers from WW2. I have asked them about two Commonwealth born (S.Africa and New Zealand) officers and they had them both. Steve.
I enquired at the National Archives in Delhi and received 150 pages of my grandfather's service record. An enquiry doesn't cost any money until they copy documents for you. The process is slow but well worth the wait. D. Fielder
You could try these guys: membership | Families In British India Society, there is a membership fee, but I think it could be reasonable when they will do research for you.
All these records would be held by the Indians. you could always drop a note to India house in the Aldwych in London. I know they hold all the records from the East Indian Company which ran its own Navy and Army.
While trying to find something I thought I'd seen on [war] death certificates for Indian Army officers, I came across the following: FIBIS - the Families in British India Society - have linked back to this thread and How to Retrieve Indian War Records so a link to the FIBIS Indian Army page is probably worthwhile. FIBIS have also just published a guide to Researching Ancestors in the Indian Army, 1858-1947 by Peter A Bailey.
In my research this Dutch website is worth checking, although the owner / author is no longer adding updates: Officers of the Indian Army 1939-1945 -- A
In my recent research, not just on Deir el Shein, I have contacted a small number of private schools in England for help from their Archivist, which has added biographical details. All were Indian Army officers educated before WW2, only one was from a family resident in India. The schools can be identified in online searching. Most I found were commissioned in the UK prior to Sandhurst, did the course (1yr plus) and were then shown as 'Unattached' to the Indian Army, left the UK and for their first year served with a British formation. The school records usually show their first regiment and the Indian Army formation they joined. As most attended Royal Military College, now known as RMAS or simply Sandhurst. The Sandhurst Foundation has been helpful too. See: https://sandhurstcollection.co.uk/ The British Library has many officer's personal files on microfiche and are best found using this webpage: https://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo-explore/search?vid=IAMS_VU2 You can always ask them for help to check how big the microfiche is.
