Hi there I'm researching a soldier who was posted to India with the 1st West Yorkshire Regiment between 18/3/36 and 14/7/37. Prior to this he had been Home posted for 3 years. Could someone please explain to me what he was likely to be doing there? Thanks in advance for any replies. Russ
Wikie has nowt, so the NAM says: From: The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s Own) | National Army Museum There was a large British Army contingent in India, infantry battalions were brigaded with two Indian Army infantry battalions and would operate alongside them. Some British Army units never served in India, notably from The Guards and other regularly spent many years there. Their primary combat theatre was the North-West Frontier, with punitive expeditions into a very inhospitable terrain and people - within The Durand Line, a few times over into Afghanistan. Units were rotated thee for the experience of "real" warfare. Others were scattered across large parts of India; some regions had few, if any military presence. Their role then was to support the civil power (police and magistrates) when rioting broke out. On a quick scan I could not find online sources for the battalion's time in India. You could assemble a list of garrison locations and then try. Often known as cantonments. The locations are in this thread, in Post 8: Which British units were left in India before and at the time of Partition? One option would be to look for images of them for the period and their regimental journal. There are some general army histories for the period, though I cannot recall one for the inter-war period. Good luck.
Here are two pages from the regimental history, Sandes, E.W.C. From Pyramid to Pagoda; the Story of the West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s Own) in the War 1939-45 and afterwards. London: F.J. Parsons Ltd., 1952.
Thanks very much for the replies so far davidbfpo, owen, and dryan67. There's a Trimulgherry stamp on his service records that coincides with the dates. This is/was in the middle of India so begs the question what were they doing there? Regards Russ
Internal security. Most British battalions were either on the NW Frontier dealing with the tribes or scattered throughout India on internal security duties.
Russ, The answer to the question (Post 5) is: Within this thread: 1st West Yorkshire Regiment - 3 Sept 1939 Elsewhere it is suffixed cantonment; which is adjoins Secunderabad and is in the Deccan. Also spelt as Tirumalagiry: . From: Tirumalagiri - Wikipedia Two barracks there: From: Trimulgherry - FIBIwiki In March 1936: From: The 1st King’s Dragoon Guards were part of the 4th Cavalry Brigade;
Thanks for the replies davidbfpo and dryan67 much appreciated. I think he must have arrived at Karachi(dental records stamp) before moving on to Hyderabad before finally being discharged on compassionate grounds. Regards Russ
