Indian Army Officers in UK during mobilization

[ddycher]

All

Am looking at how a number of pre-war Indian Army officers ended up serving with the BEF right from the start of the war.

My current understanding is that there was a very early request from the War Office that Indian Army officers who were at that point in the UK on leave and under orders to return to India be redirected to fill vacancies in the T.F but that this was not approved by the India Office.

It would seem that this request was repeated and that ultimately there were a number of Indian Army officers on leave in the UK at the time of mobilization who were “lent” to the expeditionary force and there were a TBD number of officers of the Indian Army on the active list who were specially selected at the commencement of the War for employment under the Imperial Government.

I have been unable to get a clear picture on this todate - anybody any the wiser ?

Regards

Dave

[aconnolly]

Dave

Not specifically your answer, but for the entire war 42,430 All Ranks British servicemen were sent from India to England and it is estimated that almost if not all served with British units thereafter. This is from "Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire." I cannot find any data just for 1914. The reference specifically states these 42,430 were not counted as part of the Indian Military contribution tom the war - that included a total of 27,251 British officers and 215,356 British OR plus obviously Indians themselves (over 1 million).

Regards

Andrew

[aconnolly]

Dave

From Edmonds, Off History 1914, vol 2 page 2: Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War on August 6 1914; "As a first step he detained over 500 British and Indian Army officers then on leave from India". I cannot find a further ref to the "fate" of these 500.

Andrew

[ddycher]

Andrew

Got a couple of similar ref's :

1. "The European Powers in the First World War" by Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy states "Finding there were 500 officers of the Indian Army on home leave he kept them in Britain"

2. "Order of Battle of the British Army 1914" by RichardRinaldi states "Kitchener took officers of the Indian Army on leave in the UK in 1914 and placed them in his New Armies divisions"

However I also have examples of disgruntled officers having to return to India or Egypt plus Harold Tennant's comments in Parliament of 6th of August stating permission had not been granted by the India Office to retain these men.

Will keep looking - Thanks for your help....

Regards

Dave

[bushfighter]

Dave

Munro's Despatch in LG No 31476 dated 28 July 1919 states that 530 British officers from the Indian Army were detained on the outbreak of war for employment under the War Office.

Corrigan in "Sepoys in the Trenches" on page 14 states:

"At the outbreak of war the Indian Army Reserve of officers numbered but 47, and the situation was not helped by the British War Office forbidding around 25 per cent of British officers of the Indian Army who were on leave in England from returning to India and directing them instead to training camps where they were to train the recruits for the expansion of the British Army.

Given that there were only 12 British officers in an Indian battalion (and one was the Medical Officer) this was a large number of experienced officers who could not be spared. Most of the officers thus snaffled for the New Armies were eventually allowed to return whence they came, once it was realised how long it took to produce an officer suitable for service with Indian troops."

Harry