GARWAL RIFLES RIFLEMAN

[roypaule]

March 21

Dear Friends,

There's a BWM i'm really interested in purchasing. It is named to: 4142 Rfmn Ghantu Rawat, 1-39, Royal Garhwal Rifles:

• I did some looking at the CWGC and there's a soldier: 2172 Rfmn. Ghantu Rawat, 1st Bn, 39th Garwhwal Rifles. He was KIA March 10, 1915

• Then I looked at the National Archives and found that there's indeed a chap with the number 4142. I was kinda expecting that the number 2172 would be a later regiment number, but there's none. It was still 4142 and he was assigned to the 1/18th Royal Garwhal Rifles.

Question: a) could there be a possibility that this persons are not the same?

or, there's a glitch somewhere and that it's the same chap?

thanks in advance,

Roy

[MelPack]

Roy

The MIc is not on Ancestry yet but there are tw MICs for Chandar Sing Rawat both with identical details of service with the 1/39 and 1/18 R. Garf Rif but clearly separate soldiers with the service numbers of 4309 and 3013 respectively.

The inference is that you are looking at separate soldiers.

Mel

[Ian Riley]

A note in Brigadier-General Evatt's Historical Records of the 39th Royal Garhwal Rifles (Volume 1) dated December 1922, states that 'following the renumbering of the Indian Infantry, the designation of the Regiment has been changed from 39th to 18th Royal Gahrwal Rifles'.

Ask me no more; I haven't read the book!

Ian

[Steven Broomfield]

In 1914, the 39th Garwhal Rifles had two battalions - the 1/39th and the 2/39th. Both went to France, in the Garwhal Brigade of the Meerut Division. Due to heavy casualties at Neuve Chapelle, the two were amalgamated; later the regiment was honoured with the appelation, "Royal".

In 1922 the Indian Army was reorganised, and the old songle-battalion regiments were amalgamated and reorganised: the 39th became the 18th Royal Garwhal Rifles.

For someone to have belonged both to the 39th and the 18th, he must have survived the war.

Interestingly, in the Appendix I of Drake-Brockman's splendid The Royal Garwhal Rifles in the Great War, 1914-17 (the period he served with them - not a typo), 2172, Rifleman Ghantu Sing Rawat is listed as being awarded the Indian Order of Merit, Second Class, in the London Gazette of 18.2.15.

Looking at the Appendix, I suspect Rawat is a clan name, as it seems to appear quite frequently.

[Bernard_Lewis]

A clan name then Broomers? Those jocks get everywhere, don't they?

More seriously the Drake-Brockman book is for sale on Abe Books.

Bernard

[roypaule]

Dear Sirs:

Thank you very much for the info. Very interesting. Appreciate it. Regards from the Philippines. Roy

[Steven Broomfield]

More seriously the Drake-Brockman book is for sale on Abe Books.

Ooh - how much? (Mine cost me £100 last year). It's a smashing little book.

[Amit]

RAWAT is a martial clan from Rajasthan & Uttarakhand state in India. My great grandfather served in the 1st Battalion, 39th Garhwal Rifles and was martyred at Neuve-Chappell, France in Nov,1914. His name - Daulat Sing(h) Rawat of Gadoli, Lansdowne, Garhwal, United Provinces. He got a gallantry award for a brave act there but i want more information on this. I hope members here can help me with procuring that information.

Regards

Amit

[Amit]

Regards the information on soldiers people can find more information on http://www.cwgc.org.

[kim hulme]

I can copy the report of  when Daulat Sing Rawat was killed. briefly = Major W. H. Wardell, Wounded and missing, Captain S. B. Orton, severley wounded, 1 Garhwali officer, Jemadar Daulat Sing Rawat and 18 men killed, 2 Garhwali officers and 33 men killed. Is on page 42 of the Historical Record.

[Steven Broomfield]

Kim: the original poster has not visited the Forum since May 2014, so probably not worth worrying about it!

[kim hulme]

I made the offer.

[KONDOA]

Well done kim

[Steven Broomfield]

I was only pointing out that the OP probably won't see Kim's offer, so don't be surprised if there is no reply.

[Guest]

On 12/11/2016 at 23:40, kim hulme said:

I can copy the report of  when Daulat Sing Rawat was killed. briefly = Major W. H. Wardell, Wounded and missing, Captain S. B. Orton, severley wounded, 1 Garhwali officer, Jemadar Daulat Sing Rawat and 18 men killed, 2 Garhwali officers and 33 men killed. Is on page 42 of the Historical Record.

 

That would be wonderful if you could provide a link or two ...

 

SR