Volunteer Motorcycle Machine Gun Battery (from Calcutta, India)

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Richard,

Glad to oblige...

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Richard Kelly]

58 minutes ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said:

Dear Richard,

Glad to oblige...

Kindest regards,

Kim.

Thank you so very much, that means a lot to me, God bless you

Kind regards 

Richard

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Richard,

Many thanks for your kind and all-too-generous words.

I attach some more photos of Capt Corbett, IARO, these being the sum total which I received in August 2010 from the extremely kind Mrs Joan M. Corbett.

(I assume you have already downloaded my article shown as an attachment as a previous post in this link.)

The one I already beamed to you, showed him as the battalion Signals Officer. The second group, together with the Commanding Officer, indicates that he almost certainly doubled as a Company Officer. Probably taken 1919 or even the following year: note the war ribbons already issued.

The group of Officers - although I detect at least one Other Rank in the back row - was taken much earlier, probably near Cairo (see my article). Corbett has just been promoted 2nd Lieut., and the group may have been On a Course...

Unfortunately, little is known of his post-Great War employment with the Railways in India, and his time as a Volunteer NCO...

Kindest regards,

Kim.

 

[Richard Kelly]

4 hours ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said:

Dear Richard,

Many thanks for your kind and all-too-generous words.

I attach some more photos of Capt Corbett, IARO, these being the sum total which I received in August 2010 from the extremely kind Mrs Joan M. Corbett.

(I assume you have already downloaded my article shown as an attachment as a previous post in this link.)

The one I already beamed to you, showed him as the battalion Signals Officer. The second group, together with the Commanding Officer, indicates that he almost certainly doubled as a Company Officer. Probably taken 1919 or even the following year: note the war ribbons already issued.

The group of Officers - although I detect at least one Other Rank in the back row - was taken much earlier, probably near Cairo (see my article). Corbett has just been promoted 2nd Lieut., and the group may have been On a Course...

Unfortunately, little is known of his post-Great War employment with the Railways in India, and his time as a Volunteer NCO...

Kindest regards,

Kim.

 

Hi Kim

 

Thank you so much for these extra photos, I am afraid I don't know of Mrs Joan Corbett, I only started researching the 20th century Corbett family in India a couple of months back as I was hitting so many brick walls researching their father Michael Corbett.

 

Reginald's sister Norah was my grandmother, Norah's husband Alfred Kelly was also promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Indian army during the Great War.

 

I have downloaded your article as well, but have not read it fully as I have been fairly busy the last few days.

 

I really appreciate the photos and information you have provided me with,  it is really helping me understand what was going on in my family and India at that time. 

 

Keep safe and well 

 

Kind regards 

 

Richard 

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Richard,

I had to re-scan the remaining photos (which were prints of the originals held by the family), the first batch being all that was on my Corbett cyber file. The original scans of these later photos were lost in computer crash a couple of years ago. Typical!

Of course I was glad to share all of them with you.

I could try to send a Personal Message, but you may have too few posts for this to work. For example, I could give you the Corbett's address of ten years ago (I was only 65 then!), so that you could possibly Touch Base with the other part of the family.

Your information regarding Reginald's sister Norah having been your grandmother, and that Norah's husband Alfred Kelly was also commissioned into the Indian Army during the Great War, I found highly interesting. I will weave that into my Corbett MSS straightaway!

Incidentally, my grandfather, Capt (later Lt-Col) W. F. Lindsay, MC (later MC,ED) was an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) Company Commander with 53rd Battalion, AIF. He was wounded in the successful Australian attack on Peronne, 1 September 1918 (a VC action: Pte Currey, 53 Bn AIF). 

Kindest regards,

Kim.

Edited 5 July , 2020 by Kimberley John Lindsay

[MaureenE]

On 01/12/2014 at 20:22, MaureenE said:

 

I have found some references to an autobiography posthumously published in 2007 called Chota Sahib... You've Had a Busy Day by Charles Nida. It appears the author joined this unit in 1915 or 1916 and underwent some training in the North West Frontier area of India. He appears to have been part of the 25th Motor Machine Gun Battery (Calcutta Volunteers). 

Sample pages from this book may be read on Google Books http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3MefAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1

 

I have come across some online  Transcribed extracts from the book, in particular from Chapter 20. whitbywriters.com. At the bottom of the Chapter 20 extract, there is a link to Chapter 21 with 3 extracts.

Chapters 20  is titled "The Motor Machine Gun Battery" and Chapter 21 is "Goodbye India-we're off to war"

Maureen

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear Maureen,

I admire your tenacity.

Your help for me on the GWF goes back many years - many thanks for that!

Kindest regards,

Kim.