42nd Deoli Regiment

[Simon Beckingham]

My grandfather Lt/Acting Captain Harry Cornish served in the 1st Battalion 42nd Deoli Regiment in the Mesopotamia campaign. He was mentioned in a despatch from Lt General WR Marshall dated November 11th 1918. (I have the framed certificate hanging on my office wall)

In the Deoli War diaries held at Kew he is mentioned a number of times . 

He attends a Lewis Gun course and on returning is put in charge of all Muslim Lewis Gun teams

He is sent with 30 soldiers and a Lewis gun mule on a paddle steamer to deal with river pirates

He also falls to many of the illnesses which plague the Deolis , namely typhus , cholera etc.

He survived the  war and died in 1972 aged 81.

He knew HK Salvesen and he told my mother a story of how he was involved in some "horseplay" with Salvesen which resulted in my grandfather losing his temper and picking Salvesen up and throwing him down on his back.

My mother repeated this story to me in 1983 when I mentioned to her that I had applied to Christian Salvesen the distribution company for a job.

Her immediate reply was your grandfather knew a Salvesen from the Deoli Regiment and repeated the story she had been told by her father. 

 

The irony was years later when researching my fathers side of the family who were the Beckinghams from Newcastle that they were directors of shipping companies that built whalers for the Salvesons.

I am interested in everything about 42nd Deoli Regiment and am trying to build up as much information on the Deolis as possible.

These obscure regiments whether they be English County regiments or small colonial regiments were just as capable as the famous prestigious battalions and regiments and were full of "bloody good blokes" as Prof. Richard Holmes the TV military historian would say.  My grandfather was proud of the 42nd Deoli Regiment.

 

[FROGSMILE]

I agree with your sentiments.  See the following link from the superb historical resource maintained by forum member Maureene: https://wiki.fibis.org/w/42nd_Deoli_Regiment

And a direct link to some key exchanges: 

 

Edited 22 July , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[sadbrewer]

Where was he from Simon?

 

Lots of references to the 42nd Deoli's in The British Newspaper Archive...need a subscription though.

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search/british-newspapers?modifiedfacets=true&exactnames=true&exactkeywords=false&keywords=deoli regiment

Edited 22 July , 2021 by sadbrewer

[Simon Beckingham]

Thank you for a quick response to my posting.

My grandfather was born in Lavenham Suffolk in August 1889

He was educated at City of London School and lived in Addelston

In 1911 he went to Germany and worked in Shipping in Hamburg

In 1914 he was sent to India by the German company but was stopped at Port Said when war was declared.

He got to India and joined the Calcutta Scottish but by 1915 he was attending Quetta Military academy and ended up in the Deoli Regiment.

On the army list for the Deoli Regiment it has 43rd Erinpura regiment next to his name. This is a complete mystery 

He was only an IARO and was thus dischared after the war ..He was fluent in German , French and Hindi .

regards 

Simon Beckingham

[FROGSMILE]

11 minutes ago, Simon Beckingham said:

On the army list for the Deoli Regiment it has 43rd Erinpura regiment next to his name. This is a complete mystery 

It means that was his original (or ‘parent’) unit, i.e. the regiment in which he received his first commission as a reserve officer.  He then appears to have been seconded to the 42nd Deoli Regiment.  That type of movement was common.

Edited 22 July , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Simon Beckingham]

Thank you .  You have helped resolve the mystery. I am glad he was in the Deoli Regiment . I have a copy of the Erinpura War records and they were involved in heavy fighting in northern Mesopotamia.

regards

Simon Beckingham