The First World War
 |
| The barrack room, Agra Fort (Click to enlarge) |
 |
| Parade Ground, Chaubattia.. (Click to enlarge) |
When war came, and as the crucial nature of the struggle in Europe became evident and the vast majority of the people of India emphatically declared their loyalty to the Empire, British troops in India were reduced in number, Territorial battalions replaced Regular ones, and the primary task continued to be the guarding of the North-West Frontier where there was recurrent trouble throughout the war.
Four Territorial battalions of the Surrey regiments arrived in India at the end of 1914. They were the 1/4th and 1/5th Queen’s and the 1/5th and 1/6th Surreys.
1/5th Queen’s was stationed initially at Lucknow before leaving India for Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in December 1915. 1/5th Surreys spent most of the war at Nowshera and Peshawar before also moving to Mesopotamia in 1917. Both battalions had previously sent drafts to the Royal Norfolk Regiment in that country. 1/6th Surreys were stationed at Rawalpindi in 1915 and 1916. They spent 1917 with the Aden Field Force before returning to India in January 1918.
 |
| 'Sweet Dreams' - Agra Fort. (Click to enlarge) |
Only 1/4th Queen’s spent the whole of the war in India. They were engaged in operations against the Mohmands in the Khyber area, and notably on 15th November 1915 were supported by aircraft for the first time in India. They were stationed at Mian Meer in 1916 when heavy garrison duties were compounded by the need to provide instructors for the training of India Defence Units raised at Lahore. In early 1917 a large force of Mahsuds began to raid convoys in South Waziristan and 1/4th Queen’s moved to Tank to join the Waziristan Field Force and take the field against them. Sadly, however, the battalion was so stricken by illness that soon after its arrival it was withdrawn and despatched to Dagshai and Jutogh in the Simla Hills to recover. It moved to Lahore in the spring of 1918 and was stationed there when World War I ended.
|
|
| The Band 1/6th Bn The East Surrey Regiment taken during their stay at Agra, India 1918. (Click to enlarge) |
1Signal Platoon, 1/5th Bn The Queen’s Royal Regiment, Lucknow, India 1915. (Click to enlarge) |
A hospital ward in India, First World War |
Corps of Drums
1/6th Bn |
Related
