Disbanded or Transferred Regiments of the British Indian Army

[F-14B]

8th Punjab Regiment

The 8th Punjab Regiment had its origins in the Madras Army, where its first battalion was raised at Masulipatam in 1798. Four more battalions were raised in 1799-1800. In 1824, they were designated as the 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd Regiments of Madras Native Infantry. In the early 19th century, these battalions were engaged in fighting the Marathas and took part in a number of foreign expeditions including the Anglo-Burmese Wars. Between 1890 and 1893, they were reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims and Sikhs as Burma Battalions and permanently based in Burma to police the turbulent Burmese hill tracts. Under the Kitchener Reforms of 1903, they were redesignated as the 89th, 90th, 91st, 92nd Punjabis, and 93rd Burma Infantry. They were delocalized from Burma before the First World War.[1]

• 89th Punjabis - India, Aden, Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Mesopotamia, Salonika, Russia.

• 2/89th Punjabis - Raised in 1917 - India, Mesopotamia.

• 90th Punjabis - India, Mesopotamia.

• 2/90th Punjabis - Raised in 1918 - India. Disbanded 1922.

• 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - Burma, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine.

• 2/91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - Raised in 1918 - India. Disbanded 1921.

• 92nd Punjabis - India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine.

• 93rd Burma Infantry - India, Egypt, France, Mesopotamia, Palestine.

Only 2/89th Punjabis of the wartime raisings was retained after the post-war reforms.[2]

The 8th Punjabis have a most distinguished record of service during the First World War. Their long list of honours and awards includes the Victoria Cross awarded to Naik Shahmed Khan of 89th Punjabis in 1916. The 89th Punjabis had the unique distinction of serving in more theatres of war than any other unit of the British Empire. These included Aden, where they carried out the first opposed sea-borne assault landing in modern warfare, Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Mesopotamia, North-West Frontier Province, Salonika and Russian Transcaucasia.[3] All battalions served in Mesopotamia, while 93rd Burma Infantry also served in France. The 92nd Punjabis were made 'Prince of Wales's Own' in 1921 for their gallantry and sacrifices during the war.[1]

In 1922, the five battalions along with the war-raised 2/89th Punjabis were united to form the 8th Punjab Regiment:[1]

• 1/89th Punjabis - 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
• 90th Punjabis - 2nd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
• 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - 3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
• 92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis - 4th Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own)8th Punjab Regiment
• 93rd Burma Infantry - 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
• 2/89th Punjabis - 10th Battalion (Training Battalion) 8th Punjab Regiment

The new class composition of the 8th Punjab Regiment was Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Hindu Gujars. Chinthe - the mythical Burmese lion-dragon guardian of Buddhist pagodas was chosen as its new emblem. The uniform was of drab colour with blue facings. In inter-war period, the Regiment saw extensive service on the North West Frontier of India

• 1st Battalion - India, Malaya. Captured at Singapore in 1942. Reformed in 1946 by redesignation of 9/8th Punjab.
  
  King George VI inspecting 3/8th Punjab,
  Siena, Italy, 26 July 1944.

• 2nd Battalion - India, Burma, French Indochina.

• 3rd Battalion - India, Iran, Italy.

• 4th Battalion - India, Iraq, Iran.

• 5th Battalion - India, Burma, Malaya, Dutch East Indies.

• 6th Battalion (Machine Gun) - Raised in 1940. India, Malaya, Dutch East Indies. Disbanded January 1948; re-raised October 1948.

• 7th Battalion - Raised in 1940. India, Malaya. Captured at Singapore in February 1942.

• 8th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Burma.

• 9th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Ceylon, Cyprus. Redesignated as 1/8th Punjab in 1946. Re-raised 1948.

• 10th Battalion - Converted into Regimental Centre in 1942.

• 14th Battalion - Raised in 1941. Converted into 9th (Punjab) Heavy Anti-aircraft Regiment, Indian Artillery, in 1942. India, Ceylon. Disbanded 1946.

• 15th Battalion - Raised in 1942. Became a training battalion. India. Disbanded 1946.

• 16th Battalion - Raised in 1943. India. Disbanded 1946.

• 25th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1941. India. Disbanded 1946.

• 26th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1946.[2]

During the Second World War the 8th Punjab Regiment again distinguished itself, suffering more than 4500 casualties. It was awarded two Victoria Crosses to Havildar Parkash Singh and Sepoy Kamal Ram, besides numerous other gallantry awards. The regiment raised a further nine battalions. Two of its battalions, the 1st and 7th, were captured on Singapore Island, when the British Commonwealth Army surrendered there to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. Four battalions fought in the Burma Campaign, while others saw service in Iraq, Iran, Italy, French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. Two men from the 8th Punjab Regiment received the Victoria Cross: Havildar Parkash Singh in Burma and Sepoy Kamal Ram in Italy. By the end of the war, the Regiment consisted of 14 Battalions. However, most of the war-raised units were disbanded in 1946 except the 6th and 8th Battalions

Battle Honors

Cochin, Maheidpoor, Ava, Afghanistan 1878-80, Burma 1885–87, China 1900, Loos, France and Flanders 1915, Macedonia 1918, Helles, Krithia, Gallipoli 1915, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine 1918, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Khan Baghdadi, Mesopotamia 1915–18, Afghanistan 1919, The Trigno, Perano, The Sangro, Gustav Line, Monte Grande, The Senio, Italy 1943-45, North Malaya, Jitra, Gurun, Kampar, Malaya 1941–42, Donbaik, North Arakan, The Shweli, Myitson, Kama, Burma 1942–45

 

[mark paine]

Greetings to all. I recently joined this forum and am delighted with the quality of information contained therein. I am seeking information (notions of cap badges/uniforms/accoutrements) for the Bombay Sappers and Miners over the period of 1845-1855 and also the South Indian Railway Bn, Aux Forces India as I had family members serving in both. Any and all information gratefully appreciated.

 

[F-14B]

@mark paine here is one of the pics i found on wiki hope this will help
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Engineer_Group#/media/File:Bombay_Sappers_Uniform.jpg

 

[F-14B]

the cap badge of the South Maratha and Madras Railway rifles credits to the https://www.deadspartan.co.uk/shop.php?ps=1&pg=512

• 1910 on 4th June the Madras Railway Volunteers and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifle Corps amalgamated to become Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifles,[1]
• 1917 renamed 32nd Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifles, 1st April[1]
• 1920 redesignated the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifles on 1st October[1]

Details

• Uniform - Khaki
• Facings - White
• Badge - Eight-pointed star surmounted by a crown with a bugle encircled by a garter in the center
• Motto - "One and all"

Battalions
The Madras Railway Volunteers became 1st Battalion and the Southern Mahratta Railway Rifle Corps became 2nd Battalion.
@mark paine hope this will help

 

[mark paine]

@mark paine here is one of the pics i found on wiki hope this will help
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Engineer_Group#/media/File:Bombay_Sappers_Uniform.jpg

Thanks for the image from wiki, much appreciated. Interesting that the photo is of Indian soldiers only. I wonder what the HEIC european soldiers wore? Wonder if is was the same uniform or was it different?

 

[Shirls]

Great Indian Peninsula Railway Regiment


GIPR Volunteer Rifle Corps pouch belt plate
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Regiment were an auxiliary regiment under the Bombay command. They comprised staff of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.

• 1875 raised on 29th December as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Volunteer Corps[1]
• 1908 amalgamated with the Midland Railway Volunteer Corps, which became 2nd Battalion, on 5th August[2]
• 1917 1st April became 13th Great Indian Peninsula Railway Battalion[2]
• 1920 redesignated Great Indian Peninsula Railway Regiment on 1st October

Hi, your articles are very interesting. I am looking for someone who served with 1st battalion of this regiment in India but have no idea where to start. I know he was there in 1933 as I have a record of a medal. Would you be able to give me any advice?

 

[Capricorn]

Central Bengal Light Horse

The Central Bengal Light Horse was a cavalry regiment which was a part of the Bengal Army of Bengal Presidency under the British Indian Army. The unit operated under the administrative authority of the British Auxiliary Forces and the Bengal command. The Central Bengal Light Horse was established on 27th June 1884. The troops of the army unit provided valuable military services in several British battles and conquests.

Later on 1st November 1901 the Central Bengal Light Horse was merged with the Calcutta Light Horse. The regiment of the Calcutta Light Horse was as a part of the British Indian Cavalry Reserve,

I think you need to revisit your facts. CIH is very much in existence in the IA