top of page

British India
(Includes present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Myanmar/Burma)
 

Officers of the Indian Cavalry Escort for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee

Risaldar Major Sher Singh
Sirdar Bahadur
C.I.E., O.B.I., O.M.
2nd Punjab Cavalry

1887

Risaldar Major

Nadir Ali Khan
18th Bengal Cavalry

1887

Risaldar Major

Isri Singh, O.M.
19th Bengal Cavalry

1887

Woordi Major

Lena Singh
2nd Central India Horse

188
7

These four outstanding photographic studies were once part of set of fifteen which depicted officers of the Anglo-Indian cavalry who were chosen to take part in Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee which took place in London in 1887. The set of photographs were in all likelihood the official portraits of these officers taken at the behest of the Queen by noted photographers Andrew and George Taylor. After supplying the Queen with her photographs the Taylor brothers would have offered additional sets for sale to the general public. These photographs came from one of those commercially available sets.

KOSBs.png

Sergeant & Bandsman

King's Own Scottish Borderers

c. 1890s

HPK Skipton.png

H. P. K. Skipton

Indian Police Service

1889

Pte Derbyshire Rgt.png

Private

The Derbyshire Regiment

(The Sherwood Foresters)

c.1888

Sturgeon RA.png

Bombardier
Alexander J. H. Sturgeon
Royal Garrison Artillery

c. 1900

Pte Kings Liverpool and Rgt Servant.png
Private Warwiickshire Colt Lightning.png
Subadar 7th Rajputs.png
Edward May Royal Scots.png

Private

The King's (Liverpool) Regt.
&
Regimental Servant

c. 1900s

Private
with

Colt Lightning Rifle
Royal Warwickshire Regiment
c. 1900

Subadar
7th (Duke of Connaught's Own)
Rajput Bengal Infantry

c. 1900s

Lance Corporal
Edward May
"E" Company
2nd Battalion

The Royal Scots
September, 1902

George William Deane.png

Captain

George William Deane
13th Bengal Cavalry

c. 1890

Drummer Gordons.png

Drummer

The Gordon Highlanders

1900s

Indian Officer Sudan Medals.png

Subadar

Dalel Khan

25th Mountain Battery

c. 1900

Fusilier Drummer.png

Drummer

Fusilier Regiment

c. 1900

Colour-Sergeant Walter Anniss

Walter Anniss was born at Balham, Surrey on 26 February 1876 the son of Robert and Elizabeth Anniss. He received his education at Church School in Isleworth.

He enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's West
Riding Regiment for twelve years on 30 January 1893. At the time of his enlistment, he was described as being 5 feet 5 3/4 inches tall, weighing 117 pounds with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. He was also described as having a diamond tattoo on his right forearm and a cross & anchor tattoo on his left forearm.

Promotions were as follows:

Corporal - 15 May 1895
Lance Sergeant - 19 November 1895
Sergeant - 17 April 1897

His term expired and he re-enlisted to complete 12 years of service on 8 July 1902 while in the Transvaal.

Colour-Sergeant - 1 February 1908
Retired - 29 January 1914

During his initial 21 years with the colours Anniss saw active service during the Anglo-Boer War. He was entitled to the Queen's South Africa Medal with the clasps "Paardeberg", "Driefontein", "Relief of Kimberley" and "Transvaal" and the King's South Africa Medal with the clasps "1901" and "1902".

Walter Anniss.png

No. 3692 Colour-Sergeant Walter Anniss

West Riding Regiment  
&
6/Royal West Surrey Regiment

Lucknow, British India
30 December 1904

Black Watch Sergeant and Family.png
Royal Artillery Gunner.png
Sepoy Kabul to Kandahar.png
Private West Surrey.png

Sergeant
2nd Battalion,

the Black Watch
and Family
c. 1900s

Gunner

Royal Artillery
c. 1900

Sepoy
2nd Anglo-Afghan War
Veteran
c. 1880s

Private
The Queen's
(Royal West Surrey)
Regiment
c. 1900

Shillong Volunteer Rifles.png
Cawnpore Light Horse.png
East Cost Rifle Volunteers.png
Calcutta Volunteer Rifles.png

Colour-Sergeant
A. G. Bell
Shillong Volunteer Rifles
14 August 1902

Quartermaster

John Connolly
2/King's Own Scottish Borderers
&
Sergeant
Cawnpore Light Horse

c. 1892

Family Group
East Coast Rifle Volunteers
c. 1890s

Volunteer

Calcutta Volunteer Rifles
c. 1890

Sergeant Major Bangalore Rifles.png

Acting Sergeant Major
Bangalore Rifle Volunteers
c. 1902

Archibald Francis Stewart.png

Achibald Francis Stewart
Durham Light Infantry  
Indian Army
June 1896

F Hayter.png

Drummer F. Hayter
2nd Battalion,
The Suffolk Regiment
c. 1894

Arthur Lidstone Wills.png

Pioneer Sergeant
Arthur J. L. L. Wills
2nd Battalion,
The Suffolk Regiment
c.1894

81st Pioneers.png
Troop Sergeant Major RE.png

Jemadar

81st Pioneers
London, England
1900s

Troop Sergeant Major in Turban
Royal Engineers
c. 1900

Colonel of Pioneers.png

Colonel of Pioneers
c. 1890s

Logan-Home.png

Watercolour Sketch

of the Suswa River near Dehradun

Lieutenant

William James Logan-Home
Royal Engineers
April 1872

“The tiger will see you hundred times before you see it once”
                                                                               ― Anonymous

Cut from an album this photograph and associated newspaper clipping recount the demise of Lieutenant John Keith of Royal Artillery. Lieutenant Keith was killed by a wounded tiger while hunting with brother officers in the Wurdah District near Nagpore, British India.

John Keith was born about 1840 in Old Machar, Aberdeen, Scotland the third son of Dr. William Keith and the former Miss Burnette Silver.

Keith was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 1 April 1861 and was assigned to the 13th Brigade, 8th Battery in Secunderabad, India on in May of the same year. He sailed from Gravesend aboard the steamer Hydaspes on 16 June 1861.

 

His military career being abruptly cut short a few short years after his arrival in India by his intended prey, Keith was never promoted nor did he seen any active service in the field.

His obituary appeared in the 27 April (no year) edition of The Central India Times and an abbreviated version showed up in the Saturday, 8 June 1867 issue of The Times (London).

Keith came from a large family of five brothers all of whom served in the military:
 

John Keith RA Page.png

Above: The mounted photograph of Lt. John Keith, R.A. and the newspaper clipping taken from an album/scrapbook relating to his death under the jaws and claws of a wounded tiger.

Four Cyclists.png

Cyclists
The 3rd Kings Own Hussars
&

2nd Battalion,
The Gordon Highlanders
c. 1903

Sgt Meldrum.png

Sergeant William Meldrum
16th Lancers
with Wife & Servant
1865

Cyclist Summer Whites.png

Army Cyclist

c. 1890s

Herbert Flamstead Walters.png
William Stubbings.png

No. 1811 Private

William Robert Stubbings

72nd Highlanders

c. 1872

Colour-Sergeant Instructor

2/the King's Shropshire Light Infantry

c. 1905

Act Sgt Maj Indian Vols.png
Joseph Stretton.png

No. 4452 Private

Joseph Stretton

1/South Lancashire Regiment

c. 1900s

Captain

Herbert Flamstead Walters

24th Baluchistan Infantry

c. 1896

Gerard Charles Lisle Howell.png
Charles Lamont Robertson Glasfurd.png

Gerard Charles Lisle Howell

Indian Civil Service

Jacob's Horse

1900

Charles Lamont Robertson Glasfurd

Bihar Light Horse

1900

Ponder and Richardson.png

Privates

No. 4533 Arthur Ponder & No. 4479 Alfred Richardson
2nd Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment

20 June 1902

Henry Charlesworth.png

Surgeon-Major

Henry Charlesworth

Army Medical Service

December 1897

Edgar Job Evans.png

Sergeant

Edgar Job Evans

1/The King's (Shropshire) Light Infantry

c. 1900

William Wherry.png

No. 543

Private William Henry Wherry

10th Regiment of Foot

c. 1870

D Souza.png

Officers Servant
Paulo Sebastiano de Souza
c. 1880s

Copeland Cover Front.png

Registered Postal Cover
Private Thomas Copeland
1/South Lancashire Regiment

16 March 1903

George Cotton Northamptonshire Regiment.png

No. 2842

Private John Cotton

1/Northamptonshire Regiment c. 1895

Capatin Edmond Arthur Ponsonby Hobday

Captain Anthony Abdy

Royal  Artillery

c. 1895

Up From the Ranks

Being promoted to officer status from the ranks was almost unheard of during the early part of the Victorian-era. With the increasing emphasis on military professionalism and ongoing reforms during the later years of Victoria's reign the practice become more common.

Edgar Vincent Thomas Alexander Spink was one such soldier. Enlisting as a private in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry late in Victoria's reign, he would be commissioned in his regiment during the Great War. 

Our subject was born 16 September 1882 on the Ilse of Wight to Thomas Spink and Mary Ann Elizabeth Kelly. 

Due to him being promoted from the ranks, Spink's enlisted service papers have not been found. As a result, the date of hid enlistment is not known.

Serving with the 2nd Battalion, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry during the Anglo-Boer War, Spink was entitled to the Queen's South Africa Medal (rank of corporal) with clasps: "Cape Colony", "Paardeberg", "Driefontein", and "Johannesburg". He also qualified for the King's South Africa Medal (rank of sergeant) with its usual "1901" and "1902" clasps.

The 2/Shropshire's roll for the Queen's South Africa Medal was compiled at Belfast, Transvaal on 26 July 1901 and lists Spink's rank as lance corporal.  The battalion's roll for the King's medal, compiled at Rannikket, British India on 20 June 1903 shows Spink having been promoted sergeant  then.

Sergeant

Edgar Vincent Thomas Alexander Spink
 

2/the King's Shropshire Light Infantry


India


1905

William Henry Bonnacker 2.png
A Kut Hero

Ordnance Quartermaster Sergeant

George William Bonaker

Army Ordnance Corps

India


December 1910

This remarkably informal photograph shows No. 184 Armament Quartermaster Sergeant William Henry Bonaker, D.C.M. of the Royal Army Ordnance Corpsposing with his bicycle on a jungle road somewhere in India during the 1910-11 holiday season. Three locals also joined Bonaker in the photograph in which the road itself seems the center of the composition. Interestingly the road also forms a demarcation line between the Bonaker on the two Indian natives. The almost idyllic quality of the photograph belies the abject degradation and horror that Bonaker would face in just a few short years.

 

William Henry Bonaker was born in 1873 at King’s Langley, Hertfordshire. William’s father John Bonaker was a saddler by trade and his mother Louisa was listed in the 1881 census as a saddler’s apprentice as well as a wife and mother. Given the circumstances of Bonaker’s military career his service records have not been found but based on his marriage registration he must have enlisted in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps sometime after his marriage to Maud Mary Thwaites on 30 April, 1893 since at that time he was still living at his home in Luton, Hertfordshire. After enlistment much of Bonakers’ service seems to have been in India. There is a mention the Queen’s South Africa Medal Roll of a civilian saddler W. Bonaker serving with the Army Ordnance Corps and it is possible that  the same Bonaker.  

Ceylon/Sri Lanka
 

Five Soldiers Columbo.png

Five Veteran Soldiers
Unknown Regiment
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
c. 1900

bottom of page