FIBIS Blog

Image of Peter Bailey speaker on Batta Mutiny of 1766

Tracing Ancestors & Soldiers in British India

09 Feb | Past events,

In this half-day course, Peter Bailey describes the development of the East India Company armies, the Indian Army and the role of the British Army in India over the two hundred years from 1746 to Independence in 1947. He will explain the excellent records describing the thousands of Britons who served in these armies to preserve the ‘Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire’.

The first armies in British India belonged to the East India Company. There were three armies: one each for the three Presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay. They were originally formed to defend the Company ‘s possessions against the French in India. However, they soon developed to fight the predations of the various persons who tried to take control of the country from the Moghul Emperor. By the time of the Mutiny in 1857, these Company armies were larger than the British Army. The Government in London then determined to transfer control of India to the Crown and the Company armies were replaced with a new Indian Army. On the eve of the First world War, the Indian Army was about the same size as the British Army. The Indian Army supported the British Army in all theatres of the War: the Western Front, Egypt-Palestine, Gallipoli, East Africa and, particularly in Mesopotamia. Similarly, in World War II, it fought in all theatres, but particularly in the Far East against the Japanese Empire.

Cost: £20.00

Discount: For Members of the Society of Genealogists, a discounted price of £16.00 is available.

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