Uncategorised Indian Officer/British Unit ID ca 1900

[James Hoard]

I have been trying to trace service details for a Major Chukkun Lal Singh Roy, from the Chakdighi Zamindari family in the Burdwan district of Bengal.

The family "claim" that he served in the Crimean War. But quite obviously the uniform is late nineteenth century, possibly 1880s.

I have had no success tracing him in the Army Lists.The different spellings and combinations of his name make this a huge problem. I have found him listed in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts (GB) 1899-1901 as "Major Chucken Lall" and as "Major Chukkan Lall Singh Roy" in the Chronicle of the British India Association (Bengal) 1851-1952. He is also variously given as Chucken Lall Sing, Chukken Lal Roy, Chukanlal Roy, Chucken Singh Roy, etc, etc,

The badge on his tropical helmet suggests a British Army regiment rather than Indian. Would anyone be able to identity the unit? Or, indeed, aby further details about this gentleman.

Cheers.

[peter monahan]

James

I agree with the tentative dating on the uniform. Clearly not 1850s! Nor, frankly, would a non-white officer from the 1850s be very likely at all. The badge on the helmet looks like a Rifle regiment to me: Maltese cross with a crown on top. Can you make out any detail of even the ribbon on his single medal? I can't even see how many stripes it has, which would be some help.

I take it the Bengal Assoc. publication is mute on his Major's rank. Possibly honorary, if he was an artist or man of letters? A most intriguing puzzle!

Peter

[James Hoard]

Peter

Yes, I was thinking the same. That it was probably a rifle regiment. I first thought Sherwood Foresters, but their Maltese cross is much more slender and the crown much smaller.

The medal seems to have a broad central stripe with two edge stripes. However, the size of the medal is somewhat puzzling. It seems to be something in-between miniature and regular size.

Neither the Bengal Indian Association (basically a trade union for Zamindars, or large landlords) nor the Royal Society of Arts in the UK are any help, apart from giving his rank as part of his title and name.

Although you are "generally" correct about non-white officers in the 1850s, at that time there were actually two West African colonels in the British Army at that time.

Cheers,

James

[peter monahan]

James

Live and learn! Although, I should know better than to spout the conventional about official racism without stopping to think. And, obviously, most rules have exceptions. I know, for example, that there were two Parsis who served as city councillors in London boroughs before WWI, which would strike many as improbable and even African doctors in the West African colonial service even earlier, though they're tenure apparently ended when the 'memsahibs' arrived out there.

I thought the same about the medal dimensions and wondered whether it might be a non-military award: civil, arts, or even fraternal[?]

[James Hoard]

Indeed, exceptions to the rule are thrilling.

There is also the famous Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Blucke, a free black man from the West Indies who commanded British black units in the American War of Independence as a Captain, and then led them to settlement in Nova Scotia, where he became a Lt-Col in the local militia. Unfortunately, he went into the wilderness one day and was, apparently, eaten by a bear.

West Africa was rather interesting. The Whities used to die like flies because of the local conditions, so the educated locals did comparatively well. There is a lovely photograph of a garden party from either Ghana or Sierra Leone with local white big-whigs (memsahibs attached) walking along doffing their hats at fellow black, equally besuited with their own memsahibs attached. The mother of the acting Governor of Sierra Leone at the time of the proclamation of the abolition of slavery had actually been a slave.

Oh, there were Parsee MPs in the House of Commons in the 1890s. Sir Muncherjee Bhownagree was a Conservative to boot.

I wonder if you may be right and the medal could be Masonic. I think members of the Singh Roy family are even today quite heavily involved.