Farkas Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Hi Gents nearly passsd these in a while back glad I didn't.... Trio of 'well rubbed' 81st pioneers buttons, together a long time..... tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuka f Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Very nice buttons. Thanks for sharing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter monahan Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 The 81st were raised in 1777, became the 10th Battalion, 1st Madras Pioneers in the 1922 re-organization of the Indian Army and were disbanded in 1933 Both the 1st/81st and a second, 1917 raised battalion, served on the North West Frontier during WWI, then went to Persia in 1918 to build a railroad and back to the NWF for the 3rd Afghan War, so they were awau from Madras for 6 years. Interestingly, the unit composition included Tamils, some Madrassi Muslims, Chrisitians and 'Paraiyans', a low caste of labourers. A fairly unusuakl mix, even for a southern Indian unit. The card below, painted by A.C. Lovett in 1911, shows a man of the 81st. He is the fourth from the left - second from the left wearing khaki - and is in service dress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkas Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 thanks both.... i didn't realise the history went back so far - thanks for the write up Peter. tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now