Duputy Inspector General Mainwaring, Madras Police.

[Alan Baird]

Hi,

I will probably have to make several entries to cover 'Deputy Inspector General Norman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring's story,' especially because I hate typing and get bored with it so quickly. But here goes anyway :-

The group of three medals consist of the following and they are extremely nice both in their condition and in their appearance.

[a] King's Police medal for Distinguished Service, GVR Coinage bust. [N.E.Q. Mainwaring, Dep. Insp. Gen. Madras Police].

Indian General Service medal 1908-1935, 1 Clasp ''Malabar 1921-22. [N.E.Q. Mainwaring, D.I.G. Police].

[c] Delhi Durbar medal 1911, in silver, engraved naming. [N.E.Q. Mainwaring Indian Police. Delhi. 12th Decr. 1911].

[d]  All the medals are individual mounted and the King's Police medal comes with the original case. There is also the recipient's matching original miniature group of the three medals, his Indian Police Cap Badge silvered and with the black backing cloth and two tunic ribbon bars etc.

 

General family details of Norman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring :-

Norman E Q Mainwaring was born in Thayet, Myo, Bengal, in India on the 20th of July in 1867.

Norman's parents were Reginald Quintin Mainwaring and Charlotte Law Mainwaring. [nee Pinson]. Norman's father was a Colonel in the Indian Army and on his retirement was given the honoury rank of Lieutenant General on the Reserve list. 

Reginald Quintin Mainwaring was also elected and became the Mayor of Bath.

Norman's mother Charlotte Law Pinson was the daughter of Major General Albert Pinson.

Norman's older brother 'Charles Vaughan Mainwaring' and was also a Colonel in the Army and so we can see that the ''Mainwaring family,'' were part of the higher end of the social scale in Victorian England/India.

By the England Census of 1881, 1891 and 1901, we find that Reginald Quintin Mainwaring's family home is at 24 Marlbro Buildings, in the Parish of Walcot, in the District of Bath.

By the 9th of May in 1888, Norman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring is residing and working in India. [Madras Police ie Superintendent].

On the 18th of February in 1899, Norman E Q Mainwaring marries Irene Lytton Tredway-Leonard, in Bangalore, Madras, in India.

In the England Census of 1939, Norman E Q Mainwaring is recorded as being a widow and his occupation is listed as being ''Indian Police Retired.'' He is residing at Hay, Breconshire, in Wales.

In 1940, Norman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring [73] died in Hay, in Breconshire, in Wales.

 

Will add more shortly...……………...

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by Alan Baird
correct spelling

[Alan Baird]

 

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring, Deputy Inspector General, Madras Indian Police.

 

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring was involved in the operations that occurred on the first day of the 'Malabar Rebellion' and then during the following 6 months that the rebellion lasted.

From the start of the rebellion, the rebels attacked the railway network, Government buildings and offices. They attacked anything that was associated with the British Government including British individuals and their families and they also attacked the local Hindu community in general.  

In official reports, Norman E. Q. Mainwaring is mentioned on various occasions and which also included his involvement in heavy fighting with the rebels. I will list more details relating to this matter later.

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring, Deputy Inspector General and the Reserved and Special Police units were fully deployed to quell the uprising.

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring was officially given a captured, 'Khalafat Flag,' from the Madras Government and which is officially recorded in the records. Unfortunately this was sold separately from the medals so the flag is no longer part of the group of items that remained together.

 

Here are some photographs of Norman Mainwaring...………………..

[Mike McLellan]

As always, fascinating stuff, Alan. But isn’t that third medal a GvR coronation medal?

Mike 

[Alan Baird]

 

The King's Police medal...………………………...

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring was serving as the Deputy Inspector General of the Madras Police when he was awarded the King's Police medal for Distinguished Service in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for the 1st of January in 1920. A newspaper cutting from the time states that his award was for his work as District Superintendent and Deputy Inspector General of Police for a period of some 20 years, ''who by his energy and long experience gave material help to establishing the Police School at Anantapur.''

[paul wood]

Very nice trio. I have several Indian KPMS and Indian Police Medals for Gallantry. All of mine to Indian recipients. Interestingly although amongst the first KPMS gazetted were Indian Police recipients (I have one) the Indian recipients received the George V medal as I suppose by the time they got to awarding them Edward VII had fallen off his perch so EVII Indian Police awards are like unicorns, mythical. Some of the heroism for the awards, especially on the NWF are unbelievable  and as usual the lower the rank the greater the gallantry, were they performed by a member of the armed forces in action they would have been certain VC awardees and yet they can be purchased for a few hundred pounds. Again a lovely trio especially with the Malabar.

All the best

Paul

[Alan Baird]

Hi Paul,

            These medal were not really in my collecting area but when I read the story and began researched them......I got kind of hooked. I know what you mean about the gallantry and I enjoyed reading some of the stories about life in India during this period. I think the Indian General Service medals for 1908-1935 are extremely interesting, even although, I have only recently read about the Malabar Rebellion.

regards,

Alan.  

[Alan Baird]

Hi Mike,

I would have just called it the ''Indian Coronation medal for 1911'' but I believe the correct term is ''The Delhi Durbar medal 1911.'' It commemorates King George V's Coronation and Royal visit to India and I believe 26,800 medals were issued and many medals were given military personnel. [Officers and Regiments] They were issued unnamed but Norman Mainwaring's medal is very neatly engraved, as all his medals are.

I know Norman Mainwaring's medal was issued by the Indian Mint because of the design of the claw. Norman Mainwaring was obviously still residing and working in India during this period. I must admit this is a nice medal, solid, heavy and  a very attractive medal.

Alan. 

[Alan Baird]

 

Identifying Norman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring.

Along with Noman Elliott Quintin Mainwaring's medals came approximately 60 photographs, 6 negatives and some other paper items.

Most of the photographs were scenic views but some did have people included.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to identify Norman E. Q. Mainwaring.

There was also a hand made booklet celebrating a social outing by a group of individuals who visited ''Vellore Jan. 21-22 1916,'' and a copy was given to Norman Mainwaring by ''Lady Pentland with her compliments.'' The first picture in the booklet was of Norman Mainwaring but the picture was extremely small and even using a magnifying glass his facial features were blurred. By getting the photograph digitally enhanced/enlarged, it was then possible to identify his general facial appearance.

The facial image was then compared to four of the negatives and there appeared to be a real chance that they all referred to Norman Mainwaring. The negatives were very old 110mm size negatives and had to be developed at a printing lab in Glasgow. It can be reasonably cheap to develop such negatives at a good photographic lab.

When the photographs came back, it proved we had identified Norman E. Q. Mainwaring and all because a hand made booklet had survived 103 years.

 

 

 

 

[Alan Baird]

Hi,

In 1921 the Moplah leaders and rebels wanted an Islamic state free from the British and also from the Hindu majority in India. The local authorities knew they had to act quickly and so they decided to send a force to arrest and capture the agitators.

In the early hours of the morning of Saturday the 20th of August in 1921, District Magistrate Mr Thomas and accompanied by Mr Fraser the Assistant Magistrate and a force of 100 Reserve Police under the command of Mr Hitchcock Superintendent of Police and a detachment of 70 British soldiers from the Leinster Regiment under the command of Captain McEnroy arrived in Tirurangadi.

An additional supporting force of 60 Malappuram Special Police under the command of Mr Lancaster Assistant Superintendent of Police and Norman E. Q. Mainwaring Deputy Inspector General also arrived in Tirurangadi.

The operational plan was to arrest a number of Mapilla leaders and also search for weapons. The force raided the Khilafat Headquarters and the Mosque and some residential houses in Tirurangadi. The search of the Mosque was done in a respectful way but the rebels soon spread stories that the Government Forces had desecrated a holy site.

Large bands of rebels soon formed up to attack the police and soldiers. At about 11.45am information was received that approximately 2,000 Moplahs from Tanur had come by train to Parappanangadi and were advancing on Tirurangadi.

It was decided to go at once and meet the mob. The column consisted of Leinsters and the Reserve Police led by Messrs. Mainwaring and Hitchcock on the left and Messrs. Lancaster and Amoo Sahib on the right and with the Malappuram Special Force in the rear.

At approximately 12.30am and a mile and a half from Tirurangadi, the column encountered a mob of armed Moplahs numbering between 2,000 and 3,000 who were given official notice to disperse but they continued to advance. The rebels had a reputation for being fierce fighters and unafraid of death and would have used swords and clubs etc. The Police then fixed bayonets and charged at the crowd. At close-quarters the Police started to take casualties and which included Mr Lancaster taking a blow to the head. The Police then opened fire and this drove the mob backwards and resulted in 9 rebels killed and 3 rebels wounded. One rebel leader was captured and 40 rebels were taken prisoner. One of the dead rebels was the flag standard bearer which I believe is probably the flag that was given to Deputy Inspector General Norman Mainwaring, later in the campaign. The column then returned to Tirurangadi and the rebellion had now officially started. The rebellion would last for approximately 6 months.

Alan.

 

[paul wood]

Lovely Mike,

Beware of falling in love with India during British rule. It is highly addictive and obsessive.  I stated collecting in 2005 with an Igs 08 waziristan 1919-21 to an employee of the railways and cant see myself stopping soon. I have over 800 medals and still growing.

Paul

 

[Alan Baird]

Hi Paul,

Wow.....I can't even begin to imagine what a collection of 800 medals looks like. At the height of my collection I had approximately 130 medals and I thought that was lot.

My wife did buy me a copy of ''Taming the Tiger'' for my birthday and when I was researching Norman Mainwaring's medals....I did get thoughts that it would be nice to have a Leinster or Dorset Regiment medal, just to compliment Norman Mainwaring's medals but I managed to resist the temptation.

Instead I have decided just to take my time and read about the various campaigns in a leisurely fashion from my copy of 'Taming the Tiger.'

 

Alan.

 

 

[paul wood]

Alan,

They look lovely in a 3 foot, 10 drawer, Recency collector's cabinet. The lovely thing about my collecting interest is that some of my most interesting medals Ww2 and Independence medals have cost as little as under £5. Others obviously have cost an arm and a leg. As long as I collect I will always be poor.

Paul

 

[Alan Baird]

Hi Mike,

           I enjoy hearing about other people's collections and it makes you think, for example, after years of collecting I am still trying to find my perfect way to display my collection. I get hooked when there is a story behind the medal, a small story or a  big story, it does not matter, just something I can relate to.

 

Anyway, I am not very artistic but I do think many of the medals, especially the older medals, are really quite stunning and beautiful and are really almost works of art. So I will added a couple of photographs to highlight my point.

I have also added a photographs of the dress medals [miniature] that belonged to Norman E. Q. Mainwaring. These are extremely well detailed and I think they may be of silver. I am not an expert in dress medals so I might be wrong.

Alan. 

[Alan Baird]

Hi,

'Madras Weekly Mail, obituary of Police Sergeant Martin Hartigan of the Reserve Police and dated the 24th of August in 1922.' Police Sergeant Martin Hartigan saved Mr Mainwaring Deputy Inspector General from being wounded during the early stage of the Moplahs Rebellion.

''''Obituary-Our Calicut correspondent writes: I regret to record the death on Saturday last at the age of about 43, from bronchial pneumonia of Sergeant Martin Hartigan of the Reserve Police and formerly of the Royal Field Artillery. The funeral took place on Saturday evening at the R.C. cemetery and was very largely attended, the Rev. Fathers Barratta and Rossi, conducted the service. The West Hill Detachment, Suffolk Regiment, furnished a firing party and among those in the funeral cortege was Mr Rowlandson D.S.P. The deceased was a keen and straight Police Officer. He wore the 1914 and 1915 Star, the Victor medal, the General Service medal, the Long Service medal and the medal for Malabar Operations. During the early stage of the operations against the Moplahs Sergeant Hartigan was instrumental in saving Mr Mainwaring D.I.G. from being wounded. 

[Alan Baird]

Hi,

Indian [Imperial] Police Dinner Club, Annual Dinner, Wednesday the 22nd of June in 1932.

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring, Deputy Inspector General of the Indian Madras Police retired, attended the Indian [Imperial] Police Dinner Club's annual dinner which was held at the Edward VII Rooms, Hotel Victoria, W.C.2, on Wednesday the 22nd of June in 1932.

The Dinner Club's guest of honour was 'H.R.H. The Prince of Wales' and this explains why the dress requirement was for, 'Evening Dress & miniature decorations.'

Norman E. Q. Mainwaring was also given a programme which lists all those attending the dinner and identifies the individual table seating arrangements. The tables were arranged in order ie Central Provinces, Punjab and N.W.F.P, United Provinces, Madras and Burma, Assam and Bengal etc.

On the 23rd of June in 1932, the Times Newspaper records the event and also lists those who attended the event.

By 1932 Norman E. Q. Mainwaring would have retired and settled in the United Kingdom for some considerable time so there appears to be a strong bond between those that served in the Imperial service etc.

 

Some more photographs of the seating arrangement etc

[paul wood]

 

 

Alan 

Fantastic with all the paper work and the minis are gorgeous. If you ever get bored with the group....,............

Paul

[Alan Baird]

Hi Paul,

I better not tell me wife what your said...….she would sell the lot tomorrow.

Most of the photographs are scenic but here are just a few ….showing  a group touring and what happens to a rogue elephant.

Alan. 

[paul wood]

The last photo's victim almost certainly  ended up.making Chinese viagra.

What a fantastic ensemble

 

Paul

[Alan Baird]

 

 

Actually, I would have thought that the poor or local villagers would have taken the elephant meat. Imagine how many families it could have fed. They probably could have easily preserved the meat to keep it good. Yet I have never seen a photograph etc showing elephants being cut up for their meat. Maybe in India in the 1920's etc it was considered inappropriate to eat such meat.

I also remember recently reading........that in Central Africa , the elephant meat is so prized, that this is now the greatest risk to the elephants survival in these area's. 

Alan.

 

P.S I have actually eaten crocodile before. It was only small pieces of meat but can't remember what it tasted like but my wife said it was like a mixture of chicken and fish. Maybe elephant also tastes like chicken and fish.

[paul wood]

I know alligator is farmed in Florida and is very tasty 

 

Paul

[Alan Baird]

The crocodiles were at an animal sanctuary near Cape Town in South Africa. 

You had to cross over a pond/pool by a narrow bridge and the crocodiles were often underneath the structure.

Usually they would wait until a few women were crossing and then they would suddenly shake the bridge mechanically.

They were never in danger of falling into the pool but you were in danger of going deaf because of their screams.

It was a cruel trick but it did appeal to my sense of humour. [ha, ha].

 

They had a café there and served various unusual meats but definitely not elephant.

Alan.

[Alan Baird]

More photograhs - just another day in India...…………...

[a] Mountain scene.

Some kind of sports day - may have been the Police School?

[c] 2 x locals/scenes. [notice photographer's shadow in photograph.]

[d] 2 x man missing trousers - so they did have a sense of humour.

Alan.

[paul wood]

Definitely a candidate for the universal knobbly knees contest.

Paul

[Alan Baird]

Hi,

Here are two more photographs :-

The first one is of ''Bessidge having shot the rogue elephant.'' I am not sure of the initials...…. is it '' J & C.'' If anybody can help with his initials, I would be grateful.  It might just be possible to find him in the records, if I can work out his initials.

The second photograph relates to the Police on Parade in 1917.

[bigjarofwasps]

Yet again Alan, you have me GREEN with envy.

What a cracking little group and write up!!!!!