Indian scrpt mark translation help needed

spiral · 8th December 2007, 05:17 PM

Thankyou katana,

Intersting picture! Not seen that one before.

It would have been not uncommen for officers in the Brit. Indian army to buy there own kukris at that time.

But the man holding the kukri is not in the Surrys Uniform & his skin colour matches that of the Sikhs. His uniform resembles Bengal Native infantry who at that time had numerous Gurkha units.

So most likely I think he is a Gurkha.

They were commonly used against the Sikhs at that time.

It was a British tradition to put the Gurkhas & the other native troops in the front line.

Spiral

katana · 9th December 2007, 04:37 PM

Thank you Spiral,
for the history lesson ..... the 'moustache' on the soldier looked typically 'colonial' ....never occured to me he was a native

Regards David

Jim McDougall · 9th December 2007, 09:01 PM

The dark uniformed soldier with the kukri looks to me like Gurkha uniform of c.1870's that I think appears in a title "Armies of India" by Maj. A.C.Lovett in the illustrations. What is most recognizable is the 'pillbox' type hat.
The Gurkhas was incredibly tough fighters who from what I understand, were pretty hard to hold back, so I think in battle they were more or less 'unleashed' rather than forced to the front. They seemed to have a sincere affection for the British forces, and in turn, the British carried an admiration for thier ferocity and valor in combat.

8th December 2007, 05:17 PM	#1
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Thankyou katana, Intersting picture! Not seen that one before. It would have been not uncommen for officers in the Brit. Indian army to buy there own kukris at that time. But the man holding the kukri is not in the Surrys Uniform & his skin colour matches that of the Sikhs. His uniform resembles Bengal Native infantry who at that time had numerous Gurkha units. So most likely I think he is a Gurkha. They were commonly used against the Sikhs at that time. It was a British tradition to put the Gurkhas & the other native troops in the front line. Spiral

9th December 2007, 04:37 PM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Thank you Spiral, for the history lesson ..... the 'moustache' on the soldier looked typically 'colonial' ....never occured to me he was a native Regards David

9th December 2007, 09:01 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,744	The dark uniformed soldier with the kukri looks to me like Gurkha uniform of c.1870's that I think appears in a title "Armies of India" by Maj. A.C.Lovett in the illustrations. What is most recognizable is the 'pillbox' type hat. The Gurkhas was incredibly tough fighters who from what I understand, were pretty hard to hold back, so I think in battle they were more or less 'unleashed' rather than forced to the front. They seemed to have a sincere affection for the British forces, and in turn, the British carried an admiration for thier ferocity and valor in combat.