This article on the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans and will help you to research the Battalion and those who served with it during the First World War. I have written a separate article for the 1st Battalion 1st Brahmans and a series of guides to researching soldiers who served in the Indian Army during the war:
The 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans in the First World War
Lineage: The 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans was formed at Sitapur, India on 26 November 1917 and disbanded in November 1920. For a history of the Regiment’s lineage see my page on the 1st Battalion 1st Brahmans.
Class Composition of Battalion in 1919: 1 Company of Kanaujiya Brahmans, 1 Company of Gaur Brahmans, 1 Company of Sarawariya Brahmans and 1 Company “Sanadh” Brahmans.
The 2nd Battalion, 1st Brahmans was a short-lived Indian infantry battalion formed at Sitapur in India on 26 November 1917. The Battalion’s only commanding officer was Acting Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Mactavish who was appointed from the 3rd Brahmans on 26 November 1917. The Battalion is very difficult to research as few records survive and the only war diary is of little value. The Battalion served in India for the duration of the First World War with the 8th (Lucknow) Division before serving in the Middle East, including at Muscat in Oman. While serving overseas the Battalion’s Depot was at Sitapur. Seventeen soldiers, one is a duplicate, of the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Basra and Tehran Memorials. The Battalion was disbanded in November 1920. The extract below was taken from the July 1919 Indian Army List and shows the British officers serving with the Battalion. Only Mactavish, the commanding officer was a pre-war regular with many officers on temporary commissions (T.C.) or from the Indian Army Reserve of Officers (I.A.R.O.).
War Diary of the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans
There is only one war diary for the Battalion which can only be viewed at the National Archives. I have transcribed the diary in full at the bottom of the page.
- Date: 01-17 July 1919
- Reference: WO 95/5438
- Notes: Unfortunately, the only war diary for the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans is only two pages in length, written while the regiment was stationed at Muscat and half of July is missing. The war diary mostly consists of the comings and goings of ships visiting Muscat.
Further Sources for the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans
For information regarding British and Indian officers who served with the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans, the Indian Army List should be consulted. There only two confidential reports for the battalion’s Depot which are held at the British Library. These reports also contain the annual reports of the British officers serving at the Depot.
- Confidential review reports on Indian Army units, depots, British officers, etc. for 1918-1919: IOR/L/MIL/7/17030
- Confidential review reports on Indian Army units, depots, British officers, etc. for 1919-1920: IOR/L/MIL/7/17031
The War diary of the 2nd Battalion 1st Brahmans
01-17 July 1919, Muscat, WO 95/5438
1 July 1919 – Muscat – Picquet line relieved by fresh detachment.
2 July 1919 – Bramble arrived and departed. Sultan’s yacht arrived.
3 July 1919 – Bramble arrived.
4 July 1919 – Nothing to report.
5 July 1919 – Sultan’s yacht departed. Palmacotta arrived and departed.
6 July 1919 – A. T. Vasna arrived and departed, Bramble departed. Lightning arrived and departed.
7 July 1919 – Palitana and ? arrived and departed.
8 July 1919 – Picquet line relieved by fresh detachment.
9 July 1919 – Mashona arrived.
10 July 1919: War Cuirass [? the handwriting is too poor to decipher most of the ships] arrived and departed. Mashona [?] departed.
11 July 1919: Nothing to report.
12 July 1919: Nothing to report.
13 July 1919: Chakla arrived and departed.
14 July 1919: Palamcotta arrived and departed. ? and Neachus arrived.
16 July 1919: Picquet line relieved by fresh detachment. Neachus departed. Barpeta arrives.
17 July 1919: Nothing to report.