This article is about the 35th Sikhs and will help you to research the Regiment and those who served with it during the First World War. I have created a separate article for the 2nd Battalion, 35th Sikhs and a series of guides to help you research soldiers who served in the Indian Army during the war. To view the guides click on the blue links below:
The 35th Sikhs in the First World War
Lineage: Raised by Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Inglis at Ferozepore in 1887 as the 35th (Sikh) Regiment of Bengal Infantry. In 1901 it became the 35th Sikh Infantry and the 35th Sikhs in 1903. In 1922 the Regiment became the 10th Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment (this was the Regiment’s Training Battalion).
Class Composition in October 1914: 8 Companies Sikhs. April 1919: 4 Companies of Sikhs. 1922: 3 Companies of Sikhs and 1 Company of Punjabi Muslims.
A painting of a Subadar of the 35th Sikhs by Major Alfred Crowdy Lovett which appeared in The Armies of India
by Major G. F. MacMunn published in 1911.
Location in July 1914: The 35th Sikhs was stationed at Rawalpindi (Punjab, Pakistan) having arrived from Jhelum (Punjab, Pakistan) on 11th March 1911.
During the First World War, the 35th Sikhs was stationed in India serving as part of the 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division. Though the 35th Sikhs served in India for the duration of the war it provided a large number of drafts to other units (it was linked to the 36th and 47th Sikhs). In total 291 officers and men of the Regiment are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with 154 having died while serving with the 47th Sikhs. The extract below was taken from the October 1914 Indian Army List and recorded the Indian officers serving with the Regiment. The date on the left is when the officer enlisted in the Indian Army and the brackets after their names refer to courses passed (there is a list at the start of the book).
The 35th Sikhs served as part of the North West Frontier Force during the Third Anglo-Afghan War and was stationed at Landi Kotal when war broke out on the 6 May 1919. In the January 1920 Indian Army List, the 35th Sikhs was stationed at Anandi and in the July 1921 edition was overseas with its Depot at Ambala (Haryana, India). In the January 1922 edition, the 35th Sikhs was stationed at Jhelum (Punjab, Pakistan). The 35th Sikhs became the 10th Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment in 1922 and arrived at Nowshera on the North West Frontier (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) from Jhelum on 12 October 1922.
War Diaries of the 35th Sikhs
Unfortunately, there are no war diaries for the 35th Sikhs.
Further Sources for the 35th Sikhs
For information regarding the British and Indian officers who served with the 35th Sikhs, the Indian Army List should be consulted. The Regiment’s Confidential Reports contain a wealth of information concerning the 35th Sikhs and the British officers who served with it. They are held at the British Library: Confidential Reports on Regiments etc. There is also a regimental history, though it is very hard to find and only available from the British Library, Imperial War Museum etc: 35th Sikhs Regimental Record, 1887 – 1922 by J. C. Freeland.