63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry

Last updated

63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry
63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, St. Mary's Church, Madras.jpg
63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry insignia
Active1759–1922
CountryBritish Raj Red Ensign.svg  British India
BranchEnsign of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps.svg  British Indian Army
TypeInfantry
Part of Madras Army (to 1895)
Madras Command
ColoursUniform: Red then scarlet; faced dark green
1882 facings green
1898 facings emerald green
Engagements Carnatic Wars
Third Anglo-Mysore War
Boxer Rebellion
Second Anglo-Maratha War
World War I
Fort Pallamcottah (1800) by James Welsh 0046 Fort Pallamcottah (1800).jpg
Fort Pallamcottah (1800) by James Welsh
Colours of the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry and 73rd Carnatic Infantry, buried at St. Mary's Church, Madras Colours of the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry and 73rd Carnatic Infantry, St. Mary's Church, Madras.jpg
Colours of the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry and 73rd Carnatic Infantry, buried at St. Mary's Church, Madras

The 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment could trace its origins to 1759, when it was raised as the 4th Battalion Coast Sepoys.

Contents

History

One of the oldest regiments in the British Indian Army, the Palamcottah Light Infantry took part in the Carnatic Wars, the Battle of Sholinghur in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the Battle of Mahidpur in the Third Anglo-Mysore War, and the Battle of Ava in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. They were then sent to China as part of the British Empire forces that took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion, although without seeing active service.

Recruitment basis

After 1902 the basis of recruitment for most of the Madras regiments of the Indian Army shifted to the "martial races" of the Punjab and other northern regions. The Palamcottah Light Infantry however continued to be recruited in southern India. In 1914 four of its eight companies were Madrasi Muslims, two were Tamils and the remainder Parayans and Christian Madrasis. The regiment had about 13 British officers and 17 Indian officers. The India Army List dated October 1914 records the 63rd Light Infantry as sharing a regimental centre at Trichinopoly with the 61st Pioneers, the 64th Pioneers and the 83rd Light Infantry. Under the system of "linked battalions" in force at the time the 63rd shared recruits with any of the other regiments listed, according to individual unit needs. [1]

World War I

During World War I the regiment initially remained in India on internal security duties as part of the 5th (Mhow) Division. In October 1914 the Palamcottah Light Infantry moved to British East Africa as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force B. It was part of the British landing force defeated by German colonial troops at the Battle of Tanga. [2] At an early stage in the landing the regiment disintegrated when it came under heavy fire from the 6th Field Company of German askaris. [3] Of 762 officers and men present at Tanga, the 63rd Light Infantry lost 85 killed, wounded and missing. It spent the remainder of the War on lines of communication service in East Africa before returning to India.

Disbandment

After World War I the Indian Army was restructured with the infantry moving from single battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. [4] Following the allocation of individual battalions to the twenty new "large" regiments the nine remaining single battalion regiments were disbanded. These included the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry, which ceased to exist on 13 September 1922. [5]

Lineage

Insignia and Uniform

The Palamcottah Light Infantry had the usual bugle horn badge of light infantry regiments, in brass with the number 63 in the curl of the bugle and a crown above. The full dress uniform worn in 1910 included a scarlet "zouave" [6] style tunic with emerald green facings and dark blue breeches. Turban and puttees were khaki. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras Regiment</span> Regiment in the Indian Army

The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s as a unit of the British East India Company. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with the British Indian Army and the post-independence Indian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry, commonly shortened to 2nd Rajputs, was a regiment of the British Indian Army. Raised in 1798, it was amalgamated with five other Rajput regiments in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Punjab Regiment</span> Former infantry regiment of the armies of British India and Pakistan

The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab regiments to form the Punjab Regiment, an existing infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Punjab Regiment</span> Former infantry regiment of the armies of British India and Pakistan

The 8th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947 and merged with the Baluch Regiment in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras Army</span> Military unit

The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">62nd Punjabis</span> Military unit

The 62nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys, and formed part of the Madras Army. It was designated as the 62nd Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 1st battalion, Punjab Regiment. It is the senior-most surviving infantry battalion of the British Indian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">66th Punjabis</span> Military unit

The 66th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1761 as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys. It was designated as the 66th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 2nd Battalion The Punjab Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">76th Punjabis</span> Military unit

The 76th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised by Captain Thomas Lane at Trichonopoly on 16 December 1776, as the 16th Carnatic Battalion. It was designated as the 76th Punjabis in 1903 and became the 3rd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 3rd Battalion The Punjab Regiment.

The 1st Brahmans was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised at Oudh by Captain T Naylor in 1776 for service in the army of Nawab Wazir of Oudh, and was known as the Nawab Wazir's Regiment. It was transferred to the East India Company in 1777. In 1922, it was designated as the 4th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment. The regiment was disbanded in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">91st Punjabis (Light Infantry)</span> Military unit

The 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 91st Punjabis in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 3rd Battalion of The Baloch Regiment.

The 64th Pioneers was a regiment of the British Indian Army. Originally serving as regular infantry it evolved into a specialist military pioneer unit performing engineering and construction tasks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry was an infantry regiment originally raised in 1794 as the 33rd Madras Battalion, part of the Presidency of Madras Army which was itself part of the Honourable East India Company Army. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three presidencies to the direct authority of the British Crown. In 1903 all three presidency armies were merged into the British Indian Army. The unit was disbanded before Indian Independence.

The 79th Carnatic Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1777, when the 20th Carnatic Battalion was raised from sub-units of the 1st, 3rd, 8th and 16th Carnatic Battalions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">61st Pioneers</span> Military unit

The 61st Pioneers were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They trace their origins to 1758, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion Coast Sepoys.

The 69th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1759, when they were raised as the 10th Battalion Coast Sepoys.

The 72nd Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1759, when they were raised as the 16th Battalion Coast Sepoys.

The 74th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1776, when they were raised as the 14th Carnatic Battalion.

The 71st Coorg Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. Established in 1767, it had a long history as a Madrasi unit but in 1902 enlistment was changed in an attempt to trial the employment of Coorg tribesmen in the Indian Army.

The 77th Moplah Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1777, when they were raised as the 17th Carnatic Battalion.

The 78th Moplah Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment's origin could be traced to 1794, when it was raised as the 35th Madras Battalion. At the beginning of the 20th century the basis for recruitment was changed from Madrasis to Moplahs - who are Muslims of Arab origin located along the coast of Malabar. The Moplahs had a reputation as an aggressive race and it was hoped to make use of their martial skills in the Indian Army. A problem from the beginning was that the population numbers available for recruitment were limited. In 1907, shortly before disbandment, the regiment numbered only 350 men.

References

  1. ↑ Miller, Charles (1974). Battle for the Bundu. The First World War in East Africa. Macmillan. p. 66. ISBN   0-02-584930-1.
  2. ↑ J.A. Sibley, p26-p33 "Tanganyikan Guerrilla - East African Campaign 1914-18", ISBN   0-345-09801-3
  3. ↑ Gaylor, John (1992). Sons of John Company. The Indian & Pakistan Armies 1903-1991. Spellmount. p. 8. ISBN   0-946771-98-7.
  4. ↑ Sumner p.15
  5. ↑ John Gaylor, page 19 "Sons of John Company - the Indian & Pakistan Armies 1903-1991", ISBN   0-946771-98-7
  6. ↑ Schollander, Wendell (2018). Glory of the Empires 1880-1914. p. 341. ISBN   978-0-7524-8634-5.
  7. ↑ MacMunn, Lt. Gen. Sir George (1984). The Armies of India. p. 49. ISBN   0-947554-02-5.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.