Bihar Light Horse

Last updated
Bihar Light Horse
Founded8 December 1862
Disbanded15 August 1947
CountryIndia
Allegiance British Raj
Branch Bengal Army
British Indian Army
Typemounted infantry
Garrison/HQ Muzaffarpur
Motto(s)Nec Aspera Terrent
ColorsDark Blue

The Bihar Light Horse was a mounted infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised on 8 December 1862 as the Soubah Behar Mounted Rifles Volunteer Corps by indigo planters of the Tirhoot and Chapra districts in Bihar in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment formed a part of the cavalry reserve in the Bengal Army (until 1895) and the British Indian Army (until 1947). The regiment was disbanded on the eve of Indian independence on 15 August 1947. [1] [2]

Contents

The regiment was roughly equivalent to a battalion in strength (~ 400 men).

History

When the Indian rebellion of 1857 broke out in India, Fred Collingridge of the Doudpur factory proposed the formation of a defence force for the British residents of Muzaffarpur. 53 Englishmen under the command of Minden James Wilson chose the civil surgeon, Dr. A. Simpson's bungalow for a defence post, calling it "Fort Pill Box" in his honour. In 1862, Collingridge and C. T. Metcalfe, a Joint Magistrate, submitted an application for the raising of a Mounted Volunteer Corps to the Commissioner of the Behar division. Sanction was obtained and on 8 December 1862, the Soubah Behar Mounted Rifles Volunteer Corps was formed. The first commandant was Major James Furlong. [3]

The regiment was renamed the Bihar Light Horse Volunteer Corps on 29 February 1884. Its motto, adopted on 1 April 1917, "Nec Aspera Terrent" (They are not frightened of hardships). It ceased to exist as a Volunteer Corps, becoming the Bihar Light Horse Auxiliary Force, in October 1920.

Uniforms

In 1862, the uniform consisted of a light grey coat with red pipings; grey breeches with jackboots; a helmet with red plume and blue puggry; waist belt, frog, cartouche box; Cap pocket revolver case fitted on to a sword belt. [4]

In 1875, the uniform became dark blue with white facings, white helmets, blue pantaloons with white stripes and knee boots. Hot weather uniform was white. Khaki uniforms were worn for the first time on 25 January 1894. [4]

Second Boer War

54 officers and men of the regiment were granted leave in 1900 to travel to South Africa to fight in the Second Boer War. For bravery in battle, Captain J. B. Rutherford was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Sergeant Major C. M. C. Marsham and Corporal Percy Jones received the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slouch hat</span> Wide-brimmed soft felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, France, the United States, the Confederate States, Germany and many others. Australia and New Zealand have had various models of slouch hat as standard issue headwear since the late Victorian period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pith helmet</span> Lightweight cloth-covered helmet

The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles</span> New Zealand Army unit

Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR) is an armoured regiment of the New Zealand Army and forms part of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps. The regiment was formed in 1864 and is currently an armoured cavalry unit equipped with NZLAV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Cavalry</span> Former U.S. Army division (1775–1950)

The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861. This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one regiment of mounted riflemen, and two regiments of cavalry into one branch of service. The cavalry branch transitioned to the Armored Forces with tanks in 1940, but the term "cavalry", e.g. "armored cavalry", remains in use in the U.S. Army for mounted reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) units based on their parent Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) regiment. Cavalry is also used in the name of the 1st Cavalry Division for heraldic/lineage/historical purposes. Some combined arms battalions are designated as armor formations, while others are designated as infantry organizations. These "branch" designations are again, heraldic/lineage/historical titles derived from the CARS regiments to which the battalions are assigned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle honour</span> Combat award for a military unit

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full dress uniform</span> Uniform for wear on formal occasions

Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to trace back to uniforms used during the 19th century, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champaran Satyagraha</span> First civil resistance movement led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in India in our Assam 1917

The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India and is considered a historically important rebellion in the Indian independence movement. It was a farmer's uprising that took place in Champaran district of Bihar in the Indian subcontinent, during the British colonial period. The farmers were protesting against having to grow indigo with barely any payment for it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Jan Smuts Regiment</span> Military unit

The General Jan Smuts Regiment is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashtriya Rifles</span> Counter-insurgency force

The Rashtriya Rifles is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to specifically serve in the Jammu and Kashmir region. They also maintain public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1990 (AFSPA). The RR was raised by the Indian Army by reconstituting two corps. Its personnel are provided by the Indian Army on deputation. The RR is commanded by an Additional Directorate General of Rashtriya Rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniforms of the British Army</span> Military dress

The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.

This is a list of Confederate government Civil War military units, not raised by any state.

The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908. Most of the regiments of the present Army Reserves Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units.

Ceylon Mounted Rifles was the only cavalry regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment was based in Colombo made up of only of British.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengal Army</span> Army of the Bengal Presidency of British India

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Somerset Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The North Somerset Yeomanry was a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1967. It maintained order in Somerset in the days before organised police forces, and supplied volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War. It served on the Western Front in the First World War. At the outbreak of the Second World War, it continued to operate in the mounted role and then as a specialist signals unit. Postwar it joined the Royal Armoured Corps and later became infantry. Its lineage today is maintained by 93 Squadron 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons</span> Yeomanry regiment of the British Army (1794–1956)

The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boer War, but opportunities for mounted action were much more restricted during the First World War and it was temporarily converted into a cycle unit. It remained a cavalry regiment throughout the interwar years, and was the last horsed unit of the British Army to see action, in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign of 1941, finally mechanising the following year. It served as motorised infantry in the North African and Italian campaigns of the Second World War. In 1956, it merged with the Yorkshire Hussars and the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by A Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Colonial Auxiliary Forces</span>

The British Colonial Auxiliary Forces were the various military units of Britain's colonial empire which were not considered part of the British military proper. Though the first colonial units established in the British Empire were militia formations in Britain's American colonies, by the Victorian era these units were modelled after the regular armed forces of Britain and consisted of professional soldiers. They supplied a reserve force either to be called up in war time to reinforce regular British Army garrisons for home defence, or in some cases were entirely responsible for home defence. Many units, however, took part in active campaigns outside of the role of home defence in various conflicts the British Empire was involved in, including the two world wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Mounted Rifles</span> Military unit

The 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) were a mounted rifles regiment raised just before World War I, raised and based in the region of Canterbury. It can trace its history back to 1864 with the formation of the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry.

The Saskatchewan Mounted Rifles was a cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia. First formed in 1908 as the Saskatchewan Light Horse, the regiment was later redesignated that year as the 22nd Saskatchewan Light Horse and again in 1920 as The Saskatchewan Mounted Rifles. In 1911, the regiment transferred two of its squadrons to the newly formed 29th Light Horse. In 1936, the regiment was amalgamated with the 16th Canadian Light Horse to form the 16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse.

References

  1. Kumari, Pushpa (2019). "Bihar Light Horse: The Militia of Indigo Planters in Champaran (1862–1900)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 80: 725–732. ISSN   2249-1937.
  2. "Button, Bihar Light Horse, 1884-1947". National Army Museum. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Kumari, Pushpa (2019). "Bihar Light Horse: The Militia of Indigo Planters in Champaran (1862–1900)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 80: 725–732. ISSN   2249-1937.
  4. 1 2 In Memory of the Bihar Light Horse. Royal Military Sandhurst Museum.

Sources