Recruiting token, Bengal Horse Artillery, 1820 (c)

Bronze. circular token with, engraved on the obverse, a mounted horseman in plumed helmet with raised sabre, on a prancing horse (much of the detail on the horseman has worn away); with the inscription, 'Horse Artillery'. On the reverse, around the edge, the inscription, 'Wanted for the East Indies', and in the centre, 'Apply at No. 35 Soho Square London', with a sunburst at the bottom.

London, Liverpool, Dublin and Edinburgh were centres of recruitment for the East India Company. An Act of Parliament in 1799 allowed the Company to improve its recruitment process. The Company was allowed to train and discipline recruits in England. Recruits were also subject to martial law prior to transportation to India.