Button, 48th Pioneers, 1903-1922

Large, circular, brass button by Jennens and Company, London, with crossed axes with the regimental number, '48', surmounted by a King's Crown.

The 48th Regiment of Bengal Infantry (Pioneers) was formed in 1901 in Lucknow. It was renamed the 48th Bengal Pioneers in the same year and then redesignated the 48th Pioneers in 1903. With further reform of the Indian Army pioneer regiments in 1922, the regiment formed the 4th Battalion of the Bombay Pioneers.

Stationed at Kirkee at the outbreak of World War One (1914-1918) the regiment was despatched to Mesopotamia. It arrived there on 15 November 1914 and quickly received a baptism of fire at the hands of Turkish forces, suffering 90 casualties at Zahil on the 16 November 1914. The regiment suffered heavy casualties again at the Battle of Ctesiphon in November 1915. After the surrender of Kut-al-Amara, less than a third of the 300 officers and men who were captured survived the harsh conditions of incarceration by the Turks. An additional battalion was raised in 1918 which served in Mesopotamia until the end of the War. The regiment served in Kurdistan in 1919 and returned to India the following year.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.