'A Reconnaissance on the Plain B.M. and Adjt of Poona Horse', Waziristan, North West Frontier, India, 1930 (c)

Photograph compiled by Major General Cecil Wotton Toovey (1891-1954), 5th Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment, formerly the 82nd Punjabis, 1930 (c). Inscribed on reverse, 'Me, talking to the Adjt of Poona Horse. Bachla Hill and Piquet behind - it had seven shots fired at it last night'.

Cecil Wotton Toovey was Brigade Major (BM) for the 2nd Rawalpindi Infantry Brigade, between 1929 and 1931. The photograph shows Toovey with the Adjutant, probably Wilfred Marston Newill (1891-1963), of the 17th Queen Victoria's Own Poona Horse.

Toovey stands on the left wearing riding breeches, boots and a pugri (a type of turban). Newill is mounted and wears a tropical helmet. Other soldiers, some Indian, can be seen with horses in a rocky landscape, with 'Bachla Hill', a small fortified outpost in the distance.

Cecil Wotton Toovey was Brigade Major for the 2nd Rawalpindi Infantry Brigade, between 1929 and 1931.

In late 1930 the Rawalpindi Brigade was deployed to the Khajuri Plain west of Peshawar. Unrest had broken out in the region in 1930 and two incursions by Afridi tribesmen into the Peshawar District convinced the British Government of India to act to deter further outbreaks. The troops constructed roads and fortified posts in an effort to improve security and pacify the region.

From a photograph album entitled, 'India 1917-1937 - Iraq, Waziristan, NW Frontier, Tank trials, Aden, building Bara Bridge, Indus Ferry', relating to India and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran), 1915-1939, compiled by Major General Cecil Wotton Toovey, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) and the 82nd Punjabis (later the 5th Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment).

Credit line: 'Son of Major-General Toovey'