Pouch badge, 32nd Lancers, 1901-1910

Gilt badge with the royal and imperial cypher of King Edward VII, 'ERI', for 'Edwardus Rex Imperator' (Edward, King and Emperor), within a garter bearing the unit title '32nd Lancers'; with a wreath surmounted by a King's Crown, above two scrolls bearing the battle honours 'Central India' and 'Affghanistan'.

In 1903, Lord Kitchener's Indian Army reforms were implemented, under which the 2nd Bombay Lancers was renamed as the 32nd Bombay Lancers, and this was the regiment's title as they entered the First World War. The battle honours on this badge relate the 2nd Bombay Lancers' predecessor unit, the 2nd Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry, and its service in the Central India campaign during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) and the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880).

After a period of pre-war service at Sialkot in the Punjab, the regiment relocated to Jubbulpore Cantonment just before the beginning of the First World War.

The 32nd Bombay Lancers consisted of two squadrons of Musalmans Rajputs: one of Rajputs and one of Sikhs. They were sent to Mesopotamia in 1916 as part of Indian Expeditionary Force D and they became the first British troops to enter Baghdad on its capture. For the Mesopotamian campaign, they received the battle honours 'Kut-al-Amara 1917', 'Baghdad', 'Sharqat', and 'Mesopotamia 1916-18'. In 1921, the regiment was amalgamated with the 31st (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bombay Lancers to form the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Bombay Lancers.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.