'The Mess at Camp Shabkadar', 1909 (c)

Photograph, India, 1909 (c).

A tented encampment amongst trees at Shabkadar (Shabqadar) on the North West Frontier of India. British officers are seen entrenched at a ground level 'table' with a teapot and cups.

The photograph is from an album compiled by Captain Alexander Masters, 34th Sikh Pioneers. Masters was born in West Bengal but was educated at Bedford and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He received a commission with the Leicester Regiment in 1903 but returned to India as a captain with the 34th Sikh Pioneers. He served on the North West Frontier. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War One (1914-1918), the 34th formed part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division of the Indian Expeditionary Force, deployed to the Western Front. Masters was killed in action on 23 November 1914, at Festubert. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his grave at the Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, in the Pas de Calais, France.

From a photograph album containing 371 photographs compiled by Captain Alexander Masters, 34th Sikh Pioneers, 1905-1911 (c).