A group portrait of soldiers of the 15th Sikhs by Paul Sarrut (1882-1969)

Allouagne, dated 10 January 1915

Footnotes

Published
British and Indian Troops in Northern France, 70 War Sketches by Paul Sarrut, 1914 - 1915, Delépine, Arras, prior to 1920.

Exhibited
Empire, Faith and War: The Sikhs and World War One, Brunei Gallery, London, 9 July - 28 September 2014.

Paul Sarrut was a French Liaison officer who had access to some of the Indian camps at the Western Front between 1914-15. He produced a number of intimate sketches of sepoys, often in places undocumented by camera, such as the inside of camps and billets. Seventy of these sketches, including the present lot, were reproduced as prints in British and Indian Troops in Northern France, 70 War Sketches by Paul Sarrut, 1914 - 1915, Delépine, Arras, prior to 1920. The publication was limited to 250 copies, issue no. 40 of which is retained at the British Library as part of the India Office Library (cat. no. BLL01007259929).

The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs were an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army who were active between the years 1846-1922. During this time they were part of numerous battles that included the Battles of Ahmed Khel, Kadahar, Tofrek and Sakin, the expedition of Chitral, the Campaign of Tirah and World War I. In the First World War (1914-1918) they served on the Western Front in France as part of the 8th (Jullundur) Brigade, 3rd (Lahore) Division and in Egypt in the Mesopotamia Campaign as as part of the Western Frontier Force.

They were moved to Egypt in late 1915 to fight against the tribal sect of Muslims led by Sayed Ahmed, known as the Senussi. The Western Frontier Force consisted of an infantry brigade containing partially trained battalions, the 2/7th and 2/8th Middlesex, the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, the 6th Royal Scots and the cavalry brigade containing three British Yeomanry regiments. The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs were given the first mission against the Senussi on 11th December 1915, where they were tasked with breaking the ranks of the enemy at Duwwar Hussein.
The 15th Sikhs proved to be vital for the Western Frontier force. Their results were exemplary and they were given the honour 'Egypt 1915-17.' After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving them from single batallion regiments to multi batallion regiments. The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs were now known as the 2nd Batallion/2nd Sikh Regiment. Finally, after Independence in 1947 the regiment was allocated to the new Indian Army.