TOPIC:

The bronze group to Dooly Bearer Beswi Narsunloo, Supply & Transport Corps

Queen’s Sudan 1896-98, bronze issue (159 Doolybearer Buswir Narsinghoo, C.T. Deptt.), QSA (0) bronze (159 Dooley Bearer Beswi Narsunloo, S. & T. Corps), Khedive’s Sudan (0) bronze issue (159 Dooleybearer Buswir Narsinghoo, C.T.Dept.)


Picture courtesy of DNW

A QSA named to the Corps of Guides.

IGS 1895 (2) Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Malakand 1897 (1574 Farrier Kala, 2 Q.O. Corps Guides Cavy.), QSA (1) Cape Colony (1574 Farr. Kala, Corps of Guides), KSA (2) (1574 Farr. Kala, Q.O. Corps of Guides), Indian MSM GV (1574 Dfdr. (Farr. Maj.) Kala Khan, Corps of Guides Cavy. (F.F.))


Picture courtesy of DNW

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Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902 27 Dooly Bearer Yelmel Jaga S&TC





ex Q & C Militaria




On the roll Dooly Bearer Corps, Bombay Command-Kamptee District: (WO 100/298 p 155) and present for at Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, Talana, Defence of Ladysmith.

center]Dooly Bearer Beswi Narsunloo
Supply & Transport Corps[/center]

Queen’s Sudan 1896-98, bronze issue 159 Doolybearer Buswir Narsinghoo, C.T. Deptt.
Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp, bronze issue 159 Dooley Bearer Beswi Narsunloo, S. & T. Corps
Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1909, no clasp, bronze issue 159 Dooleybearer Buswir Narsinghoo, C.T.Dept.






ex DNW 2013
Dooly Bearers at Talana

The Dooly Bearer Corps at Talana on the 20th October 1899 numbered 199 men. They were recruited from The Bombay (Deesa District;19;Ahedabad District; 14; Kamptee District 32) and Madras Commands ( Madras District 5; Bangalore District 46; Belgaum District 26;Bellary District). Their personnel were mainly recruited from a class of hereditary carriers, the Hindu Kahars from Oude ( African General Service Medals RB Magor). All were later interned at Ladysmith other than the 14 from Ahedabad District who must have escaped to Pietermaritzburg with the wounded. Eight of these men later claimed an entitlement to a Relief of Ladysmith clasp.



The stretcher bearer corps or Dooly Bearer Corps although were raised in India, volunteers were also recruited from the local Indian population to serve as non-combatant medical personnel and were engaged in the hospital camp. The front verandahs of the two Smith homesteads were used as field dressing stations, prior to moving the wounded on doolies to the church and other large halls and warehouse which served as temporary hospitals, in the town of Dundee.






Talana was the first battle in which, under enemy fire,

the Dooly Bearer Corps moved about the battlefield with their green doolies rescuing the wounded. Major Donegan in his diary describes how he “then ordered the dhoolies to advance and relieve the regimental bearers as near the fighting line as possible and I must say that they worked splendidly." H.Watkins-Pitchford,( Besieged in Ladysmith ,1964, p 36.) describes the scene “ and the dhoolie-bearers waddling back under their heavy burdens. Excellent little fellows these bearers are, some of them with four and five ribbons upon the breasts of their dirty khaki blouses. They trot out complacently under the heaviest fire and seem to know no fear.”
The casualties were scooped up by the Indian stretcher- bearers of Major Donegan's field hospital, and carried back in doolies (four men per doolie) to the dressing room station by the post office. The Principal Medical Officer, Volunteer Forces, Major Hysop, informed the Colonial Secretary that he had been `very impressed with the expeditious way' that
Indian dhoolie-bearers removed the wounded from the field' and asked for a further twelve Indian bearers and two hospital orderlies. The "Natal Mercury" concurred with Hyslop; the editor wrote that their `courage and fidelity have been of the utmost value.' At the Talana Hill battle `during the heaviest fighting, when bullets were scouring the air, and men were falling dead and wounded in terrible numbers, these stoical and stolid Asiatics went about their business with heroic indifference to the leaden rain. It is due to them very largely that so many wounded were not afterwards numbered among the killed.'"Natal Mercury", 30 October 1899. Again Major Donegan in his diary says that "all Bearers did not finish till after 11 pm. In many cases these Bearers brought the wounded from the fighting line all the way to Hospital."
As to the best and quickest method of removing the patients to the first dressing station, there were few occasions when this was not more satisfactorily done by bearers with stretchers than by wagons. The movement was more easy to the wounded men, and, as a rule, time was saved. Over rough ground the wagons travel slowly, and patients with only provisional splints were shaken undesirably. A stretcher party in my experience easily outstripped the wagon unless a road or very smooth veldt existed. A larger number of men is of course required, but I take it that on the occasion of a great war men are both more easily obtained and fed than are transport animals. From what I have been able to learn, both the Indian dhoolie-bearers and the hastily recruited Colonial bearer companies were most successful in the removal of the large number of wounded men from the field of Colenso. I had several opportunities of comparing the two methods on a smaller scale during the fighting in Orange River Colony, and felt very strongly in favour of the stretcher parties. “Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre “George Henry Makins

Sorry I tried to tidy up the last post but was defeated. The medal to Yelmel Jaga is now superfluous to requirements after my success at DNW. He is not on the roll for the Sudan Medals despite being a member of the same unit as Beswi Narsunloo.

Queen's South Africa 1899-1902 bronze issue 617 Dhooly Bearer, Narayan Rama S. &T. Corps
Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04, 617 Dly. Br.Narayan Rama 65th N.F.H.C.



ex AA Upfill-Brown Collection
Dix, Noonan & Webb 4 Dec 91
Bosleys 14th June 2006 lot 547

Narayan Rama

Dooly Bearer Narayen Rama served with the Dooly Bearer Corps, Mhow District, and was present at Belfast, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith and Laing's Nek. (WO 100/298 p 149) He returned to India and later served with the 65th Native Field Hospital Corps in the 3rd Expedition in Somaliland 1902-04. Original the 65th served on the Berbera-Bohotle force

58th, 65th and 69th Native Field Hospital Corps served in the Third Expedition (4th November 1902, to 3rd July 1903)

65th Native Field Hospital Corps known

Dly Br Ramphal Durga Phillip Burman Feb 2001 £200 ( 479 Dhooly Bearer Ramfal Doorga Mhow District QSA)
617 Dly. Br.Narayan Rama

Dooly Bearers at Elandslaagte

That night, friend and foe sat round coal fires at the station, keeping out the chill of a drizzle and sharing what food they could find. Away on the hillside, lanterns could be seen moving about as Indian sepoys loaded their dhoolies (stretchers) with the many dead and wounded. The casualties had been heavy on both sides. The next day, the casualties jolted their way back to Ladysmith and Boer prisoners trudged in, shocked and dispirited.

Dooly Bearers at Elandslaagte 254
Bengal Command-Allahabad 4
-Agra 11
-Meerut 18
-Lucknow 68
-Bareilly 1
Bombay Command-Jubbulpur 24
-Mhow 127
Punjab Command-Peshawar 1

David

Thank you for your fascinating and informative posts. Since I have a great interest in the Natal battles, I should have applied myself to collecting bearer's medals, rather than only those of white soldiers. These brave men did not receive sufficient credit for their courageous and dedicated service and my collecting lapse is one small indication of this oversight.

Regards
Brett