INDIAN ARMY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 144, 20 June 1931, Page 13

INDIAN ARMY

ALL WELL WITH IT

SIR W. BIRDWOOD

A TALK IN LONDON

(From "The Post's" Representative) LONDON, Bth May.

Field-Marshal Sir William Birdwood, who has latoly retired from tho command of the Indian Army, was the guest at a dinner given by the Royal Empire Society on Tuesday night. At the subsequent meeting he gave a talk upon his recent military experiences in India. ' All was well 'with the Army ia India, he said: He based the statement on considerations of its efficiency, discipline, and contentment. Efficiency'and disr cipline, ho had found, generally followed contentment, and during his term of command he had done hia best to bring about this contentment. No inconsiderable element in iiroinoting both efficiency and contentment had been the establishment of what was known, as the Contract Budget system, in replacement of the annual Budget allotment of the past. After the war the cost of the Army in India stood at Rs. 69 crores, but by successive reductions and economies effected mainly by his predecessor, the late Lord Rawlinson, it had been brought down to Rs. 55 crores. Soon after talcing charge he estimated that a non-recurring expenditure of Rs. 10 crores was required to put the Army on a right footing of modern equipment and to provide desirable amenities for the troops, British and Indian. When the .Finance Member intimated that it would be impossible^ to find the money, <he made a sporting offer to thei effect that if he was guaranteed the annual grant of Rs. 55 for four years, and was given a free hand in reallotting unexpended amounts in place of their reabsorption in general revenues, he would meet out of savings the cost of re-equipment. The offer was accepted. He was happy to say that when he left India the programme of're-equip-ment was nearing completion, and the Army had been put into a state of efficiency particularly in the process of mechanisation. GREATER COMFORT. , ' In the latter" direction the Indian Army was able to profit by the experience of the War Office, whose opportunities of testing new methods, of mechanisation in this country were far greater than those obtaining in India. The re-equipment would give the Indian Army much, greater mobility in the event of war on or beyond the frontier. It was a mistake to regard mule transport as an anachronism. Motor transport could be used on the main lines of communication, but in. the rough country along the front mules were necessary. He was gratified to have got rid of the bullock transport for the ambulances, and replaced them with suitable six-wheeled motor-cars. ( , _ Among other improvements which had led to greater contentment was the installation of electric lighting in trie barracks. Mosquito proofing had also been installed in some of the barracks. It was costly, but the figures relating to fever had fallen so much that it would mean an enormous saving in the end. THE BRITISH SOLDIER. The British soldier serving in India to-day was just the loyal, fine, magnificent fellow he had always been. During his 45 years' service there had been an enormous number of changes in administration and organisation; but he thanked God that there was one factor that had not changed, and that was the British' soldier —(cheers) —and he hoped he n^rer would change. It 'seemed to him^ssential to maintain the existing strength of the British force in India. The "Indian Soldier was a magnificent, true, brave, loyal fellow. If,, as was sometimes said, the Indian soldiers were children, he would say that the British officer should (and often did) treat them as his own children, and not as somebody else's. Tho sepoy was as devoted as ever to his British officer. The Field-Marshal told some amusing stories of the British soldiers. There was the motor-car driver who, took Lord Kitchener and himself to sec a very marvellbus gorge iv: the mountains. The driver looked down into the picturesque depths and exclaimed: " 'Eavens, what a hole!" There was also the batman who accompanied his enthusiastic young officer to the Pyramids. After the officer had Thapsodised on the wonders of these ancient monuments, he , looked for similar appreciation from his batman. Tho latter's comment was: "What I says, if you've seen one, you've seen them all." Commending the Royal Air Force, Field-Marshal Birdwood said that its magnificent work in evacuating tho whole British personnel from Kabul was a great achievement which perhaps we had not yet seen in its riglvk perspective. He also spoke .highly of the Royal -Indian Marine, now converted into a fighting force, but not yet named the Royal Indian Navy. r NO APOLOGY FOR OUR PRESENCE.

iWHeh one realised all that these forces had done and had been, and also the fine work of the Indian Civil Service, he felt _that we ought to thank God we belonged to a natipn that.produced such people. The last thing we needed to do was to apologise for our presence in India. Tlio Field-Marshal sketched the history of the country before the British took control. It was an amusing challenge to those critics who preached against the British occupation and control. We - had made pledges of constitutional advance by which we must abide, but India was not a nation but a conglomeration of nations, and wo must maintain in our •own hands such matters as defence, foreign, policy, finance, and law and order until such a time .is the country proved that it was callable of governing itself. . ! '