THE INDIAN ARMY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21357, 10 June 1931, Page 8

THE INDIAN ARMY

ALL IS WELL WITH IT SIR W. BIRD WOOD’S EXPERIENCES CONTENTED SOLDIERS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, April 17. Field-marshal Sir William Birdwood, who has lately retired from the 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 in India, he said. He based the statement on considerations of its efficiency, discipline, and contentment. Efficiency and discipline, he had found, generally followed contentment, and during his term of command he had done his best to bring about this contentment. No inconsiderable element in promoting 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 R 5.69 erores. but fay successive reductions and economies effected mainly by his predecessor, the late Lord Rawlinson, it had been brought down to R 5.55 erores. Soon after taking charge be estimated that a non-recurring expenditure of Rs.lo erores 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 the effect that if he was guaranteed the annual grant of R 5.55 for four years, and was giyen 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-equip-ment. The offer was accepted. He was happy to say that when he left India the programmer of re-equipment was nearing completion, and the army had been put into a state of efficiency, particularly in the process of mechanisation. GREATER COMFORT.

v In the latter direction the Indian Army - was able to profit by the experience of i, the _ War Office* whose opportunities of - testing new methods of mechanisation in e this country were far greater',than those 3 obtaining in India. The re-equipment 2 would give the Indian Army much greater t mobility in the event of war on or beyond the frontier.. It was a mistake to regard , mule transport as an anachronism. Motor t transport could be used on the main lines of communication, but in the rough coun- ■ try along the front mules were necessary. ’ He wap gratified to have got rid of the s bullock transport for the ambulances, and i replaced them with suitable six-wheeled i motor cars.

Among other improvements which had led to greater contentment was the installation of electric lighting in the barracks. Mosquito proofing had also been installed an 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 was to-day 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 never would change. It seemed to him essential

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. " The 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 see a very marvellous gorge in the mountains. The driver looked down into the picturesque depths ,p.nd exclaimed: “ ’Eavens, what a hole! ” There was also the batman who accompanied his enthusiastic young officer to the Pyramids. After the officer had rhapsodied on the wonders of these ancient monuments he looked for similar appreciation from his batman. The 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 the whole British personnel from Kabul was a great achievement, which perhaps we had not yet seen in its right perspective. He also spoke highly of the Royal Indian Marine, now converted into a fighting force, but not yet named the Royal Indian Navy.

NO APOLOGY NEEDED FOR OUR ' PRESENCE. When 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 nation that produced such' people. The last thing we needed to do was to apologise for our presence in India. The 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 ad-vance-by which we must abide, but India was not a nation, but a conglomeration of nations, and we must maintain in our own hands such matters as defence, foreign policy, finance, and law and order until such time as the country proved that it was capable of governing itself.