British Indian Army Turban

[WWIIBuff]

Hello Gents,

This is way out of my collecting realm, but for some reason I thought it was kind of cool. It is a turban for a WWII British Indian Army soldier. Actually it is two parts, the conical cap is called a Kullah, and I believe the material wrapped around it is called a Pagri.

[WWIIBuff]

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[WWIIBuff]

This would be a great start to a North African Campaign impression on a mannequin, now I just need to find all the other parts of an Indian Army desert uniform.

[peter monahan]

You are correct - a kullah and pagris in Indian Army khaki. Is the pagri sewn together or just wrapped? It should in theory be possible to identify the caste/ethnicity of the wearer this is intended for from the fold patterns but I'm not sure I want to try that one!

A lovely thing. If you ever get tired of it, please PM me and I'll be happy to ake it off your hands. I used to own a kullah, but haven't seen the pagri in this shape before - looks unused!

[The City Gent]

A splendid relic of the past indeed!

Kullah are fairly easy to come by, but with the pagri...well suffice to say you have found the most difficult part of a period ensemble should you wish to complete a mannequin.

A veritable treat to see. Thanks for taking the time to post such a wonderful thing.

[WWIIBuff]

Thank you for the feedback gentlemen. Your words are good news for me since I really had no idea what I was buying, I just took a complete chance on this one.

Actually I got very lucky. I was outbid on the one I was after, but the seller contacted me to say he had two.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for a book, website, or a forum where I can begin research on putting the mannequin together? Or perhaps a dealer who might sell the items I need?

[The City Gent]

Much has been written on the British Indian army thankfully, from small unit memoirs, official histories through to grand divisional tomes.

There are a brace of basic but useful, affordable, readily available 'Osprey' publications to help you start your foray however before you delve deeper into the rich history of the Indian army through the ages (click the yellow links).

Elite 75 : The Indian Army 1914 - 1947

Two more for general uniform information in the theatres they fought.

Men At Arms 368: The British Army 1939 - 45 (2)

Men at Arms 375: The British Army 1939-45 (3)

For more detailed information on the types of uniforms worn try this handy volume:

Khaki Drill & Jungle Green

For understanding British Webbing try this:

British Web Equipment of the Two World Wars.

This book doesn't touch on Indian made webbing alas.

There is also a very good online resource dedicated to British and Commonwealth webbing too and is an essential reference.

http://www.karkeeweb.com/

These should get you started and whet your appetite a bit more with luck.

[peter monahan]

I think that the best general historyn of the Indian Army is "Indian Army" by Boris Mollo, which expolains the complexities of the Presidency armies and the various name changes gone through by the regiments. City Gentleman has given some good unirofm sources as well. If you have a particular impression/regiment in mind, I may be able to help as well, as I've dabbled in IA for some decades now. feel free to drop me a line.

[RobDekk]

'India Reclaims Lost History of its WWI Soldiers'

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world...iers-1.2165656

[Peter_Suciu]

Very nice turban. I have several of these in my collection and really like these a lot

I wrote a piece on the different turbans and the origin and evolution:
http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/20...he-indian-army

I've been working on piecing together an interwar uniform as well.

[WWIIBuff]

Thank you gentlemen, you have all been most helpful.

City Gent - Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I was not able to find specifics like this with an internet search, so this is great.

Peter Monahan - Thank you for your offer, I may contact you in the future, but only after I learn enough to know what I am looking for or wanting to know more about.

RobDekk - Thanks for the link, it looks like an interesting read.

Peter Suciu - I found your article the other night and was quite impressed by it, (although I did not realize at that time that it was from you). It was very informative and I've saved your sketches for reference.

[The City Gent]

I wrote a piece on the different turbans and the origin and evolution:

Mr.Suciu,

a splendid article most informative indeed. Some wonderful headgear showcased too.

[peter monahan]

Mr. Suciu is an acknowledged expert on headgear, as well as an all round excellent fellow!

[peter monahan]

I would suggest that the fact that India is 'now' acknowledging the part played by the Indian Army in 1914-1918 has far more to do with the centenary and little to do with a 'century of denial'. The role of the IA was known and celebrated throughtout India and Pakistan certainty up to 1947 and [probably after, and has never ceased to be recognized in the armies of those countries, whatever the politicians and general public may have felt about it over the years. This is a typical piece of modern journalism: because the reporter has never heard of the thing or phenomenon being described, and may feel that she/he is not alone in that, the thing must be 'lost', a 'mystery' or, even better, something which has been deliberately hidden by some unnamed group for an unstated but probably nefarious reason. Sigh!

[Peter_Suciu]

Mr. Suciu is an acknowledged expert on headgear, as well as an all round excellent fellow!

Peter you are too kind. I'm knowledgeable on all sorts of tropical headgear but I'm not an expert. An expert too often means you know everything (or think you do), and in my case I still love to research this stuff and am keen to learn more. Turbans remain a tricky subject but one I'm continuing to read up on.

As a side note Stuart Bates and I are beginning work on our next sun helmet and tropical headdress book and we will include sections on turbans, fezzes and other tropical headdress. The Malay songkok is another great piece of colonial headgear I must say.

As for the Indian Army it played a crucial role in the First World War, as did the colonial forces from Africa. Some truly fascinating history there.