Officers of the 1st Battalion, 4th Ghurkha Rifles (1st/4th GR)
at Bakloh, India, 2 March 1916. Seated, Left to Right:
Captain John Redmond Hartwell (Adjutant); Major Zellard (Commanding Officer); Captain L. P. Collins; Second Lieutenant H. E. Giles (Quartermaster). Standing, Left to Right: Lieutenant Ross Smith (Indian Medical Service); Lieutenant R. V. Brandon; Lieutenant A. W. Woodhead; Second Lieutenant Samuel Grant Mellis-Smith.
Picture Credit: Image: IWM (Q 81669).
Illustration: IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM
Buckshee.
[Meaning: Free].
(From: “Baksheesh”).
Hindi/Urdu.
Bungalow.
[Meaning: A low-roofed house].
(From: “Bangla”).
Bengali.
Thug.
[Meaning: Bandit].
(From: “Thugee”).
Hindi.
Doolally.
[Meaning: Mad].
(From: “Deolalli”).
A British Indian Army Camp in Maharashtra, India, where Soldiers awaiting repatriation often went “Stir-Crazy”. The term “Doolally Tap” became Soldiers’ slang for madness.
British Indian Army Soldiers, including men from
the 3rd Sikh Regiment and 1st Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force, in Beijing, circa 1900. Sikh and Muslim Soldiers with Medals. Notes: University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China. Reference number: BL-n057. Caption on typed list accompanying the box of negatives: “28: Group of Sikhs”. Digitised from a negative made for a copy print. The Officer standing, third from the Left, is Sardar Bahadur Mit Singh, 3rd Sikh Regiment. Sitting, first Left, is a Punjabi Muslim, named Bahadur Ali Khan of the 1st Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force. He received the Indian Order of Merit for Gallantry in East Africa in April 1896 - and his Decorations and Medals include the Neck Badge of the 3rd-Class Order
of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar.
Source [1]
Author Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Khaki.
[Meaning: Dust-Coloured/Drab-Brown].
(From: “Khākī”).
Hindi/Urdu.
First adopted by British Indian Army Units
for camouflage uniforms in the Mid‑19th-Century.
Then spread to the whole British Army.
Loot.
[Meaning: Stolen Goods].
(From: “Lūṭ”).
Hindi.
Became common in British Military
slang during Campaigns in India).
Verandah.
[Meaning: A roofed platform outside a house].
(From: Possibly of Portuguese origin).
Its widespread English use came through Anglo‑Indian Colonial architecture and Military housing).
Pyjamas.
[Meaning: Leg Garment].
(From: “Pāy‑Jāma”).
Hindi/Urdu.
Adopted by British troops as
comfortable nightwear in the Indian climate.
A chromolithograph of No. 1 Kohat Mountain Battery
of the Punjab Frontier Force (now part of Pakistan Army).
Illustration: Richard Simkin.
Date: Circa 1896.
Source:
(Wikimedia Commons)
Jungle.
[Meaning: Dense Forest].
(From: “Jangal”).
Hindi.
Juggernaut.
[Meaning: A massive crushing force].
(From: “Jagannātha”).
Sanskrit.
The huge temple chariots at Puri, India. British Troops and travellers reported the overwhelming size of the Procession, giving rise to the metaphor.
Shampoo.
[Meaning: To knead or massage].
(From: “Chāmpnā”).
Hindi.
British Soldiers encountered the practice in India;
the meaning later shifted to hair‑washing.
Bangle.
[Meaning: Bracelet].
(From: “Bangri”).
Hindi.
_1910.png444.png)
Soldiers of the 3rd Sappers and Miners.
Illustration by Maj. A. C. Lovett.
Published 1911.
Source: Engineers Regimental Centre
Link: “The Armies of India”
Author: A. C. Lovett.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Bandana.
[Meaning: Tie-Dyed Cloth].
(From: “Bandhnu”).
Hindi.
Mogul.
[Meaning: Powerful Figure].
(From: “Moghul”).
Persian/Urdu.
Blighty.
[Meaning: Foreign/British/Home].
(From: “Vilāyatī / Bilētī”).
Hindi/Urdu.
British Soldiers’ corruption adopted during
the Raj and popularised in World War I
as a sentimental term for “Home”.
Hobson‑Jobson (1886) already records this Soldierly corruption. It became hugely popular in World War I, especially in the phrase “Dear Old Blighty.” Soldiers also coined “a Blighty wound” — a wound bad enough to send you home, but not bad enough to kill you.
PLUS
the following are all Indian‑origin words that circulated heavily in British‑Indian Army life and administration and, thus, into British usage.
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