![‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’ [‎92r] (188/276)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000112.0x0001db/IOR_L_MIL_17_5_3237_0188.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’ [‎92r] (188/276)")
‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’ [92r] (188/276)
The record is made up of 1 volume (134 folios). It was created in 14 May 1915-30 Sep 1915. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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M.-22455.
PARAGRAPH OP A PROPOSED MILITARY (GENERAL)
DESPATCH TO THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA,
I forward for Your Excellency’s information a copy of a letter from the
War Office relative to the organisation of
aviation units for service in India and
Mesopotamia as well as copies of previous
correspondence on the subject.
(With reference to my telegram No. M.-22455, dated 1st July 1915.)
No. 0164-3195-M. A -1, dated 30th June 1915,
From War Office, dated 14th May.
To War Office, dated 2nd June.
From War Office, dated 5th June.
0.-164-3195 (M. A. 1.)
WAR OPPICE,
London, S. W.,
14th May 1915.
Sir,
With reference to your letter, dated the 1st instant, No. M.-14917, I am
commanded by the Army Council to notify their concurrence in the suggestion
to organise a flight of the Royal Plying Corps in Mesopotamia.
It is proposed that this flight shall form part of No. 30 Squadron, which
is to be raised in Egypt, and of which the nucleus is at present at Ismailia.
Captain S. D Massy, 29th Punjabis, at present Plight Commander, will
be promoted Squadron Commander to command this squadron, and will remain
in Egypt; Captain H. L. Reilly, 82nd Punjabis, will be promoted to a Plight
Commander to command the flight in Mesopotamia.
The names of the Plying Officers should be submitted to the Army
Council whereupon they will be gazetted as Plying Officers to the Ro^al
Plying Corps; European personnel should be enlisted in the Royal Plying
Corps.
The proposal to make a Stall appointment of Deputy Assistant Director
of Aviation is concurred in.
It is considered that the flight for Mesopotamia in common with the rest
of the squadron, should be regarded as a unit on the British establishment for
duty with the Indian Porce in Mesopotamia. The effect of this decision will
be that the personnel will dra / British rates of pay, and allowances under British
rules, with the exception that any personnel coming from India would be
treated in the same way as other personnel coming from India serving tempor
arily with units on the British establishment; that is to say, they will have the
option of retaining the India emoluments of which they were in receipt if
more advantageous than the British emoluments of the post or rank they will
occupy with the flight.
Plying Officers retaining Indian rates of pay would be eligible to receive
British flying pay, 8 (eight shillings), in addition, and observers five shillings
unless they are qualified pilots belonging to the Royal Plying Corps. It will
therefore be unnecessary to fix any special Indian rates as proposed.
The Deputy Assistant Director of Aviation should be paid at the rate laid
down for a Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at the consolidated rate
of pay. The only allowance for which he will be eligible will be field allow
ance and rations.
The pay should continue to be issued by the Agents or Paymasters by
whom it is now being issued, allowances under British regulations should be
issued, it is considered, by the Paymaster of the Porce in Mesopotamia.
I am, etc,
(Sd ) B. B. CUBITT,
Under Secretary of State for India.
Military Department.
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
,
London, S. W.
About this item
- Content
The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 16 and 30 September 1915. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, letters, memoranda, lists and tables.
The volume mostly relates to:
- Reinforcements and supplies for Force D, including: river craft; aeroplanes; road vehicles; personnel; food; weapons; and ammunition
- Staff appointments and details of injured and sick officers
- Updates on progress at the Tigris line, especially at Sinn, Sannaiyat [As Sina‘yat] and Kut-al Amarah [Al-Kut]
- Proposals to advance on Baghdad after taking Kut-al Amarah
- Distributions of Force D (f 50) and of the Turkish [Ottoman] troops (f 123)
- Russo-Turkish operations at Van
- Discussions of the situation in Persia [Iran], including the impact that the withdrawal of British Consul, Thomas George Grahame, from Isfahan to Ahwaz [Ahvaz] has had on employees of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
- Conversations between Sir Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the Shaikh of Muhammareh [Khorramshahr] with regards to negotiating with leaders of the Bakhtiari [Bakhtīyārī] tribal confederation to protect the oil fields and ‘maintain order’ in Arabistan [Khuzestan]
- The rejection of Turkish forces from Najaf [An-Najaf] by the local population
- Discussions about how to govern holy places between the Basrah [Basra] Vilayet [a province under the Ottoman Empire] and Baghdad in anticipation of them coming under British control, and the extent to which the Persian Government should be consulted on this matter.
The volume also includes:
- Appreciations [reports] from the Directorate of Military Operations summarising the situation in Mesopotamia on 20 September (ff 47-48) and 27 September 1915 (f 113)
- A ‘Brief report on the possibilities of the Development of Irrigation in the Basrah District’ by Lieutenant P A Stoddard, Indian Army Reserve Officer (Special Irrigation Officer), (ff 64-71), which is accompanied by comments from Cox and Brigadier-General Joseph Cameron Rimington, Royal Engineers
- Copies of correspondence between Edmund George Barrow, Military Secretary, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , and Bertram Blakiston Cubitt, Under-Secretary of State for India, on the subject of aviation units for service in India and Mesopotamia, which include tables of personnel and vehicles required (ff 91-96)
- The Quartermaster General’s Embarkation Statement, listing reinforcements and details for Force D which embarked at Bombay [Mumbai] and Karachi (ff 128-134).
The vast majority of material in the volume dates from September 1915, with the exception of a small amount of material which dates from May, June and August 1915.
A summary of the contents of this volume can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3236.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (134 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 136; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-134; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’ [92r] (188/276), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3237, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100132734283.0x0000bd> [accessed 3 August 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3237
- Title
- ‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:136r
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence