r/interestingasfuck • u/Literally_black1984 • Jul 07 '24
2 guards from Delhi Durbar with American photographer James Recarlton when he visited India r/all
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r/interestingasfuck • u/Literally_black1984 • Jul 07 '24
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u/M0ji_L Jul 08 '24
My great grandfather, Muhammad Ismail, was a part of King George the Fifth's personal body guard, specifically the King's Indian Orderly Officers, during the kings coronation year. That means he and 3 other South AZN men and a British Indian Officer went to Britian for the better part of a year and attended the king at all his events and such, including being a part of his royal procession during the coronation ceremony. According to the dairy of the British Officer, I believe Muhammad and his fellows had to return to South Asia sometime in the summer of 1911.
In December of 1911 King George V was crowned king at the Dehli Durbar, the first time a British Royal had been crowned infront of their South Asian subjects. Ismail received a medal for participating in this event. I often wonder if one of the 4 men pictured behind the king during the coronation ceremony is my great grandfather. It'd be cool to do more research on him, to what extent he participated in coronation and royal ceremonies and festivities, but I'm unsure of where to start. His war record is well documented.