Auxiliary Force (India)
Introduction The '''Auxiliary Force (India)''' ('''AFI''') was a part-time, paid volunteer military organisation within the British Indian Army, with recruits from British India. Its units were entirely made up of European and Anglo-Indian personnel. The AFI was formed in 1920, along with the Indian Territorial Force (ITF), replacing the Indian Defence Force (IDF).
History The AFI was created by the Auxiliary Force Act 1920 to replace the unpopular British section of the Indian Defence Force (IDF), which had recruited by conscription. By contrast, the AFI was an all-volunteer force modelled after the British Territorial Army. The Indian parallel to the AFI was the Indian Territorial Force (ITF) which was composed of British officers and Indian other ranks.
Units on 3 September 1939 NameHeadquarters'''Contingents'''Agra ContingentAgraAllahabad ContingentAllahabadBangalore ContingentBangaloreBareilly CorpsBareillyBareilly ContingentNaini TalBombay ContingentBombayCawnpore ContingentCawnporeDehra Dun ContingentDehra DunDelhi ContingentDelhiKarachi CorpsKarachiLucknow ContingentLucknowMadras ContingentMadrasPoona ContingentPoonaPunjab ContingentLahore'''Cavalry regiments'''Assam Valley Light HorseDibrugarhBihar Light HorseMuzaffarpurBombay Light PatrolBombayCalcutta Light HorseCalcuttaChota Nagpur RegimentRanchiNorthern Bengal Mounted RiflesDarjeelingPunjab Light HorseLahoreSouthern Provinces Mounted RiflesMadrasSurma Valley Light HorseSilcharAllahabad Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)AllahabadCawnpore Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)CawnporeLucknow Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)Lucknow'''Armoured Car companies'''Bangalore Armoured Car CompanyBangalore'''Artillery brigades'''Bengal Artillery, RABarrackporeI (Calcutta Port Defence) Brigade, RACalcuttaV (Cossipore) Field Brigade, RACossipore'''Separate artillery batteries'''No. 3 (Madras) Field Battery, RAMadrasNo. 10 (Bombay) Battery, RABombayNo. 13 (Lucknow) Field Battery, RALucknowNo. 15 (Kirkee) Field Battery, RAKirkeeNo. 17 (Agra) Field Battery, RAAgraNo. 18 (Bareilly) Field Battery, RABareillyNo. 20 (Cawnpore) Field Battery, RACawnpore'''Engineer companies'''No. 1 (Calcutta) Fortress Company, RECalcuttaNo. 3 (Bombay) Fortress Company, REBombayNo. 4 (Karachi) Fortress Company, REKarachi'''Signal companies'''No. 1 (Madras) Signal CompanyMadras'''Railway battalions'''Assam Bengal Railway BattalionChittagongBengal Nagpur Railway BattalionKharagpurBengal and North Western Railway BattalionGorakhpur1st Battalion, Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway RegimentLower Parel2nd Battalion, Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway RegimentAjmerEastern Bengal Railway BattalionSealdah1st Battalion, East Indian Railway RegimentLillooah2nd Battalion, East Indian Railway RegimentLucknow1st Battalion, Great India Peninsula Railway RegimentParel2nd Battalion, Great India Peninsula Railway RegimentJhansi1st Battalion, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway RiflesPerambur2nd Battalion, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway RiflesHubliNorth Western Railway BattalionLahoreSouth Indian Railway BattalionTrichinopoly'''Infantry battalions'''Allahabad RiflesAllahabadBangalore Battalion (Bangalore Rifle Volunteers)BangaloreBombay BattalionBombayCalcutta and Presidency BattalionCalcuttaCalcutta ScottishCalcuttaCawnpore RiflesCawnporeEast Coast BattalionVizayapatamHyderabad RiflesSecunderabadKolar Gold Fields BattalionOorgaumLucknow RiflesLucknowMadras GuardsMadrasNagpur RiflesNagpurNilgiri Malabar BattalionOotacamundPoona RiflesPoonaPunjab RiflesLahoreSimla RiflesSimlaSind RiflesKarachi'''Separate infantry companies'''Bhusawal CompanyBhusawalCoorg and Mysore CompanyMercaraEastern Bengal CompanyDaccaYercaud CompanyYercaud'''Machine-gun companies'''No. 2 (Karachi) Machine-Gun CompanyKarachiNo. 5 (Agra) Machine-Gun CompanyAgra
In popular culture The Auxiliary Force features extensively in the plot of John Masters' novel ''Bhowani Junction'', focusing on a community of Anglo-Indian railway workers at an Indian town in 1946, on the verge of the British withdrawal.
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