WW2 India - Indian Army Pioneers Cast Brass Cap Badge

A large flat backed theatre cast example, nicely voided with a King's Crown above a scroll 'Pioneers' and GRI cypher to centre. Two original loops to reverse (slight twisting). A large badge at circa In very good condition. Circa 5.1cms tall. The owner claims it was worn 1940 - 1947, which seems to be supported by the information below.

The origin of the Indian Pioneer Corps dates back to 1758 when the first Pioneer Companies was formed, the Madras Pioneers, Bombay Pioneers, Sikh Pioneer and the Hazara Pioneers. After being disbanded for many years, the Pioneer Corps was re-raised during WWII in the following to provide semi skilled labour to work with Engineer units or tasks such as demolition, construction of roads, tracks bridges, defences & water supply and to provide unskilled labour where required. By the wars end a total of approximately 300,000 such workers had been engaged of which 21,000 were Indians.

Extensive use was made of pioneers in the British Indian Army because of the demands of campaigning in difficult terrain with little or no infrastructure. The twelve Indian Pioneer regiments in existence in 1914 were trained and equipped for road, rail and engineering work, as well as for conventional infantry service. While this dual function did not qualify them to be regarded as elite units, the frequency with which they saw active service made postings to pioneer regiments popular with British officers.

The various Pioneer Corps were disbanded in 1933 and their personnel mostly transferred into the Corps of Sappers and Miners, whose role they had come to parallel. It was concluded that the Pioneer battalions had become less technically effective than the Sappers and Miners, but too well trained in specialist functions to warrant being used as ordinary infantry. In addition, their major role of frontier road building had now been allocated to civilian workers.

The re-organisation commenced in 1940, at Jhelum (now in Pakistan). Thereafter it became the Auxiliary Pioneers Corps in 1941 and subsequently the Indian Auxiliary Pioneer Corps with effect from 13th October 1942. 25th November 1941 is celebrated as the Raising day of the Pioneer Corps. An Indian Pioneer Corps was re-established in 1943. So this badge appears to date from WW2.

Comm TeMo

Code: 69495