Cavalry Parade At Bangalore Parade Ground, Colonial Era, 1914 Postcard
This is a rare 1914 photo postcard of a cavalry parade at the Bangalore Parade Ground during the colonial era. In the 18th century, Bangalore (Bengaluru) was just a cluster of villages, its destiny changed after the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the 4th Anglo-Mysore War. The British forces breached the impregnable Tipu’s Bangalore Fort in 1791.
Because of Bangalore’s strategic location and cool weather, the British stayed on. By 1831, the city had developed into an important military base with a huge cantonment. Cantonments were synonymous with British military, it was essentially a city within a city. In 1902, the colonial army underwent a massive reformation by Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
A series of reforms were carried out by him, unifying the various splinter groups of armies under the presidencies, maharajas, chieftains, etc, into greater unified army brigades. This applied to the whole of colonial India, including Bangalore. Thus, the result of one of the formations was the Bangalore Brigade, which can be seen in this image. The parade ground was the main area of the cantonment. Thus, the heart of the Bangalore Cantonment was the parade ground. The South Parade is located to the south. The military garrison was stationed there, and the cantonment developed around the parade ground.
See my posts- Vintage Photo Bangalore British Regiment Parade 1928.., and Old Postcard – Cameron Highlanders Regiment Bangalore 1911. Read also about- Bangalore Brigade.
Did you know- The Bangalore Torpedo was created in the city. It was a deadly explosive used in both WW1 & WW2 successfully by the military.
From the collection- Vintage Photo Taj Mahal & Flying Carpet Plane., Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph c1894., Vintage Postcard Bangalore Fort., Antique Print Bombay Fort & Harbor View., Page From Rare 1713 Latin Book on Calicut
