MILITARY UNIFORMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE OVERSEAS, 1938 (2) - BIKANER STATE FORCES

In 1938, India was still the "jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire, a place of (usually) playboy Maharajahs and their (always) colourful "State Forces", as exemplified by this contemporary cigarette card:

Indian State Forces - Bikanir (or Bikaner)

The reverse of the cigarette card (No.29 of 50) states:

"The Bikanir State Forces number about 1,800, consisting of one battery of Artillery, two motor machine gun sections, two squadrons of Lancers, an Infantry Battalion, and the Ganga Risala, a Captain of which is shown in our picture in Full Dress. This famous Camel Corps rendered good service in the early days of the Great War in the fighting east of the Suez Canal. Bikanir is one of the largest of the Rajputana States, but much of it is desert, and its population numbers less than one million. The Maharajah of Bikanir holds the honorary rank of General in the British Army and is an extra aide de camp to the King. The Old Palace and Fort, Bikanir, are shown in the background."

Notes:

(1). More details on the Bikaner Camel Corps (the 'Ganga Risala") can be found HERE. 

(2). Biographical details of the splendid Ganga Singh, Maharajah of Bikaner, can be found HERE. Definitely not a playboy Maharajah...

(3). No details can be found on the other elements of the Bikaner State Forces of 1938 (whether the exciting sounding "motor machine gun sections" or the "two squadrons of Lancers") but this toy soldier source suggests that Bikaner artillerymen were uniformed in blue, and that the artillery battery was camel-drawn;

(4). As to suitable 28mm figures, Mark Hargreaves of the "OverOpenSights" blog has already "been there and done that" (back in December 2014!) producing some splendid Bikaner Camel Corps figures from "Perry Sudan Camel Corps figure(s) with a Woodbine head" for camel mounted troops and "a Woodbine WW1 Indian Army figure" for dismounted equivalents, in both cases "with greenstuff additions to the head dress". Woodbine is now marketed by Gripping Beast :

Mark Hargreave's wonderfully produced and painted Bikaner Camel Corps.
Full information and many more photos at the OverOpenSights blog - well worth a visit!

(5). The "Old Palace and Fort", Bikaner, still stands; no longer home to a Maharajah (Mrs Gandhi officially abolished such titles back in 1970) - but, in the modern way, an "exclusive luxury hotel":

The Old Palace and Fort, Bikaner