Description
Punjab Medal 1848-9, no bar, Gunner Thomas Whittlow, 4th Company 4th Battalion Bengal Artillery, later Drill Sergeant to the 4th Artillery and joined the Royal Artillery in 1861.
Officially impressed: “Gunner T. Whittlow. 4th Cy 4th Battn Arty”
Thomas Whittlow, was born in Lisburn, County Down, Ireland, Now Northern Ireland.
He enlisted for “unlimited” service at Belfast on 6th March 1847, joining the Honourable East India Company’s European Indian Army.
He set off for India on the ship Dartmouth.
Not long after arriving he would fight in the Anglo Sikh “Punjab” War of 1848-9 earning this medal.
In the later part of his career, he served as Drill Sergeant on the Staff of the 4th Battalion.
He volunteered to the Royal Artillery in 1861 taking on Service Number 5392.
In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny the HEIC’s Indian Army was disbanded and men were to be integrated into the British Army. However the handling of this was poorly done and caught the men by surprise, leading to what was called the “White Mutiny”.
Like Whittlow, most men signed on for Unlimited service, and had little choice in the matter which led to a mutiny by the men. In the end they were offered free passage home and a discharge, or an offer to re-enlist in the British Army with the requested sign on bonus, few took them up on the offer to re-enlist.
About 10,116 Officers and Soldiers opted to return home free, Whittlow, a career NCO, would be amongst the approximately 2,809 soldiers to re-enlist.
