Orders, Decorations and Medals

A rare Java 1945-46 operations O.B.E. group of ten awarded to Brigadier R. C. B. Bristow, Indian Army, whose long and distinguished career is described in his autobiography - Memories of the British Raj: Soldier in India

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt; India General Service 1908-35, 2 clasps, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, Waziristan 1919-21 (2 Lieut. C. R. Bristow, 2-9 G.R.), note initials; India General Service 1939-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (Major R. C. B. Bristow, 2-17 Dogra R.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; jDefence and War Medals 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, S.E. Asia 1945-46 (Brig. R. C. B. Bristow, 17-Dogra R.); India Independence Medal 1947 (A1-793 Brig. R. C. B. Bristow, I.A.), mounted court-style as worn, the second somewhat polished, otherwise generally very fine or better (10) £600-800

O.B.E. London Gazette 26 June 1947:

‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Netherlands East Indies prior to 30 November 1946.’

The North-West Frontier

Robert Claude Battman Bristow, who was born in May 1900, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Indian Army in April 1919, and quickly witnessed active service on attachment to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles, being employed in the Third Afghan War as a cipher officer at Kohat (Medal & clasp).

Next attached to the 3/151st Punjab Rifles, he saw further action in the Waziristan operations, not least at Zer mountain, south of Idak, when he assisted in extricating ‘C’ Company from a dangerous forward position - ‘Their [the Wazirs’] fire was not very accurate and mostly went overhead, but occasionally one of our men was hit’ (clasp). He was also given his first independent command - Khajuri Fort - from which he patrolled the hills and picquets.

With the disbandment of the 3/151st Punjabis in early 1921, Bristow transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Dogras, in which regiment he would serve for the remainder of his career - including another stint of active service on the North-West Frontier in 1936-37 (Medal & clasp).

“Paiforce” and Burma 1943-45 - “mention”

In fact, Bristow remained employed in India until April 1943, taking command of the 11/17th Dogras (a.k.a. “Bristow’s Own”) as a Major in May 1938 and, following the outbreak of war, the Bannu Brigade and the Tochi Mobile Column.

In April 1943, however, he was given command of the the regiment’s Machine Gun Battalion and ordered to the Middle East, in which capacity he served in “Paiforce” in addition to a trip to Italy for ‘battle experience’. In October 1944, the M.G. Battalion returned to India in readiness for active employment in Burma and, by March 1945, it was actively engaged in the fighting at Meiktala. Subsequently, ‘in the dash to Rangoon, and later in Java, the Battalion won 15 decorations for bravery and 30 mentions in despatches’, Bristow being among the latter (London Gazette 19 September 1946, refers). In Memories of the British Raj, he makes frequent reference to the gallantry of his troops:

‘On one of my visits to the salient I walked into a bombardment of Jap heavy mortars, and decided to make for the cover of the nearest machine-gun post, which had been dug into a clump of bamboo. To my surprise I found the gun crew sitting outside their trench, and asked Havildar Dalip Singh whether he was trying to get his men killed. He replied with a grin, “No sahib, there is a large snake hiding in the bamboo, and we prefer to risk the mortars.” That evening Dalip reported, “We have killed the snake, a large cobra, and all is well.” ’

Java 1945-46 - O.B.E.

Following V.J. Day, Bristow landed with his Dogras at Singapore, restoring order to the dockyard before moving inland. In November, however, they were ordered to Java, to counter Indonesian rebels who were calling for a republic: it was the commencement of a bloody uprising, initial Indian Army casualties amounting to 400 men, among them Brigadier A. W. Mallaby, who was murdered by a mob while trying to arrange a truce. Bristow himself came under fire, and 40 of his Dogras were killed or wounded, prior to the arrival of the Dutch in April 1946. He was awarded the O.B.E.

Indian Independence

By now a Brigadier, he was given command of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, and quickly found himself embroiled in the tragic events of the Communal War at the time of Indian Independence - a chapter in his career to which he devoted half of the text of Memories of the British Raj: thus accounts of numerous close calls but above all his deep regret at how events unfurled:

‘When Independence Day was announced, I well remember assembling the V.C.Os at the Regimental Centre, and explaining how the country would be partitioned when the Raj ended in two months’ time. They expressed astonishment and the opinion that there would be serious disturbances and much bloodshed. While expecting freedom, they always thought the British would hand over in an orderly manner, rather then cut and run.

The bewilderment of sudden change was a powerful factor in the panic and hysteria that followed Independence. Confusion and instability were the direct result of everything happening at once, without adequate time for preparation. While there were good reasons for haste, there were equally strong grounds for cautiously phasing the transfer of rule, particularly with regard to security ... ’

On a more personal note:

‘As a Brigade Commander during the Communal War my responsibility was confined to a relatively small area, and so the conclusions I reach at the end of the book may be regarded as parochial. Nevertheless, consideration should be given to the views not only in high authority, but also to those on the spot and nearer events.

Unfortunately there is a lack of eye-witness records by those who were present during the massacres in the Punjab. As historians cannot make fair judgments if secrets of the past remain untold, I have tried to add my own evidence before it is too late. My account is also a tribute to members of the British rearguard, who have received little credit for saving thousands of lives.’

Bristow returned to the U.K. in early 1948, sailing from Bombay on the day that news of Gandhi’s assassination broke. Placed on the Retired List in July 1948, he died in August 1982; sold with a copy of Memories of the British Raj (Johnson, London, 1974).