Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 33]
Short description of the appearances of Indian Troops and Turks.
Indian Troops
1. The Indian troops are coloured brown - darker than the average Egyptian but not so dark as the negro. Gurkhas are small men with a Japanese type face. Uniform, Khaki drill, light coloured; generally a long coat, knickerbockers or short and putties.
Accoutrements - brown or black leather.
Head dress - Puggris, a long piece of cloth wound round the head.
Gurkhas wear a slouch hat.
Turks
2. Turks are light-skinned and often dark-haired (though light hair and blue eyes are not uncommon amongst Anatolian troops) thick-set and clumisly built. The features are not infrequently rather Mongolian in type, with high cheek-bones and narrow (though not slanting) eyes. They are never clean shaven; officers favour small turned up moustaches.
New Uniform:- Infantry wear khaki, much the same colour as ours, with plain trousers for the men and putties or gaiters, officers red piping on the trousers and olive green collar to tunic. Grey double-breasted great-coats. The "Enver" helmet, worn by the troops, and by officers, is of khaki cloth with flaps which button up on to the helmet; from a distance it looks much like the English helmet. The old headdress, still used by many regiments, is a tarbush of heavy rough khaki material. Khaki putties. Accoutrements, canvas or leather.
Old Uniform:- Some of the troops may still be dressed in the old blue cotton uniform - this is of a fairly dark but bright blue which bleaches on exposure to the sun to a light sky-color.
Bedouins
3. The Bedouins are darker-skinned than most of the other troops, slight in build and wiry, with aquiline noses and thin black beards. They are all irregulars and usually are mounted (horse or camel - especially camel) but many of their camels must have been taken for transport. They wear no proper uniform, but their native dress - long, white, flowing robes, cloak generally brown, brown and white, or black, and white head-cloth wrapped round the face and kept on the head by a sort of ring of twisted black rope.