Capt SMA Jafri - 1944

[Skoyen89]

Hi
I am trying to find out more about this officer who was wounded in May 1944 at Kohima.  can any one help please?

Capt SMA Jafri
Jafri was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with an Emergency Commission on 4th August 1941.  He shows on the Indian Army Lists for 1943 and 1944 in the 15th Punjab Regiment.  In May 1944 he was a War Substantive Lieutenant but had the Acting rank of Captain.  He joined the 4th/15th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment in the Kohima area and was wounded on Church Knoll on 29th may 1944.
After being wounded he had returned to the unit by 23rd September 1944.  He is shown on the Indian Army Lists for November 1944 and 1945. 

Thanks

PS  Also posted in India Forum on RootsChat.

[MaxD]

This National Archives guide to records for Indian Army personnel should help:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/indian-army-personnel/

The main point to note is that their records are not kept by the National Archives or the Ministry of Defence, your approach should be to the British Library.

MaxD

[Drew5233]

Officers are normally well documented in unit war diaries. These will be at the National Archives.

[Skoyen89]

Thanks to Max and Drew for the replies. 

Drew - I have the War Diaries for 1943 and 1944 and he seems to have arrived a matter of days before being wounded but then is not mentioned apart from appearing in the Officer lists submitted weekly from September.  These lists seem to stop in 1945 and to be honest the 1945 War Diary is almost illegible.

Max - Are the records for Indian Army officers at the British Library readily available to researchers or are there requirements as per the MOD records eg 25 years after death and need to provide death cert etc?  It would seem anomalous if there are not - but more convenient for me!

[MaxD]

Sorry - don't know, haven't had occasion to get any myself.  A preliminary enquiry first I'd suggest.

MaxD