A fine ‘Mekran Expedition 1898’ C.B. group of nine awarded to Colonel...

A fine ‘Mekran Expedition 1898’ C.B. group of nine awarded to Colonel R. C. G. Mayne, Bombay Army

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge converted for neck wear, silver-gilt and enamels; Afghanistan 1878-80, 1 clasp, Kandahar (Lt. R. C. G. Mayne, 29th Bo. N.I.); Kabul to Kandahar Star 1880 (Lieut: R. C. G. Mayne 29th Bombay N.I.); Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, dated reverse, 1 clasp, Tel-El-Kebir (Lieut: R. C. G. Mayne, 2nd Belooch: Regt.); China 1900, no clasp (Lt. Col: R. C. G. Mayne, C.B., A.D.C., 30 Belooch: Inf:); Coronation 1902, silver; Delhi Durbar 1903, silver; Coronation 1911; Khedive’s Star, dated 1882, mounted court-style, minor enamel chips to the first, the earlier campaign medals with pitting from star, otherwise very fine and better (9) £2,800-£3,400

Footnote
Richard Charles Graham Mayne was born on 27 August 1852 in Simla, India, the son of Major Robert Graham Mayne, and Eliza Anne Landale. He was sent back to England to be educated at Wellington College, and then attended the Royal Military College Sandhurst, being commissioned as an Ensign into the 83rd County of Dublin Regiment of Foot in 1872. Mayne then transferred to the Indian Army, and was appointed a Lieutenant with the 29th Bombay Native Infantry, which was otherwise known as the Balooch Regiment. He saw service during the Second Afghanistan War of 1878-80, being present during Lord Robert's famous march from Kabul to Kandahar during August 1880, and was then present at the capture of Kandahar on 1 September 1880. Mayne was later present with the Indian Contingent sent to Egypt during the Egyptian War of 1882, being present in action at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir on 13 September 1882. Mayne was promoted to Captain in 1884, and then to Major in 1892, followed by Lieutenant Colonel in 1898, and appointed to command the 30th Bombay Native Infantry which was otherwise known as the 3rd Balooch Regiment. It was in this year that Mayne performed his most distinguished services for the Indian Army when he commanded the forces during the little known but important Mekran Expedition.

At the turn of the 19th Century, the Mekran area of north-west India (now Pakistan) and adjacent south-east Persia was a remote dry strip of land running along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. This was, and remains today, one of the most hostile and inaccessible regions in the world. Mountains rising to over 10,000 feet formed a backdrop to the coastal desert. Habitation inland followed watercourses that ran through gorges in the hills where date gardens could be irrigated. Coastal communities existed on fishing and smuggling, with Muscat, in Oman across the Straits of Hormuz, being a major source of illegally-imported weapons. The camel provided a transport resource, as well as milk and meat. The standard of living was very low, bordering on wretched, for many inhabitants. The people were hardy and lawless Muslim Baluch tribesmen who resisted outside interference and who constantly intrigued and fought amongst themselves. In the British-administered portion of Mekran government of a sort was achieved by tribal treaty supervised by British Political Agents. The British presence was most evident on the coast where a telegraph line ran from Persia to Karachi. However, by 1898, British survey parties were working inland. In January 1898, conflict broke out in Kej, where the Hindu Nazim Diwan Udho Das (a district administrator who reported to the ruler of the region, the Khan of Kalat) was disliked and disrespected by the Baluch sardars (leaders) Baluch Khan and Mehrab Khan Gichki. The latter, with the complicity of Baluch Khan, attacked Diwan Udho Das on 6th January, imprisoned him in Kalatuk Fort and looted his treasury. Meantime, the unsuspecting British had deployed four surveyors, with Punjabi civilian support staff, into the Kolwa and Kej valleys, depending on the Baluch sardars' levies for security. On 9th January, the camp of one of the surveyors, Captain J. M. Burn, Royal Engineers, was attacked by local tribesmen. The fifteen-man levy escort team, commanded by Rhustam Khan, brother of Mehrab Khan Gichki, stood aside as sixteen support staff were slaughtered. The attackers and the escort party then seized thirty-five rifles and 15,000 Rupees. Captain Burn had been sleeping on a hill three miles away, and he was alerted by one of his men who had escaped from the camp. Burn started off on foot to Balor, thirty-five miles away. At Balor he sent messengers to alert the other surveyors, and he obtained a camel to ride to Urmara, whence on 11th January he telegraphed a report to Brigadier-General T. A. Cooke, the Officer Commanding Sind District, at Karachi.

Within two hours of the report's arrival, a military response was initiated. Lieutenant-Colonel R. G. C. Mayne, commanding 30th Bombay Infantry (3rd Baluch Battalion), was ordered to proceed with 250 men to Urmara, seventy-five miles east of Pasni. Transportation was provided by the tug Richmond Crawford, with a local boat in tow carrying followers, baggage, 400 rounds per rifle, and rations for one month. Three British officers and one medical officer accompanied Mayne. Parties from the 21st Bombay Infantry were despatched to Chabbar and Jask in Persian Mekran to protect British telegraph facilities in those locations. Meanwhile those sardars wishing to avoid direct conflict with the British escorted the three remaining surveyors and their men into Urmara. At Urmara, Colonel Mayne landed his men, horses and supplies by using local bunder boats (ship-to-shore coastal boats). More troops were being organised to join Colonel Mayne, and Pasni was chosen as the operational base. From Pasni, a direct route led north to Mehrab Khan's fort at Turbat and the nearby fort at Kalatuk where Nazim Diwan Udho Das was jailed. Colonel Mayne marched on 19th January with his men along the 100 miles of telegraph line to Pasni, repairing the line as he went.

The hostile sardars had sent instructions that the British were not to be offered camels to assist with transportation, but the British Political Agent for South-East Baluchistan, Major M. A. Tighe, quickly found camels for Colonel Mayne. None of the beasts were strong due to recent droughts in the region and many died under the pressure of work. By 27th January, Colonel Mayne had under his command at Pasni the 30th Bombay Infantry (400 rifles), a section of No 4 Hazara Mountain Battery (two 7-pndr guns), and eighty-eight transport mules. Two days later the following troops left Karachi to join Colonel Mayne: 6th Bombay Cavalry (half-squadron); 30th Bombay Infantry (eighty rifles, tasked with guarding telegraph facilities at Urmara, Pasni and Gwadur); Bombay Sappers and Miners (one British and one Indian officer with twelve other ranks); No 42 Field Hospital ('C' and 'D' Sections); an additional twelve transport mules.

Colonel Mayne left Pasni with his men and the two mountain guns on 27th January, knowing that Baluch Khan intended to block his advance to Turbat. Four dry and dusty days later at 08.00 hours, the column came across the hostile Sardars and 1,500 of their men on hills 300 feet above the mouth of a narrow six-mile long defile. When the advance guard under Lieutenant N. R. Anderson got within 850 yards of the enemy, it came under breech-loading rifle fire. Captain A. Le G. Jacob, with fifty rifles, was deployed onto a hill on the enemy's left flank where he met stiff opposition.

Lieutenant J. H. Paine and his gunners now delivered destructive blows by blasting the sardars' forces with shells. Colonel Mayne sent Captain R. Southey with fifty rifles to drive the enemy off low hills to the left (west) of the defile. At that moment Lieutenant H. T. Naylor appeared with thirty-two sabres from the 6th Bombay Cavalry. He had double-marched up from Pasni towards the sound of the guns. He and his men were deployed dismounted to support Southey. Colonel Mayne now moved his main body forward to seize the mouth of the defile whilst Captains Southey and Jacob got behind the enemy on their respective flanks. The guns moved forward to support the assault and fired case shot into all the enemy positions. This was a demoralising blow as the sardars' men had not previously faced effective artillery fire, and after taking hundreds of casualties the enemy ranks quickly thinned out as men fled. However, some of the sardars were made of sterner stuff, as suddenly Baluch Khan and a group of his ghazis jumped out of cover, discarded their rifles, drew their swords, and shouted 'Allah! Allah!' as they charged at Captain Jacob's group. Some got to within twenty paces of Captain Jacob before they were all shot down. Jacob himself killed Baluch Khan with a revolver shot. The action was over by 11.45 hours and Colonel Mayne's men moved tactically through the defile. The enemy had lost up to 250 tribesmen killed and about the same number wounded. Baluch Khan and four other Khans were dead. The cavalry had lost one man wounded, the gunners had lost one man killed and one man wounded, and the 30th Bombay Infantry had lost two men killed and ten wounded, one of whom later died. Lieutenant Naylor and his cavalry re-mounted and pushed on to the River Kej where they skirmished, killing four and wounding five of the enemy. Colonel Mayne and his main body approached Turbat Fort at about 16.30 hours, fired a few shells into the fort, and camped for the night. During the hours of darkness the fort's defenders, led by Mehrab Khan Gitchi, withdrew into the hills Mayne's column occupied the fort the next day, the 1st February.

The detachment of Bombay Sappers and Miners, under Lieutenant W. Bovet, arrived twenty-four hours later, having marched forty miles that day. There was no rest for them as they immediately marched with Colonel Mayne another thirty miles to Charbak, and blew up the towers of the fort there. On 7th February...