Guide to the British Military Operations in Waziristan Photograph Album SC 1174
Finding aid prepared by Beaudry Allen
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California, 93106-9010
Phone: (805) 893-3062
Email: special@library.ucsb.edu; URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections
Title: British Military Operations in Waziristan Photograph Album
Identifier/Call Number: SC 1174
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.02 linear feet
(1 folder)
Date (inclusive): circa 1922-1923
Abstract: A photograph album depicting British Military operations in Waziristan, then a region of India, in 1922 and 1923, prior to
the Pink's War. Photographs mainly relate to military camps and convoys throughout the region.
Processed by Beaudry Allen, 2016
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Purchased by Special Research Collections, 2016.
[Identification of Item], British Military Operations in Waziristan Photograph Album, SC 1174. Department of Special Collections,
UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
North West Frontier [Waziristan] Photograph Album, ca. mid-1920s, Bernath Mss 189, Special Reseach Collections
After World War I, growing tension in the region of Waziristan, then part of India, now straddling the Pakistan and Afghanistan
border, had hit the zenith as local Maseed, or Mahsūd, tribesmen steadfastly refused to be subdued by the British colonial
control and carried out a series of successful attacks against British regimental bases. For years British were engaged in
a continuing effort to pacify militant tribesmen in the province but were losing ground. The anti-colonial campaign from local
tribes eventually led to Pink’s War in 1925, an air-to-ground British campaign against mountain region strongholds.
The collection consists of thirty-eight photographs relating to the British military operations in Waziristan. The photographs
depict military camps, convoys, and recreation activities of the region throughout 1922 and 1923, prior to Pink's War. British
power was failing at the time these photographs were taken, however, the British had gained new advantage through the use
of air raids. The photographs show the terrain and villages; the inside of British camps at Jandola, Saraogha, Ladha, and
Razmak; convoys of armored tanks and camels traveling between camps; crossing the Indus in flood; native escorts and Gurkhas;
and a Jarga—tribal assembly. In addition to the operational photographs, there are several photographs of officers at Dera
Ismail Kahn (winter headquarters of the Derajat Bridage) enjoying a sporting day.
The inscriptions may have been written by Colonel John James Aiken (1878-1946), an officer in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
The photographs remain in the original order of the creator.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
British--Afghanistan--History
British--India--History--20th century
Pakistan--Pictorial works
Waziristan (Pakistan)