Foundry NWF Bengal lancers

[Umra Khan]

Plynkes because in 1861 the three Armies , Bengal , Bombay and Madras ,  were entitled to raise regiments of cavalry and battalions of infantry  from various part of the Indian Empire  without teritorial limits.
Bengal Army was the biggest and rise many cavalry regiments called Bengal Lancers, altough sowars did not came from Bengal.
I hope this is the answer of your question.

[Plynkes]

So the distinctions between the former presidency armies continued, even after they were abolished and merged to form the Indian Army? I did not know that, thank you.

[Umra Khan]

So the distinctions between the former presidency armies continued, even after they were abolished and merged to form the Indian Army? I did not know that, thank you.

Yes until 1903 remains the 3 Armies

[Mad Guru]

Plynkes, sorry I'm a bit late to this party -- even though I was only away for a day! -- but Umra Khan has got it near absolutely right.  Although in the aftermath of the 1858-59 Indian Mutiny/Great Rebellion the HEIC lost control of India and its British organized and officered armies, the Anglo-Indian armies of the Three Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras remained as distinct military organizations until they were merged into a single united "Indian Army" in what I'm pretty sure was 1895.  Umra Khan was only 8 years off, which is very close in my book!

[Plynkes]

Thanks, guys. Most general accounts I've read don't go into the detail of this. I had always assumed that when the HEIC lost control of its armies they became the Indian Army right there and then. Thanks, again.

[Mad Guru]

Plynkes, you're very welcome!  To expand a bit Re: your recap of the impact of the Mutiny on Bengal Army cavalry regiments... you are partially correct in that many Bengal Cavalry units -- particularly the Light Cavalry Regiments -- joined the uprising and in the reorganization following the end of the Mutiny/Rebellion were officially disbanded.  However, even before the Mutiny there were almost 30 regiments of Irregular Bengal Cavalry in existence, and 2/3rds of them remained loyal during the uprising, and were retained afterwards.  Various other cavalry, including multiple Punjab, Central India Horse, and Hyderabad Contingent regiments were also retained.

You're also right that during the Mutiny/Rebellion multiple new mounted regiments, many of them Sikh irregular cavalry, were raised and then retained after the fighting ended.  When the Bengal Army reorganized itself in 1861 (the Madras and Bombay armies did a bit of reorganization as well, but very little, since they had few regiments that had mutinied and had to be disbanded and/or replaced) regimental numbers were retained by some units and reassigned to the rest.  Re: titles/names for Bengal Cavalry units, things get even more complicated, as during the post-Mutiny era while the Three Presidency Armies still existed (1861-1895) individual regiments often received new names/titles at different times, rather than en masse as part of overall "army"-wide reorganizations.

In just a pair of examples, the First and Second Regiments of Hodson's Horse were both raised during the Mutiny.  In the 1861 reorganization the First Regiment became the 9th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry and the Second became the 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry.  In 1864 the 10th Regt. Bengal Cavalry (previously Second Hodson's Horse) became the 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers)... and then in 1874 they were made the 10th Regiment of Bengal Lancers... and then in 1878 they were made the 10th Regiment of Bengal (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers.

For the 9th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (formerly 1st Hodson's Horse) it took until 1886 for them to become the 9th Regiment of Bengal Lancers.

...And that's just two regiments over the course of barely 25 years!  These are the things that can drive some of us followers/fans of the Anglo-Indian Army a bit batty, so to speak.

Giorgio: sorry to drag this thread further down a sidetrack from your original post!  As you already have Wargames Foundry cavalry it makes perfect sense for you to get more, rather than expanding into the more recent Perry range, as those newer figure -- and their horses -- are noticeably bigger.

[giorgio]

I m happy that from a trivial question we all have had the opportunity to learn a lot. Thanks expecially to Mad Guru and Umra Khan.

Thanks all folks!