Sepoy Mahruf Shah

Burma Military Police attached to 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis.

 

Sepoy was a rank designating a professional infantry soldier, usually a skilled rifleman, in the Indian Army. The soldier commemorated here was MAHRUF SHAH, not Mahrup as recorded. He was the son of Arz Ali Shah, from a small village near Peshawar in North-Westr Frontier India (now Pakistan).

Sepoy Shah was serving with the Burma Light Infantry as a Military Policeman, when he was attached as an expert rifleman to the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis. The 129th Baluchis fought with great distinction in France and Flanders and suffered horrendous casualties, hence Mahruf Shah being attached to them as a battlefied casualty replacement. Although details are sparse, it is highly likely that he was seriously wounded in France or Belgium and was evacuated back to the UK where he succumbed to his injuries in September 1915.