Sarwekai fort, 1920 circa (b/w photo)

Sarwekai fort, 1920 circa. Photograph by Randolph Bezzant Holmes (1888-1973), North West Frontier, India, 1920 circa. The British post at Sarwekai lay in the heartland of Wazir territory in South Waziristan. Following the tribal insurrection of 1919 it was abandoned in May of that year, but was reoccupied by Major-General W. Leslie’s field force in November 1920. It is likely that Holmes took this photograph at that time. Leslie remained at Sarwekai for a month while he attempted to persuade some of the more moderate tribesmen to make peace. This failed and he resumed his advance on Wana, the Wazir ‘capital’, which was captured on 22 December 1920. From an album of 42 photographs most of which are produced by R B Holmes from the series ‘With the Derajat Column in Waziristan’, 1919-1920. The photographs were collected by Colonel G H Russell of the South Waziristan Scouts.