Even as India deals with the effects of the global crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a war memorial in south Mumbai’s quaint Ballard Pier area commemorates Bombay’s port in World War I and the role played by British officials. Testament. He lost his life in the “Great War”.
The Port Trust War Memorial, a sandstone pillar with a lamp on top, is located at the junction of Shoorji Vallabhdas Road and SS Ram Ghulam Marg in Ballard Estate. The structure has three winged lions and brass plaques depicting the contribution of the Bombay Port Trust during the First World War.
The city’s historian Deepak Rao stated that the Bombay Port Trust was formerly one of the most important ports for the British Empire. “There were no airplanes in those days. The Bombay Port Trust was the most important port for the British east of the Suez Canal. So it played an important role during World War I as far as the transport of officers, soldiers joining the war from India and food grains were concerned,” he explained.
The city’s historian Deepak Rao stated that the Bombay Port Trust was formerly one of the most important ports for the British Empire.
One of the plaques on the structure spells out the contribution. It reads, “The Port of Bombay in the Great War of 1914-18. 1870000 soldiers and personnel boarded the dock and disembarked. 3046 transport and 668 hospital ships were disposed of at the dock. The first transport left Bombay on 21 August 1914. 2073 Troops and hospital trains were raided on the Port Trust Railway. 2228000 tons of military reserves were dispatched from the port. 494 government ships used the Port Trust dry dock.
The brass plaque on the other side of the structure bears the names of some of the British officers who lost their lives in the First World War. The plaque reads, “This memorial was erected by the Trustees of Bombay Port in honor of the following officers who lost their lives for their country in the Great War of 1914-1918.” Officers include Captain Eric Stuart Dougal, Assistant Engineer , who “maintained his guns all day through enormous concentrations of gas and high-explosive shell … He was killed in action on Mount Kemmel on April 14, 1918, at the age of 32.”
The plaque further lists 2nd Lieutenant Ronald Edward Wilson, Machine Gun Section, Bombay Volunteer Rifles, an assistant engineer who was killed in action at the age of 31 while leading his section in an attack on a German position. The last name on the list is Giacinto Ramgnoli. , “A dock clerk who proceeded on combat service with the Italian Army at the outbreak of war between Italy and Austria-Hungary on 1 June 1915, killed in action on 11 October 1916 at the age of 21”.