Early Life :

Education & Career :

Wahl went to Malvern, to No 6, between 1891 and 1892, before going up to Balliol as a Taylorian Scholar.

He joined the Indian Civil Service, the Heaven Born, in 1903.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.

The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.

The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.

Detail :

The Malvernian reported:

"At the outbreak of war he gave up his Indian Civil Service work and joined the Indian Cavalry, being attached to the 28th Light Cavalry, and taking part in a campaign "somewhere in Asia," which has not yet been divulged. His is only one more instance of the sacrifice of position and everything else for the sake of duty."

"Between January and August 1916, the 28th Light Cavalry was involved near the Afghan border to try and control movement across the border and prevent unrest, and was also involved in operations against the Dahmanis."

Probate WAHL Bruno Wolfgang of 119 Broadhurs-gardens Hamptead Middlesex second-lieutenant Indian Army reserve of officers died 26 September 1916 in Persia Administration London 20 August to Charles Emil John Wahl major R.G.A. Effects £3185 8s. 3d.

He is commemorated on a memorial at the Tehran War Cemetery and on a roll of members of the O&C Club.

Masonic :

At the time of his initiation in 1900, Bruno was a 20 year old under-graduate of Balliol College, Oxford University. He resigned 31st December 1910, which is probably just not continuing membership after leaving University.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley
• Researcher : Barrie Friend