‘Cashmere Gate Delhi’, Kashmir Gate, 1910 circa. (b/w photo)

‘Cashmere Gate Delhi’, 1910 circa. Photograph, 1910 circa. By 14 September 1857 the British had about 9,000 men before the rebel-held city of Delhi. A third were British while the rest were Sikhs, Punjabis and Gurkhas. The assault began when artillery breached the city walls and sappers blew in the Kashmir Gate. It took a week of vicious street fighting before Delhi was finally taken. The British and their Indian allies then ransacked the city in an orgy of looting and killing. The capture of Delhi was key to the suppression of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). From an album of photographs compiled by Colonel Sir Charles J Melliss VC, 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force), 1910-1912 circa.