ABSTRACT
The wave of uprisings across India between 1857 and 1859 undoubtedly sent Shockwaves across the British Empire. It is arguable that the British imperial sense of self never folly recovered from the insurrection, with the Union flag of the residency at Lucknow remaining obdurately hoisted from the end of the siege until the declaration of independence in 1947. Lawrence James has illustrated the depth of anxiety generated by the rebellion with his observation that:
[T]he Mutiny had left behind a legacy of paranoia which, in the passage of time, lost nothing in its power to make the flesh creep. In 1918, young British subalterns, fresh to India, were given a solemn lecture on the Mutiny by a senior officer which ended with a warning that history might repeat itself if they were not vigilant.3
