Since the Army’s earliest days in India, sutlers and their wallahs have provided all messes and ranks with loyal and faithful service in many parts of the world. When the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Fusiliers arrived in Egypt in February 1925, they received business propositions from sutlers. One such sutler, or charwallah* sent the following endearing letter to the President of the Mess Committee of the Officers Mess:

To, The Irish President.
Sir,
I, the undersigned, Ibrahim Totfellah, a cook on the English style, have the honour to inform you of the following:-
As I have heard that the contract of your Mess is about to be finished, and as I have been cooking English Troops, and as I feel that I can carry my work well, I hope that you will agree that I will be your own cook.
I give morning breakfast, dinner, tea (with Jam) and supper – but also each Sunday – chickens.
Everyone pays P.T. 8 daily. [possibly Egyptian Piastres/Pounds]
I hope, sire, you will agree, with this supplication.

*
‘Charwallah’ was a word from the soldier’s lexicon and was often used to describe a sutler. Charwallah is derived from the words ‘chai’ and ‘wallah’ interpreted together as ‘tea-person’ or ‘tea-boy’. The word ‘wallah’ interprets as ’employment’ or ‘trade’ and follows the descriptive employment. Other trades employed by a contracted sutler were ‘Dhobiwalla (laundryman) and ‘Punkawalla’ (fan operator). It is also possible that ‘wallah’ came from the Arabic for ‘boy’ which is ‘walad’. Most of these sutlers were from India and generations of them followed the British Army to stations across the old British Empire.