The 1st Bangalore Pioneers are a fictional regiment of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

, mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

 short story The Adventure of the Empty House

The Adventure of the Empty House

"The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Public pressure forced Conan Doyle to bring the sleuth back to life, and explain his...

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

. The villain of the story, Colonel Sebastian Moran

Sebastian Moran

Colonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes and the villain of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Empty House...

, formerly served with the regiment.

In the essay "Dr. Watson and the British Army", Crighton Sellars suggests that the regiment is inspired by the Pioneers of the Madras Sappers and Miners, who were based in close proximity to Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

and whose history during the relevant period includes the engagements in which Moran is said to have served.