54th Sikhs (Frontier Force)
| 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) | |
|---|---|
Third Afghan War 1919 |
The 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1846 as the 4th Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade. It was designated as the 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) in 1903 and became 4th Battalion (Sikhs) 12th Frontier Force Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 6th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment.[1][2]
Early history
The regiment was raised on 1 January 1846 at
Indian Mutiny in 1857, the regiment marched from Abbottabad to Delhi; 560 miles in thirty days in an Indian June, going into action soon after their arrival. In 1895, it served in the Chitral Campaign.[1][2][3]
54th Sikhs (Frontier Force)
Subsequent to the
Subsequent History
After the First World War, the 54th Sikhs were grouped with the 51st, 52nd and 53rd Sikhs, and the two battalions of Guides Infantry to form the 12th Frontier Force Regiment in 1922. The 54th Sikhs became 4th Battalion (Sikhs) of the new regiment. During the
Nishan-i-Haider, Pakistan's highest gallantry award for valour. Maj Shabbir Shareef's brother Raheel Shareef was later Commissioned into the Battalion and rose to the rank of General and became the COS of the Pakistan Army.[4]
The battalion has the distinction of having a field marshal, albeit in the Indian Army, Sam Manekshaw who was commissioned in the 4th/12th FFR in 1934, later winning a Military Cross in 1942 in the Burma campaign during World War II.[5]
Genealogy
Battle of Meiktila
, 1945.- 1846 4th Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade
- 1847 4th Regiment of Sikh Local Infantry
- 1857 4th Regiment of Sikh Infantry
- 1857 4th Regiment of Sikh Infantry, Punjab Irregular Force
- 1865 4th Regiment of Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force
- 1901 4th Sikh Infantry
- 1903 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force)
- 1922 4th Battalion (Sikhs) 12th Frontier Force Regiment
- 1945 4th Battalion (Sikhs) The Frontier Force Regiment
- 1947 4th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment
- 1956 6th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Condon, Brig WEH. (1962). The Frontier Force Regiment, Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd.
- ^ a b c d North, REFG. (1934). The Punjab Frontier Force: A Brief Record of Their Services 1846-1924. DI Khan: Commercial Steam Press.
- ^ a b Gaylor, John (1991). Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91. Stroud: Spellmount.
- ^ Attiqur Rahman, Lt Gen M. (1980). The Wardens of the Marches – A History of the Piffers 1947-71. Lahore: Wajidalis.
- ISBN 81-902828-4-0.
Further reading
- Shirley, Capt SR. (1915). History of the 54th Sikhs, Frontier Force, Previously Designated 4th Sikhs, Punjab Frontier Force 1846 to 1914. Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd.
- Condon, Brig WEH. (1962). The Frontier Force Regiment, Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd.
- North, REFG. (1934). The Punjab Frontier Force: A Brief Record of Their Services 1846-1924. DI Khan: Commercial Steam Press.
- Jafar AliKhan, Maj Gen M. (1950). One Hundred Glorious Years: A History of the Punjab Frontier Force, 1849-1949. Lahore: Civil and Military Gazette Press.
- Dey, RSBN. (1905). A Brief Account of the Late Punjab Frontier Force, From its Organization in 1849 to its Re-distribution on 31st March 1903. Calcutta.
- Attiqur Rahman, Lt Gen M. (1980). The Wardens of the Marches – A History of the Piffers 1947-71. Lahore: Wajidalis.
- Khan, Maj Muhammad Nawaz. (1996). The Glorious Piffers 1843-1995. Abbottabad: The Frontier Force Regimental Centre.
- Gaylor, John. (1991). Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903- 1991. Stroud: Spellmount. ISBN 978-0-946771-98-1
- Barthorp, M, and Burn, J. (1979). Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914. London: Osprey. ISBN 978-0-85045-307-2
- Sumner, Ian. (2001). The Indian Army 1914-1947. London: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-196-6