55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)

The 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force) was a regiment of the British Indian Army.

History

1849-1880

The regiment was formed in 1849 as the 1st Regiment of Punjab Infantry by Captain John Coke. It was one of six such regiments raised by Colonel Henry Lawrence, the agent (and brother) of the Governor-General of the Punjab frontier region, John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, to form the infantry element of the Trans Frontier Brigade. The men were recruited from veterans of disbanded opposition forces after the British annexation in 1848 of the Punjab during to the Second Sikh War.

In 1851 the regiment was retitled as the 1st Regiment of Infantry, Punjab Irregular Force when the Trans Frontier Brigade, tasked with policing the volatile North-West Frontier, was expanded and re-named the Punjab Irregular Force, giving rise to the "Piffer" name adopted by the officers and men of the regiments of the PIF and still used to this day by their successor regiments.

In 1857 the Indian Mutiny began and the regiment, like many other Indian units, remained loyal to the British. During the British-Indian siege of rebel-held Delhi (begun on 30 May) the 1st Punjabis were part of the 3rd Column, commanded by Col. Campbell. On 14 September the column was tasked with storming the Kashmir Gate -- a part of the walled defences of Delhi -- which they successfully achieved. Fierce fighting, however, ensued and Delhi was not fully retaken until 20 September. The rebellion was fully quelled by July 1858.

In 1863 the 1st Punjabis took part in the Umbeyla campaign in the North-West Frontier. At the Crag Picquet the regiment saw fierce fighting on 30 October, to such an extent that the regiment was compelled to withdraw from the hill; it was retaken shortly afterwards and two Victoria Crosses (VC) were later awarded. One of the VC recipients was Henry William Pitcher of the 4th Punjabis who later joined the 1st Punjabis' and was killed in 1875 at Dera Ghazi Khan. Further fighting took place at Crag Picquuet in November which involved the regiment.

In 1865 the Punjabi Irregular Force was renamed the Punjab Frontier Force and the regiment's title was consequently changed to become the 1st Regiment of Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force.

In 1878 the Second Afghan War began and the regiment participated as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the Kandahar Field Force, commanded by Lieutenant-General Donald Stewart). The field force, tasked with the capture of Kandahar, entered Afghanistan from the Punjab. The city of Kandahar was successfully captured on 8 January 1879. The regiment was awarded the Theatre Honour "Afghanistan 1878-79" for their participation in the initial campaign of the war. The conflict did not conclude until 1880.

1880-1922

The 1890s would see the 1st Punjabis involved in, yet more, intense operations against the hostile tribes in North-West India. This included Maizar, Waziristan on 10 June 1897 when the regiment was ambushed in an action that signified the beginning of a large tribal uprising aganst the British. The beginning of the 20th Century gave the regiment no respite, taking part in further operations in Waziristan in 1901. That same year it became, simply, the 1st Punjab Infantry. In 1903 the regiment was designated a rifle regiment and retitled as the 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force), named in honour of the regiment's founder. In 1908 the Regiment took part in the Mohmand expedition in the North-West Frontier.

The 55th did not serve abroad during the First World War but the regiment -- which comprised companies of Afridis, Musulmans, Sikhs and Yusufzais -- saw active service in the North-West Frontier for the duration of the war, fighting many of the numerous marauding tribes that populated the area. Many men of the regiment did, however, see service abroad during the war while attached to other units.

In 1915, Jemadar Mir Dast, while attached to the 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force), was awarded the 55th's first (and only) Victoria Cross for his distinguished actions at Wieltie, Belgium. Mir Dast's brother, Mir Mast, had deserted from his regiment -- the 58th -- to the Germans. It is rumoured that Mir Mast received the Iron Cross while fighting for them.

As part of the reforms of the Indian Armed Forces in 1922 -- reforms that had been implemented due to deficiencies in certain areas discovered during the First World War -- the regiment was amalagmated with six other regiments to form the 6-battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles, the 55th becoming the 1st Battalion (Coke's). The 55th's uniform was adopted as the uniform of the new regiment.

In 1946, in common with all British Indian Army regiments, the regiment was re-named to omit the regimental number (13). Upon the independence and partition of India in 1947 the regiment was allocated to Pakistan and was amalgamated with the Pathan Regiment and the Frontier Force Regiment in 1956, forming The Frontier Force Regiment. The 55th's lineage is still maintained by the 7th (Coke's) Battalion.

Battle honours

*Delhi 1857, Afghanistan 1878-79, Afghanistan 1919

References

* [http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/indianinfantry/55thcokesrifles.htm Britishempire.co.uk - 55th Coke's Rifles]
* [http://www.regiments.org/regiments/southasia/inf/1903-055.htm Regiments.org - 55th Coke's Rifles]