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55Th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)The 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force) was a regiment of the British Indian Army. History The Regiment was formed in 1849 as the 1st Regiment of Punjab Infantry by Captain John Coke shortly after the annexation of the Punjab as a consequence of the Second Sikh War. In 1851 the Regiment was retitled to become the 1st Regiment of Infantry, Punjab Irregular Force when it joined the latter force -- it had originally been known as the Transfrontier Brigade and was intended to police the volatile North-West Frontier. In 1857 the Indian Mutiny began and the Regiment, like many Indian units, remained loyal to the British. During the British-Indian siege of rebel-held Delhi, which began on 30 May, the 1st Punjabis were part of the 3rd Column, commanded by Sir Colin Campbell. On 14 September the column was tasked with storming the Kashmir Gate -- a part of the walled defences of Delhi -- which was successfully achieved, but fierce fighting 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 won. One of the VC winners was Henry William Pitcher of the 4th Punjabis; he would later join the 1st Punjabis and was killed in 1875 at Dehra Ghazi Khan. Further fighting took place at Crag Picquuet in November, which the Regiment was involved in. 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 and the Regiment took part in the conflict as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the Kandahar Field Force (commanded by Lieutenant-General Stewart). The field force was charged with the capture of Kandahar, and began their journey from the Punjab. The city of Kandahar was successfully captured on 8 January 1879. The Regiment won the Theatre Honour "Afghnistan 1878-79" for their participation in the initial campaign of the war. The conflict did not conclude until 1880. The 1890s would see the 1st Punjabis involved in, yet more, intense operations against the tribes in North-West India, including at Maizar, Waziristan on 10 June 1897, where the Regiment was ambushed in an engagement that signified the beginning of a large tribal uprising. The beginning of the 20th Century gave the Regiment no respite and they took 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 to become the 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force), being named after the officer who raised the regiment. In 1908 the Regiment took part in the Mohmand expedition in the North-West Frontier. The 55th -- which comprised companies of Afridi Pathans, Punjabi Musalmans, Sikhs and Yusufzai Pathans -- remained 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, however, did 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), won the Regiment its first, and last, Victoria Cross (VC) 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 won the Iron Cross while fighting for them. As a conseuqnece 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 six battalions of the 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'. This new regiment was allocated to Pakistan upon the independence and partition of India in 1947. In 1956 the regiment was amalgamated with the Pathan Regiment; the 55th's lineage was maintained as the 7th (Coke's) Battalion. Battle Honours
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