Punjab Frontier Force

Military Strength

Following the Sikh Wars the British annexed the frontier territory which was to become the North West Frontier Province in 1901. To maintain the peace of the border a special force was raised which consisted of 5 regiments of cavalry, the Corps of Guides, 5 regiments of infantry, 3 light field batteries, 2 garrison batteries, 2 companies of Sappers and Miners, and the Sind Camel Corps.

Chronology

• 1846 Corps of Guides raised by Lt Harry Lumsden with one troop of Cavalry and two companies of infantry
• 1846-7 The Frontier Brigade formed by Lt Col Henry Lawrence with 1st-4th Sikh Infantry Regiments
• 1849 The Transfrontier Brigade formed by Lt Col Henry Lawrence with five infantry and five cavalry regiments
• 1851 amalgamation of the Corps of Guides, the four regiments of Sikh Local Infantry, the Transfrontier Brigade, and five batteries of artillery to form the Punjab Irregular Force (Piffers)
• 1865 renamed the Punjab Frontier Force
• 1903 the Piffer regiments lost their irregular status, and were thenceforth numbered in sequence with the other regiments of the Indian Army. However they retained their Frontier Force designations.

Biographies

Entries in the Dictionary of Indian Biography 1906
John Coke (1806-1897)
Henry Lawrence (1806-1857)
Harry Lumsden (1821-1896)

External Links

Punjab Frontier Force Victorians at War
Punjab Frontier Force Wikipedia
NWF Province Wikipedia

Historical books online

• My service in the Indian Army –and after by Sir John Luther Vaughan 1904 Archive.org