Cherat

Cherat
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Presidency: Bengal
Coordinates:	33.816667°N, 71.883333°E
Altitude:	892 m (2,927 ft)
Present Day Details
Place Name:	Cherat
State/Province:	North West Frontier Province,(NWFP)
Country:	Pakistan
Transport links

Badge of the Hampshire Regiment carved in Rock. Almost certainly at Cherat, which had a tradition of regimental carvings on the rocky faces of the hillsides. The 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was based at Cherat c 28.4.32 to 13.10.32 and 6.5.33 to 13.10.33 (dates from School Garrison book of Agnes Oliver)

Cherat was a hill station in the Nowshera Tehsil of Peshawar District, North West Frontier Province. It was used by the British as a sanitarium and cantonment from 1861.

Dr Ali Jan describes Cherat as follows:

"A road on the left takes one to Cherat, another cantonment and a former hill sanitarium which lies few miles South from Nowshera and Mardan on the other side of the Grand Trunk Road. It was discovered by Major Coke whilst exploring the area in 1853. It is 4,500 feet above sea-level and was first used as sanitarium for British troops in 1861 and was declared a cantonment in 1886. There are many surviving British-era military installations, hospitals, cemeteries and a church here. A cliff side near the old parade ground has many regimental crests carved on the rocks. Presently, Cherat is the base of the commandos or the elite SSG and serves both as their headquarters and training school. It has a small military museum. The lofty location commands spectacular views of the Peshawar Valley on one side, and on the other of a portion of the Khwara Valley in Peshawar District, and of Kohat District as far as the Indus River".

There are some references to Cherat being located near Murree , or in the Murree Hills, but these references are incorrect.

Spelling variants

Cherat, Charat

Present status

Cherat is currently under the control of the Pakistan Army and therefore, off limits to the public.

Cemeteries

• See Peshawar

External links

• Cherat Wikipedia
• Cherat and Cherat Square from the FIBIS Gallery: Collection of Alfred Cecil Gregory who served in the 5th Bn. East Surrey Regiment in various parts of India during WWI.
• Postcard: Charat Hill, Murree.
• Postcard: Cherat Hill near Peshawar, 1920 general view flick.com "History of Pakistan"
• From a collection of postcards at the ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, sent by F.G. Prew, a soldier, probably in the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment to Adolf Feller of Switzerland
  • Cherat Hill, Church post stamped 18.8.1930 with message
  • Cherat Hill, NWFP, General View of Cherat Showing the Wireless Station post stamped 18.8.1930 with message
  • Cherat Hill, NWFP, Showing Married Quarters and Church, post stamped 6.5.1931 with message
  • Cherat Hill, NWFP, British Guard Room, post stamped 25.5.1931 with message
• Photograph: 2nd Battalion Band, The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment, Cherat, North West Frontier, 1913 from Janet & Richard Mason’s The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment
• Photographs: Murree Hills Cherat India 1940 pmpfilms.blogspot.com. Click on the images to enlarge in a slideshow.
• Three views of regimental badge rock-carvings at Cherat (Charat) Hill. Cherat, like the Khyber Pass had a tradition of regimental carvings on the rocky faces of the hillsides.
  • pre 1920, 1920, 1931
• "A rock epic". An article by Ali Jan referring to a rock carving showing insignia of Northumberland Fusiliers, at Cherat from The News on Sunday 19 July 2009 (jang.com.pk)

Historical books online

• “Cherat”, page 40 The Highlands of India Volume 1 by David John Falconer Newall 1882 Archive.org
• "Cherat", page 157 A list of inscriptions on Christian tombs or monuments in the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir and Afghanistan possessing historical or archaeological interest Part 1 by Miles Irving (1910) Hathi Trust Digital Library