Punjab Rifles

Originally raised as the 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps on the 1st April 1861 and on the 15th July 1871 absorbed the Punjab Light Horse (Volunteers) which was raised on the 27th March 1867.

In 1898, the Punjab Light Horse and the Punjab Rifles together formed the Administrative Battalion, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps

In 1908 it was known as the 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles., with headquarters at Lahore. On the 1st April 1917 became the 3rd Punjab Rifles before becoming the Punjab Rifles on the 1st October 1920.

In 1898, wih headquarters at Lahore, there were detachments at

• Amritsar
• Dariwal, (Dhariwal)
• Gurdaspur
• Rawalpindi
• Murree
• Sialkot
• Delhi
• Karnal
• Ferozepore
• Dharmsala

D Company, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles had its headquarters at Rawalpindi. It was recruited from the various Civil Departments with strength, exclusive of officers, 98 in 1907.

G Company, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles, had its headquarters at Murree, and was composed of cadets belonging to the Lawrence Military Asylum at Ghora Gali, near Murree.

H Company, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles contained civilian residents from Rawalpindi and Murree, and had its headquarter at Murree. In 1907 G and H Companies were "in strength 121 men, exclusive of officers".

A small detachment of the Punjab Light Horse Volunteers and F Company of the 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles (strength about 75 in 1912) was recruited from and stationed in Delhi

Punjab disturbances, April 1919; compiled from the Civil and military gazette, 1919 Archive.org, page 20 indicates that the 3rd Punjab Rifles were on the strength of the Command set up at Lahore to deal with the emergency created by the outbreak of disorder.

The Punjab Rifles had an Armoured Train Section.

By 1936, they comprised Headquarters and two Companies of infantry, and two light mortar platoons and were administered as a part of the Punjab Contingent.

• Uniform - Khaki
• Facings - Scarlet
• Badge - Punjab Coat of Arms
• Motto - "Crescate Fluviis"

Other Punjab Rifles regiments

• The Simla Rifles was called the 2nd Punjab (Simla) Volunteer Rifle Corps from 1861-1904
• The North-Western Railway Battalion was called the 3rd Punjab (North-Western Railway) Volunteer Rifle Corps from 1888-1892

Individuals

• Sir David Parkes Masson, born 1847 was a Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Punjab Rifles and the greatest Indian philatelist. Peshawar Stamp Society, now an archived webpage.
• Lt. Col. Rev. William Thomas Wright CIE, VD was a Commandant of the Punjab Rifles. He was Principal of Laurence Royal Military School, Ghora Gali and Honorary Canon of Lahore. In 1925 he was made a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire . He was also awarded the Volunteer Officers Decoration (Indian Volunteer Forces), a breast medal, established by Royal Warrant July 25, 1892 by Queen Victoria, for 18 years long and meritorious service.
• Tom Salkield , who spent his entire career in India in Delhi, as Engineer to the Municipality of Delhi 1905-1922, was in the Punjab Volunteer Rifles for 16 years, rising to Captain, refer Public Works Department
• Medals were awarded to W. P. Appleford, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles, Assistant-Engineer of the road making contractors Spedding & Co, who volunteered his services to Durand’s force on the march to Nilt on the Hunza Nagar Campaign in 1891 . Charles Spedding was appointed Chief Engineer to the Force, with the local rank of Captain, and Appleford was Assistant-Engineer. There are details of them and the Campaign in Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the Adjoining Countries by Edward Frederick Knight 1893 Archive.org

External links

• The Henry (Hal) V.O. Waters Photo Collection has a photograph of the Punjab Rifles (IDF) Armoured Train Section Moghalpura [the railway workshops three miles from Lahore] 1919. Scroll down to no 18. From Terry Case’s North Western Railway. It seems very likely this was the same armoured train used by the North-Western Railway Battalion
• "A Beleaguered City", is a parody by Rudyard Kipling about the proximity of the firing range of the Punjab Volunteer Rifles to the Lawrence Hall Gardens, in Lahore.

Historical books online

• "1st Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps" page 256 Quarterly Civil List for the Punjab: Corrected up to 1st October 1898
• "Army" page 185 : Punjab District Gazetteers Gurdaspur District Vol.XXI A 1914. Archive.org. Contains a brief mention of the 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifles whose members included some in Gurdaspur District (in which Dalhousie was located) who were mostly European employees at the Dhariwal Mills. New Egerton Woollen Mills, Dhariwal (dronahfoundation.org) was established in 1880.