13th Frontier Force Rifles

History

The 13th Frontier Force Rifles' origins lie in the five regiments of infantry raised in 1849 by Colonel Henry Lawrence, the agent (and brother) of the Governor-General of the Punjab frontier region (John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence) from veterans of disbanded opposition forces after the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The regiments were named the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Punjab Infantry Regiments and became part of the Transfrontier Brigade (renamed in 1851 the Punjab Irregular Force, known as Piffers). A sixth regiment was added in 1865 on re-designation of the Scinde Rifle Corps, which had originally been raised as the Scinde Camel Corps in 1843. In 1882, the 3rd Punjab Infantry Regiment was disbanded.

In the 1903 Kitchener reorganisation of the Indian Army, the regiments were redesignated and were afforded the status of Rifle Regiments:

• 1st Punjab Infantry Regiment became 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)
• 2nd Punjab Infantry Regiment became 56th Punjabi Rifles.
• 4th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 57th Wilde's Rifles.
• 5th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force)
• 6th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 59th Scinde Rifles. In 1921, the regiment became 59th Royal Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force).

In the 1922 reorganisation of the British Indian Army, the five regiments became the five regular battalions of the newly formed 13th Frontier Force Rifles. The battalion numbering omitted a 3rd battalion so that the numbering reflected that of the original antecedent Punjab Infantry Regiments.

In 1945, the regiment was renamed The Frontier Force Rifles when all the regiments of the British Indian Army dropped their prenominal numbers. On independence in 1947, the regiment was allocated to Pakistan. In 1956, The Frontier Force Rifles, The Pathan Regiment and the Frontier Force Regiment were amalgamated to form the new Frontier Force Regiment.