The 45th Rattray's Sikhs was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion raised in April 1856, at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, by Captain Thomas Rattray originally consisting of a troop of 100 cavalry and 500 infantry. The initial class composition of the troops was 50% Sikhs and 50% Dogras, Rajputs and Mussulmans (Muslims) from the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

and the North-West Frontier. It is said that he went through the villages challenging men to wrestle with him on the condition that they had to join up. Whatever the case, the regiment was raised and trained and developed as an

elite corps In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

, which soon saw action in Bihar (then part of Eastern

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

) in the Sonthal 'parganas'. After sterling service in Bihar, Bengal and Assam, and during the 1857 Mutiny, the cavalry portion was eventually disbanded in 1864 and the infantry section was taken into the line of Bengal Native Infantry as the '45th (Rattray's Sikh) Native Regiment of Infantry'. After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. In 1922, the 45th Rattray's Sikhs became the 3rd Battalion,

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

. The regiment was allocated to the new

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on independence and is now the 3rd Battalion, the Sikh Regiment, with its headquarters at

Ramgarh Ramgarh may refer to: Bangladesh * Ramgarh Upazila, a sub-district of Khagrachari District India * Ramgarh, Bihar, a village near Munger, Bihar * Ramgarh, Kaimur, a town in Kaimur district, Bihar * Ramgarh, Uttarakhand, a hill station in Nainital ...

, Jharkhand (formerly part of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

state), India.

Defence of Arrah

The battle honour Defence of Arrah was awarded to the Bengal Military Police Battalion for their conduct during the

Siege of Arrah The siege of Arrah (27 July – 3 August 1857) took place during the Indian Mutiny (also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857). It was the eight-day defence of a fortified outbuilding, occupied by a combination of 18 civilians and 50 members ...

, when a party of 68 men (including 50 from this unit) held out for 7 days against an estimated 2000–3000 mutinying sepoys and rebellious citizens, suffering only one casualty.

North West Frontier Province

The regiment was posted to the North West Frontier Province several times. In 1897, it saw action in Malakand (Landikai), Bajour in Mamund and the Bara valley in Tirah. In 1901, it saw action in Waziristan and in 1908 in Zakka Khel.

World War I

During World War I, the regiment was deployed to Mesopotamia/Iraq for periods of 1916-1921. Subedar Labh Singh was wounded and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

on 26th May, 1919. Nineteen soldiers in the regiment were awarded the

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India in 1947 it was ...

over the course of the campaign.

Victoria Cross

On 27 September 1858 a party of Cavalry commanded by Lieutenant

Charles George Baker Major General and Lewa Pasha Charles George Baker (8 December 1830 – 19 February 1906) was a British Merchant Navy officer, a Bengal Army officer, a Turkish Army officer, and head of the Egyptian Police. He was responsible for the rescu ...

(Commandant of Cavalry for the Bengal Military Police Battalion), consisting of 69 men from the Bengal Military Police Battalion and 56 men from the 3rd Sikh Irregular Cavalry defeated a force of around 1000 mutinying

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...

soldiers. Only one man from Lt. Baker's force was killed during this operation. For this action, Lieutenant Baker received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Predecessor names

*1856–58: Bengal Military Police Battalion *1858–63: 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion *1864: 45th (Rattray's Sikh) Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry *1885: 45th (Rattray's Sikh) Regiment, Bengal Infantry *1901: 45th (Rattray's) Sikh Infantry *1903: 45th Rattray's Sikhs

Alternative Names

During the 1857–59 Indian Mutiny the Bengal Military Police Battalion appears in official paperwork with the following names: *1st Bengal Police Battalion *1st Bengal Police Battalion. (Seikhs.) *1st Bengal Seikh Police Battalion *Bengal Police Battalion *Bengal Police Corps *Bengal Police Seikh Battalion *Rattray's Seikhs *Seikh Police Battalion *Seikh Police Corps

Defence of Arrah

North West Frontier Province

World War I

Victoria Cross

Predecessor names

Alternative Names

References

Further reading

See also