Cap badge, officer, 8th Punjab Regiment, 1922-1947

Silver badge, hallmarked 1939, in the form of a chinthe seated above the regimental number, '8', with a scroll below bearing the title, 'Punjab Regiment'.

'Chinthe' is the Burmese word for lion. Stylised chinthe are often depicted in pairs acting as guardians of Buddhist temples and pagodas.

The 8th Punjab Regiment was formed in 1922 from the amalgamation ofthe 1st Battalion, 89th Punjabis, the 90th Punjabis, the 91st Punjabis, the 92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis, the 93rd Burma Infantry and the 2nd Battalion 89th Punjabis. With the Partition of India in 1947 the regiment became part of Pakistan's armed forces.

The regiment's predecessor units such as the 93rd Burma Infantry which formed its 5th Battalion, had fought in Burma and had been based there in the 1890s. This may explain why when it was formed the 8th Punjab Regiment adopted the Burmese chinthe as its emblem.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.