Button, 47th Sikhs, 1901-1922

Large brass button made by Jennens and Company, London, with regimental number in Roman numerals, 'XLVII', within a quoit with the unit title, 'Sikhs', surmounted by an Imperial Crown.

Quoits, or chakram, are a traditional edged weapon from the Indian subcontinent, particularly associated with Sikh fighters. They take the form of a flattened metal ring of varying circumference, with a sharpened outer edge, which can be thrown or used in hand-to-hand combat.

The 47th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry was an Indian Army Regiment raised in 1901 in Sialkot, in the north-east of Punjab, now in modern day Pakistan. It was renamed the 47th Sikh Infantry in the same year. During World War One (1914-1918) the regiment served on the Western Front and in the Middle East, as part of the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade, fighting at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918. In 1922 the 47th Sikhs became the 5th Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.