Portrait group, 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force), 1912 (c)

Photograph, 1912 (c).

The 4th Regiment of Infantry of the Frontier Brigade was raised in 1846 and was renamed the 4th Regiment of Sikh Local Infantry in 1847. The regiment formed part of the Punjab Irregular Force which became the Punjab Frontier Force (The Piffers). The unit saw service in the 2nd Burma War (1852-1853), the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) and in the Chitral campaign on the North West Frontier in 1895.

In 1903 the unit was renumbered as the 54th Sikhs. It served in Egypt and Palestine during World War One (1914-1918), After the reform of the Indian Army in 1922, it formed the 4th Battalion of the 12th Frontier Force Regiment, serving in Burma during World War Two (1939-1945). Following Partition the unit became part of the Pakistan Army, as the 6th Battalion Frontier Force Regiment.

One of three photographs collected by Captain Bernard Gordon Channer. Channer joined the Indian Army as a 2nd lieutenant in April 1902. He was promoted to captain in January 1908. He eventually rose to the rank of colonel in 1932.