Pugri badge, 28th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry, pre-1901

Silver plate badge with a quoit with an intertwined crescent inscribed with the abbreviated regimental title, '28th PI', surmounted by an Imperial Crown.

The pugri or pagri is a form of headdress. 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 28th Punjabis were formed in 1857 as the 20th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. The unit became the 28th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry in 1861, and the 28th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry in 1885. The Regiment fought in the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880) and in the Black Mountain Expedition in 1891. In the 1903 reform of the Indian Army the regiment was renamed the 28th Punjabis. The regiment served in Mesopotamia and Palestine during World War On (1914-1918). In 1922 the regiment became the 4th Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.