55th Coke ' s Rifles ( Frontier Force ) The 55th Coke ' s Rifles ( Frontier Force ) was a regiment of the British Indian Army . It was raised in 1849 as the 1st Regiment of Punjab Infantry . It was designated as the 55th Coke ' s Rifles ( Frontier Force ) in 1903 and became 1st Battalion ( Coke ' s ) 13th Frontier Force Rifles in 1922 . In 1947 , it was allocated to the Pakistan Army , where it continues to exist as 7th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment . History . 1849 – 1880 . The regiment was formed on 18 May 1849 as the 1st Regiment of Punjab Infantry by Captain John Coke . It was one of five such regiments raised by Colonel Henry Lawrence , the agent ( and brother ) of the Governor - General of the Punjab frontier region , John Lawrence , 1st Baron Lawrence , to form the infantry element of the Trans Frontier Brigade . The men were recruited from veterans of disbanded opposition forces after the British annexation in 1848 of the Punjab during to the Second Sikh War . In 1851 the regiment was retitled as the 1st Regiment of Infantry , Punjab Irregular Force when the Trans Frontier Brigade , tasked with policing the volatile North - West Frontier , was expanded and renamed the Punjab Irregular Force ( PIF ) , giving rise to the " " Piffer " " name adopted by the officers and men of the regiments of the PIF and still used to this day by their successor regiments . In 1857 the Indian Mutiny began and the regiment , like many other Indian units , remained loyal to the British . During the British - Indian siege of rebel - held Delhi ( begun on 30 May ) the 1st Punjab Infantry was part of the 3rd Column , commanded by Col . Campbell . On 14 September the column was tasked with storming the Kashmiri Gate — a part of the walled defences of Delhi — which they successfully achieved . Fierce fighting , however , ensued and Delhi was not fully retaken until 20 September . The rebellion was finally quelled by July 1858 . In 1863 the 1st Punjab Infantry took part in the Umbeyla campaign in the North - West Frontier . At the Crag Picquet the regiment saw fierce fighting on 30 October , to such an extent that the regiment was compelled to withdraw from the hill ; it was retaken shortly afterwards and two Victoria Cross es ( VC ) were later awarded . One of the VC recipients was Henry William Pitcher of the 4th Punjabis , who later joined the 1st Punjab Infantry and was killed in 1875 at Dera Ghazi Khan . Further fighting took place at Crag Picquet in November , which involved the regiment . In 1865 the Punjab Irregular Force was renamed the Punjab Frontier Force and the regiment ' s title was consequently changed to become the 1st Regiment of Infantry , Punjab Frontier Force . In 1878 , the Second Afghan War began and the regiment participated as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the Kandahar Field Force , commanded by Lieutenant - General Sir Donald Stewart . The force captured the city of Kandahar on 8 January 1879 . The regiment was awarded the Theatre Honour " Afghanistan 1878 – 79 " for their participation in the initial campaign of the war . The conflict did not conclude until 1880 . 1880 – 1922 . The 1890s saw the 1st Punjab Infantry involved in several major operations against the hostile tribe s on the North - West Frontier of India . These included Maizar , and Waziristan on 10 June 1897 , when the regiment was ambushed in an action that signified the beginning of a large tribal uprising against the British . The beginning of the 20th Century gave the regiment no respite , and it took part in further operations in Waziristan in 1901 . That same year it became , simply , the 1st Punjab Infantry . In 1903 , the regiment was designated a rifle regiment and retitled as the 55th Coke ' s Rifles ( Frontier Force ) , named in honour of the regiment ' s founder . In 1908 , the Regiment took part in the Mohmand expedition on the North - West Frontier . The 55th did not serve abroad during the First World War but the regiment — which comprised companies of Afridis , Punjabi Musulman s , Sikhs and Yusufzai s — saw active service on the North - West Frontier for the duration of the war , fighting many of the numerous marauding tribes that populated the area . Many men of the regiment did , however , see service abroad during the war while attached to other units . In 1915 , Jemadar Mir Dast , while attached to the 57th Wilde ' s Rifles ( Frontier Force ) , was awarded the 55th ' s first ( and only ) Victoria Cross for his distinguished actions at Wieltie , Belgium . Mir Dast ' s brother , Mir Mast , had deserted from his regiment — the 58th — to the Germans . It is rumoured that Mir Mast received the Iron Cross while fighting for them . 1922 – 47 . In 1921 – 22 , a major reorganization was undertaken in the British Indian Army leading to the formation of large infantry groups of four to six battalions . Among these was the 13th Frontier Force Rifles , formed by grouping the 55th Coke ' s Rifles with the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 56th Punjabi Rifles , the 57th Wilde ' s Rifles , 58th Vaughan ' s Rifles and 59th Scinde Rifles ( Frontier Force ) . The Coke ' s new designation was 1st Battalion ( Coke ' s ) 13th Frontier Force Rifles . The 55th ' s uniform of rifle green colour was adopted as the uniform of the new regiment . During the Second World War , the 1 / 13th Frontier Force Rifles ( Coke ' s ) was part of the 9th Indian Division based on the west coast of Malaya . The battalion fought in the disastrous Malayan Campaign against the Japanese , which led to the surrender of British forces at Singapore on 15 February 1942 . The battalion was re - raised in 1946 . In 1945 , 13th Frontier Force Rifles dropped its the regimental number " 13 " to become Frontier Force Rifles . 1947 onwards . Upon the independence and partition of India in 1947 , the Frontier Force Rifles was allotted to Pakistan Army . In 1948 , 1 FF Rifles fought in the Kashmir War against India . The battalion fought with great gallantry at Chakothi in the Jhelum Valley , and foiled all Indian attempts to advance towards Muzaffarabad . In 1956 , the Frontier Force Rifles and the Pathan Regiment were merged with the Frontier Force Regiment , and 1 FF Rifles was redesignated as 7th Battalion ( Coke ' s ) The Frontier Force Regiment or 7 FF . During the Indo - Pakistan War of 1965 , the battalion again distinguished itself in the Battle of Chawinda . Battle Honours . Delhi 1857 , Lucknow , Peiwar Kotal , Charasiah , Kabul 1879 , Afghanistan 1878 – 80 , Tirah , Punjab Frontier , China 1900 , La Bassée 1914 , Messines 1914 , Armentières 1914 , Festubert 1914 , Givenchy 1914 , Neuve Chapelle , Ypres 1915 , St . Julien , Aubers , Festubert 1915 , Loos , France and Flanders 1914 – 15 , Suez Canal , Egypt 1915 – 17 , Gaza , El Mughar , Nebi Samwil , Jerusalem , Megiddo , Sharon , Palestine 1917 – 18 , Tigris 1916 , Kut al Amara 1917 , Baghdad , Mesopotamia 1916 – 18 , Persia 1918 – 19 , Aden , East Africa 1916 – 18 , NW Frontier India 1917 , Baluchistan 1918 , Afghanistan 1919 , North Malaya , Kota Bahru , Johore , Gemas , The Muar , Singapore Island , Malaya 1941 – 42 , Kashmir 1948 , Lahore 1965