Recollections of Gwalior Mountain Battery
In early 1952, my 22 Mountain Regiment was out for field firing in Nowshera (near Rajaori in J&K), where we were joined by the Gwalior Mountain Battery
In early 1952, my 22 Mountain Regiment was out for field firing in Nowshera (near Rajaori in J&K), where we were joined by the Gwalior Mountain Battery. The latter was an independent battery, not regimented yet, after the merger of the state's forces in the Indian Army.
The Gwaliors were an old unit (raised in 1865), and at that time were commanded by Maj Prithpal Singh Gill, who had a reputation of being an independent-minded and dashing officer, who stood no nonsense from anyone, particularly from his seniors.
I have a distinct recollection of some stories of many 'brush-ups' between Maj Gill and my Commanding Officer, Lt Col (later Maj Gen) Sujan Singh Uban, who later raised (then) clandestine ‘Establishment 22’, naming it after his own regiment.
Gwaliors were a tough unit who fired well and played well and were good mountain gunners. After a lapse of 68 years I still remember a mounted (mules) tug-of-war match with them, which lasted almost an hour and which of course, was won by Mountain Regiment , then the Corps d'elite of Indian artillery, with four of its oldest batteries.
Among other memories that I recall is of a 'bara khana' hosted by Gwalior for Mountain Regimient – the pungent chillies eaten then, still resonate in my memory!
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