1st Border Regiment, Sialkot 1885 (forum archive)

Posted by plbramham » 25 Feb 2012, 17:38	plbramham General Global moderator Posts: 1369
Where is Sialkot, posting of 1st Battalion in 1885? From Encyclopedia Brittanica 1911: “SIALKOT, or Sealkote, a town and district of British India, in the Lahore division of the Punjab. The town, which has a station on the North-Western railway, is 72 m. N.E. of Lahore. Pop. (1901) 57,956. It is a military cantonment, being the headquarters of a brigade in the 2nd division of the northern army. There are remains of a fort dating from about the 10th century; but the mound on which they stand is traditionally supposed to mark the site of a much earlier stronghold, The town has an extensive trade, and manufactures of sporting implements, boots, paper, cotton, cloth and shawl-edging. There are Scottish and American missions, a Scottish mission training institution and an arts college.” Sialkot was annexed by the British after the second Sikh war in 1849. For establishing cantonment, the British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Lord Napier, surveyed and selected the area between the seasonal streams, Bher Nala and Palkhu Nala, from the point of view of defence. The Area Command laid its foundation in 1852 under the leadership of Major-General Angulas. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 it was the scene of heavy fighting, and the Sialkot Fort was used by the Europeans for protection. The native troops plundered the treasury and destroyed all the records. Murray College, Sialkot was established in 1889. The railway branch from Wazirabad to Sialkot was extended to Jammu in 1890. The Sialkot-Narowal railway line was opened in 1915. During the British rule sports goods manufacturing began in Sialkot, recorded, history of the industry going back to 1895 when the city became famous for its tennis racquets. By 1903, cricket bats were being crafted from imported English willow and exported to different parts of British India and beyond. In 1922, a Mr. Syed was awarded the British Empire Export Award for supplying footballs to the British Army. Later the industry included a variety of wood and leather-based sports equipment, and diversified into related items such as sports apparel, riding equipment, and even the Scottish bagpipes.