Life in 1st Punjab Regiment – the “Anti-Tank” name
I had a sleepless night all the time praying to Allah to have mercy on me. Early in the morning I reached the Railway Station and saw all taxis there parked in lines. I went through the lines, noticed a few green taxis but they were empty, for the drivers had gone possibly for tea. It was nearing 5 a.m. I made another round of the parked taxis hoping to find the driver. Some had returned. I was feeling disappointed and was moving towards my cycle when I heard some shouting from the teashop “Saheb, Saheb”. I looked around and saw a man running towards me. I too recognised the driver who had dropped me and ran towards him almost breathless. He produced the case with my identity card inside which I had dropped in his car. Oh! How happy I was. As a token of my appreciation I offered him Rs 10/= which he was reluctant to accept. On my insistence he accepted. I thanked Allah Pak for His mercy and when I returned home all were delighted. Since then I have never kept my identity card in my trouser pocket.
On due date I left for Jhelum to join 1st Punjab Regimental centre. At Jhelum Railway Station, in early September afternoon, one Fazal Huq met me. He took me to Hut No 5 where I met Lieutenants Painda Khan, Victor Pereira, S.A.Hassan and P.C.Naidu. Next morning I reported my arrival to adjutant, who introduced me to the Commandant Colonel C.C.J.Kelly. I was sent to No 3 Recruits Training Company as a Company Officer, under Captain John Dale, Company Commander.
As a junior officer my job was to supervise all recruits training, check food, clothing, accommodation, health etc. These enabled me to learn my profession from (a) soldiers point of view. In our spare times we had to learn our Regimental History, Accounts, Military Law, mess etiquettes and Customs of Services. As Orderly Officer of the day we had to check guards and sentries both during the day and at night and visit hospitals to see our patients. Games were compulsory in the evening and as I was good in football, I was included in the Regimental Team. The first Court Martial I attended was as officer-under study at 8 MTTC Kharian where a Madrasi sepoy was accused of stealing a jerry can of petrol. Although I was not a regular member of the Court, yet the President asked my opinion. From the evidence I was convinced that the sepoy was falsely implicated and (I) said so. I was happy the Court honourably acquitted him.
Every Saturday morning we had to go out on route march with recruits and in the evening it was compulsory for all junior officers like me to go through the obstacle course over a distance of 500 yards considered to be one of the toughest in India. Dinner nights were compulsory except for Saturdays and Sundays. On Thursdays we all had to speak in Urdu for the benefit of the British officers in the regiment and on Sundays, we could have rice and curry at lunch in the mess. While I was having riding training one day I fell off my horse and fractured one of my rib, for which I was in the CMH Jhelum for a day only.
On 13th November 1944 I joined 16/1st Punjab Regiment at Chindwara in the Central Province under 14 Indian Division for jungle warfare training. The training was really very tough. From dawn till dusk we had to dress in short, socks, boots, steel helmet and bare body. The scorching sun burnt our skin. There was a strict anti-malaria discipline. The training was very practical with live ammunitions. Accidents were everyday events which were accepted as operational hazards. Poisonous snakes, wild boar, scorpions etc kept us tense. Day temperature was on the high side and soon after sunset it used to get fairly cold.
I had hardly finished my first month training when I was down with pneumonia and later pleurisy. This kept me in CMH Chindwara up to 1st March 1945 and after discharge from hospital was sent on a month sick leave with instruction to report to Jhelum again at the end of leave. During the leave I spent a few days in Lillooah, Dhubri and rest with Baity at Tezpur where Bhinty was then posted as Seniour A.R.P. Officer.
At the end of my sick leave I reported to Jhelum and was posted to No 2 Advance Training Company, which was also the drafting company. Since the Regiment comprised of Punjabi Mussalman’s (PM), Hazratwal Muslims (HM), Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs and at a later stage Gilgiti’s, in the company I had (the) unique opportunity of knowing and working with all these class of soldiers. I was promoted was promoted War Substantive Lieutenant with seniority from 20th February 1945.
Although there were a number of junior subalterns in the Centre, I was (the) only one amongst them in this company. In my task I got all cooperation from JCO’s particularly from Subedar (Late Subedar Major of 2/1st Punjab) Mohhammad Razzaq. Besides normal training, it was my duty to take Jawans to Rathian field training firing range, Pubby near Kharian for jungle training and of course weekly route march. I was also sent to Sangor and Sabahthu Hills in Simla to attend company weapon and Josh (verbal) propaganda course respectively. In the later institute our Chief Instructor was Major A.M.Yahya Khan – who later became C-in-C Pakistan Army (and much later the President of Pakistan -m.h). On my return from Simla I found Colonel J. Drake had taken over from Colonel C.C.J.Kelly as our new Commandant of the Centre.
At this time C-in-C Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck visited the Centre. It was during this visit, unable to remember my full name; he named me “Anti-Tank” – which stands for my initial A.T.K. Since then my friends and colleagues in the Army started calling me “Anti-Tank”.
By the middle of that year war in Europe had come to an end. War in the East had also turned favorably for the Allied forces. The Japanese were on the run. They were driven out of Burma and being attacked in Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, Philippines. In August first Atom bomb was dropped at Nagasaki followed by second Atomic bombing in Hiroshima by the US Air force. This brought the Second World War and Japanese Imperial Army surrender at every place.
On due date I left for Jhelum to join 1st Punjab Regimental centre. At Jhelum Railway Station, in early September afternoon, one Fazal Huq met me. He took me to Hut No 5 where I met Lieutenants Painda Khan, Victor Pereira, S.A.Hassan and P.C.Naidu. Next morning I reported my arrival to adjutant, who introduced me to the Commandant Colonel C.C.J.Kelly. I was sent to No 3 Recruits Training Company as a Company Officer, under Captain John Dale, Company Commander.
As a junior officer my job was to supervise all recruits training, check food, clothing, accommodation, health etc. These enabled me to learn my profession from (a) soldiers point of view. In our spare times we had to learn our Regimental History, Accounts, Military Law, mess etiquettes and Customs of Services. As Orderly Officer of the day we had to check guards and sentries both during the day and at night and visit hospitals to see our patients. Games were compulsory in the evening and as I was good in football, I was included in the Regimental Team. The first Court Martial I attended was as officer-under study at 8 MTTC Kharian where a Madrasi sepoy was accused of stealing a jerry can of petrol. Although I was not a regular member of the Court, yet the President asked my opinion. From the evidence I was convinced that the sepoy was falsely implicated and (I) said so. I was happy the Court honourably acquitted him.
Every Saturday morning we had to go out on route march with recruits and in the evening it was compulsory for all junior officers like me to go through the obstacle course over a distance of 500 yards considered to be one of the toughest in India. Dinner nights were compulsory except for Saturdays and Sundays. On Thursdays we all had to speak in Urdu for the benefit of the British officers in the regiment and on Sundays, we could have rice and curry at lunch in the mess. While I was having riding training one day I fell off my horse and fractured one of my rib, for which I was in the CMH Jhelum for a day only.
On 13th November 1944 I joined 16/1st Punjab Regiment at Chindwara in the Central Province under 14 Indian Division for jungle warfare training. The training was really very tough. From dawn till dusk we had to dress in short, socks, boots, steel helmet and bare body. The scorching sun burnt our skin. There was a strict anti-malaria discipline. The training was very practical with live ammunitions. Accidents were everyday events which were accepted as operational hazards. Poisonous snakes, wild boar, scorpions etc kept us tense. Day temperature was on the high side and soon after sunset it used to get fairly cold.
I had hardly finished my first month training when I was down with pneumonia and later pleurisy. This kept me in CMH Chindwara up to 1st March 1945 and after discharge from hospital was sent on a month sick leave with instruction to report to Jhelum again at the end of leave. During the leave I spent a few days in Lillooah, Dhubri and rest with Baity at Tezpur where Bhinty was then posted as Seniour A.R.P. Officer.
At the end of my sick leave I reported to Jhelum and was posted to No 2 Advance Training Company, which was also the drafting company. Since the Regiment comprised of Punjabi Mussalman’s (PM), Hazratwal Muslims (HM), Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs and at a later stage Gilgiti’s, in the company I had (the) unique opportunity of knowing and working with all these class of soldiers. I was promoted was promoted War Substantive Lieutenant with seniority from 20th February 1945.
Although there were a number of junior subalterns in the Centre, I was (the) only one amongst them in this company. In my task I got all cooperation from JCO’s particularly from Subedar (Late Subedar Major of 2/1st Punjab) Mohhammad Razzaq. Besides normal training, it was my duty to take Jawans to Rathian field training firing range, Pubby near Kharian for jungle training and of course weekly route march. I was also sent to Sangor and Sabahthu Hills in Simla to attend company weapon and Josh (verbal) propaganda course respectively. In the later institute our Chief Instructor was Major A.M.Yahya Khan – who later became C-in-C Pakistan Army (and much later the President of Pakistan -m.h). On my return from Simla I found Colonel J. Drake had taken over from Colonel C.C.J.Kelly as our new Commandant of the Centre.
At this time C-in-C Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck visited the Centre. It was during this visit, unable to remember my full name; he named me “Anti-Tank” – which stands for my initial A.T.K. Since then my friends and colleagues in the Army started calling me “Anti-Tank”.
By the middle of that year war in Europe had come to an end. War in the East had also turned favorably for the Allied forces. The Japanese were on the run. They were driven out of Burma and being attacked in Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, Philippines. In August first Atom bomb was dropped at Nagasaki followed by second Atomic bombing in Hiroshima by the US Air force. This brought the Second World War and Japanese Imperial Army surrender at every place.
posted by Mac Haque at 1:25 PM
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