East and West Africa 1887-1900, for Mwele 1895-6. No clasp (33 Gunner Pir Bakhsh, 1st Kohat Mn By) 

The recipient by ethnicity and faith a Punjabi Mussalman soldier who held the rank of Gunner while serving with 1st Kohat Mountain Battery of the British Indian Army

Provenance: The Collection of Medal to Artillery Units formed by Lt-Col A. M. Macfarlane, London 2001

An extremely rare medal to an Artilleryman - no one Artillery unit, Indian or British being present in the campaign that took place against Arab communities located along the littoral of British East Africa Colony (now Kenya).

The only artillery piece present in the campaign was a single 7-Pounder Gun (which of note is the type of gun that No 1 Kohat Mountain Battery were equipped with at the time of the Mwele Campaign 1896-96)

1st Kohat Mountain Mountain Battery: The battery had a long history of service dating back to its raising in 1851 as an artillery unit of the Punjab Frontier Force. In 1928, it was styled 1st Royal (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery (Frontier Force) (How). Prior to the Second World War the unit had amassed an impressive tally of battle honours, which were:

- Peiwar Kotal, Kabul 1879, Afghanistan 1878–80, Tirah, Punjab Frontier, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915–16, Mesopotamia 1916–18, Persia 1918, Anzac, Landing at Anzac, Defence of Anzac, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915

During the Second World War the unit served in the Burma Campaign under higher formation 17th Indian Division, which constituent units were famously referred to as 'Black Cat's', a reference to the division's distinctive 'Black Cat' divisional insignia, worn by 'All Ranks'. In August 1947, the unit was transferred to the Pakistan Army, where the descendent unit thrives to this day, as, 2 Royal Kohat (SP) Medium Battery, Artillery (FF)

A medal of the highest rarity awarded to an Artillery unit for this East African campaign in what is present day Kenya

Condition: About VF

Code: 25693