Medal Bar to 8 Punjab Regiment

[kapten_windu]

Hi Gentlemen,

I just got a medal bar from a Facebook friend, a 4-place medal bar for a bargain price. 

The 2 stars are fine, the war medal has many knocks, and in the Pakistan Independence Medal named: 3231734 SEPOY. MISRI KHAN.8.PUNJAB.R.

It doesn't have any pin/needle on the back side.

Is it good or bad? And where can I find more detail about this man?

Here's the photo:

 

Best regards,

Windu

[SemperParatus]

A nice group, thamls for sharing. 

[kapten_windu]

On 10/2/2017 at 21:16, SemperParatus said:

A nice group, thamls for sharing. 

Thank you very much,

Do you know where I can find the record of the man?

[peter monahan]

I'd say, from the conditions of the ribbon and the lack of a pin, that the group has been remounted for display by a collector or family member.

Sadly, researching Other Ranks of the Indian Army, either pre- or post-1947 is virtually impossible.  There were 15 battalions by the end of WWII, of wehich several were capture at Singapore and the 2nd, 5th and 8th saw service in Burma.  The 2nd also served in French Indo-China, trying to keep the peace between the Viet Minh and French, with the help of re-armed Japanese troops.  Here is Wikipedia's take on their WWII service:

During the Second World War the 8th Punjab Regiment again distinguished itself, suffering more than 4500 casualties. It was awarded two Victoria Crosses to Havildar Parkash Singh and Sepoy Kamal Ram, besides numerous other gallantry awards. The regiment raised a further nine battalions. Two of its battalions, the 1st and 7th, were captured on Singapore Island, when the British Commonwealth Army surrendered there to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. [Three] battalions fought in the Burma Campaign, while others saw service in Iraq, Iran, Italy, French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. Two men from the 8th Punjab Regiment received the Victoria Cross: Havildar Parkash Singh in Burma and Sepoy Kamal Ram in Italy. By the end of the war, the Regiment consisted of 14 Battalions. However, most of the war-raised units were disbanded in 1946 except the 6th and 8th Battalions

[kapten_windu]

Yes Peter, it clearly has been remounted for display..

I believe that they had been mounted before with loose-style medals. The war medal has many dent on it's observe probably resulted from the edges of the Burma Star. But I could be wrong..

You right Peter. It seems that if the soldier had no gallantry medal or mention in despatches, it will be difficult to find the record. Also, "Misri Khan" name was pretty common to be found in Punjab and other nearby region.

But I believe this man was from 6th or 8th battalion as he had Pakistan Independence Medal named. Pakistan gained it independence in 1947 if I'm not mistaken..

[Ulsterman]

Well, Ed Haynes (not here-but on Facebook) would know and so would Nick Higton. Hilton has all sorts of odd Indian army records. Try them.