The Story of CYRIL ASKEW

...In every way the British Army was the highest authority in the North West Frontier, but quite often the "Loose Wallahs" we caught were handed over to the local Tribal Authority who would publicly hang them.

Ladikotal was one of the main places on the border where we stayed, but we would patrol all the way up to the farthest, northernmost border high up in the mountains; this was at Landikarna. I was in 'Signals' and we would use heliograph and semaphore sets to communicate from the hills. Although this was hardly modern technology it was light equipment to carry and ideal for the geography & climate. With heliograph especially, just mirrors on tripods, we could send morse signals efficiently. Our officers liked to climb up into the hills to get out of the intense heat, but this put them in danger from tribesmen so platoons of troops were detached to look after the officers when they went off on these comfort jaunts.

We would go out for a tour usually for about a month at a time. The terrain was very tough but it was the nights which were the dangerous time, so we were under orders to be off the road by 7pm. There were Forts and Blockhouses scattered all around the Kyber Pass, but to get in we had to give a password. Most of the time the entrances were guarded by Gurkhas who would simply shove a kukri up to your throat until you gave the password. It’s not easy to negotiate with a Gurkha kukri! The Ghurkas were all little fellows, happy as the day is long, yet they were tough as old boots; I’m certainly glad they were on our side! We might stay in a Blockhouse Fort for three or four days before moving on with the patrol.

There was a lot of rabies about; that was a horrible death. One of my comrades went this way and we were under strict orders not to let any dogs get close.
For all the tough terrain and difficult geography, it was also an area for earthquakes. That was a whole new experience!

We were kept busy all the time. During those first couple of years the situation steadily deteriorated with all the unrest in that part of India. I remember the Fakir of Ippi was the local ringleader, causing all kinds of trouble. Added to that was Mahatma Ghandi who was stirring up resistance against established British rule. Normally 150 of us would be called out to put down a local uprising...