Chandigarh: 28 September, 2008 : The Regiment of Artillery celebrated its 181st anniversary at the Western Command headquarters at Chandimandir today. The Gunners’ Day commemorates the birth of the first Artillery Unit namely the Bombay Battery, on 28 September 1827.
The celebrations began with the retired and the serving officers and other ranks of the Regiment of Artillery paying homage to martyrs at the Command Memorial which was followed by a Mandir function and the special Sainik Sammelan held in the local unit. A tea party was also organized for all other ranks of artillery in the station.
The celebrations also included a social get together at the Officers’ Institute, organized by serving gunners under the aegis of Major General CM Sharma, Major General Artillery, Western Command.
Lieutenant General TK Sapru, GOC-in-C, Western Command, graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. All serving officers of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali participated in an environment of bonhomie, the true spirit of the Regiment of Artillery.
The motto of Gunners is "SAVATRA IZZAT-O-IQBAL" meaning omnipresence with honour and glory – the hallmark of Gunners’ spirit. The Gunners have repeatedly proven their mettle in battle by their outstanding contributions, both in valour and indomitable resolve in providing timely, accurate and devastating fire power. The battlefield of the future holds immense promise for the Gunners with the induction of the latest state-of-the-art weapon systems into their armoury. The Gunners have performed admirably well in counter insurgency operations along with infantry and have won numerous awards and unit citations.