History of the British cannon in Dulmial
Such was the contribution of Dulmial that the British authorities approached Captain Gulam Mohammad Malek, its most decorated soldier, to ask how he would like the village to be honoured.
Malek, a career soldier who, prior to the First World War, participated in the famous 500-kilometre march from Kabul to Kandahar led by General Roberts in 1880, eschewed the British offers of land, money and water facilities and instead chose the cannon.
In 1925, the 1.7 ton British naval cannon was presented as a gesture of thanks by Field Marshal William Birdwood.
The names and numbers on the 1.7-tonne cannon indicate it was made at Carron ironworks, in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1816. The stand was built at the Cossipore Gun Foundry, India, in 1847. The gun was first collected in Jhelum, from where it was carried by train to Chakwal. It was then loaded in an ox-cart, and took nearly three weeks to reach Dulmial where it was placed at the centre of the village in 1925.
“This cannon mounted here is our pride, a reminder of the contribution of Dulmial in the First World War,” historian Riaz said. “Had the Captain not asked for this cannon, the proud history of the village may already have been forgotten,” Riaz said.