Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan of Pataudi

Pataudi

Pataudi is a town in Gurgaon district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located from Gurgaon, at the foot hills of the Aravali hills.Pataudi was the seat of Pataudi State which was ruled by the Nawabs of Pataudi. The 8th Nawab, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, played cricket for both England and...

HJ

Hilal-i-Jurat

The Hilal-i-Jur'at Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name of the medal differently, so the Pakistan Army website spelling is being taken as the official spelling...

, was born 13 May 1913, the second son of Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan of Pataudi, in Pataudi

Pataudi

Pataudi is a town in Gurgaon district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located from Gurgaon, at the foot hills of the Aravali hills.Pataudi was the seat of Pataudi State which was ruled by the Nawabs of Pataudi. The 8th Nawab, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, played cricket for both England and...

. He was educated at Aitchison College

Aitchison College

Aitchison College, Lahore, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions of its kind in South Asia. Established in 1886, it has retained its character over the years, maintaining the public school tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports and co-curricular activities...

, Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun

Dehradun

- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...

 and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

.

He was commissioned into the 7th Light Cavalry

Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

 of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

 in 1933. He subsequently commanded the First battalion of the First Punjab Regiment during the Second World War.

After the war, he served as the Defence Attaché of the Indian Armed Forces in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

.