1878: British troops, advancing into Afghanistan during the Second Afghan War, encountered stiff resistance at Peiwar Kotal. During the action, Captain Cook, 5th Gurkha Rifles, won the Victoria Cross during fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The Afghan defenders were outflanked, and the pass forced.

1891: During the Hunza-Nagar Expedition on the North-West Frontier, intended to eliminate raids and banditry by the tribesmen, Colonel Durand led Kashmiri troops against the fort at Nilt. Captain Aylmer of the Royal Engineers went forward to blow up the fort's gates, armed only with a revolver. He succeeded in his task, but was severely wounded in the process. Lieutenant Boisragen, serving with the 5th Gurkha Rifles, led the assault, and the fort was duly captured. Both officers were awarded the Victoria Cross.

1942: A Royal Navy force of three cruisers and two destroyers caught an Axis convoy laden with reinforcements including tanks headed for North Africa at night. RAF aircraft dropped illumination flares, and radar-controlled gunnery proved devastating, sinking the four ships in the convoy plus its escort.

1943: Ernest Bevin announced that 10% of conscripts aged under 25 would be diverted to serve not in the Armed Forces, but in the mining industry, following a serious loss in coal production; the so-called "Bevin Boys".