Major Michael Norbury joined the British Indian Army in 1940 as an Emergency Officer. He then served as a member of Punjab Irregular Frontier Force (PIFF) and was responsible for training men to form a new battalion. Soon he was promoted to the rank of major and fought in World War II along with his battalion in east India and Ceylon. Major Michael Norbury was popular among Indian soldiers because of his warfare skills and his kindness. He refused multiple promotions to civil posts because of his passion towards the military and love for his battalion. In 1946, he was released from his active military duties by the Secretary of State for India, granting him the honorary rank of major in the London Gazette. Michael Norbury fonds was donated by Major Michael Norbury’s daughter, Rosamond Norbury, to the South Asian Studies Institute and is composed of four charcoal portrait sketches, textual records, ephemera and a narrative.