in memoriam: Sikh Contribution

Having just bought a copy of a book called "Memories of Friends and Foes" by Gian Singh, I thought I'd just highlight the contibution of the Sikhs (as a way of thank you so close to Remembrance Day). The book is a short one, with some descriptions of Gian Singh's experiences at Imphal, and some poetry. If you're interested please visit:

http://www.burmastar.org.uk/gian_singh.htm

Another Sikh (a hero of mine) is Mahindra Singh Pujji, a fighter pilot during the war:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1645374.stm

Two amongst many brave men (of all nations).

See also:

http://www.mgtrust.org/ind2.htm
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/PilotsRAF.html

 

Fascinating stuff, particularly the flyboys.
I'm ashamed to say my knowledge of Sikhs in WW2 pretty much stopped at;
'They could look damned cool'.

Cheers for that,
Adam.

Thanks Adam for looking. My favourite picture is Ft Lt Pujji, who was the first pilot to be allowed to keep his turban, and special head-phones were made. Ironically, he is now clean-shaven and balding!!

 

Thanks Owen. I've never been to Coventry but I would love to see it one day. I'll have to look it up to see what details and inscriptions are on it.

Thanks again

 

Mahindra Pujji was a wonderfully brave man, I have several interviews on video that he did.

 

Brave men all Kyt and thanks for posting this! Reason wjhy we have such a treasure trove of info here.

 

Good to see atleast someone remembers our contributions, from my many visits it seems like India dosen't care much about their contribution in the two world wars. Wars that came after independence with Pakistan and China are more "popular" with many.

I highly recommend you guys check out Mark Tully's program "Stand at East",

BBC - Radio 4 - Stand at East

 

Here are some notes I have collected on the Indian soldier. There are two sides to the story of the Indian volunteers.

As part of 'E' Force under Brigadier Reid, they fought magnificiently alongside 6 LAA Battery during Op Crusader, November 1941, in the Western Desert. The Royal Artillery men had a high opinion of their fellow volunteers.

On November 22nd Force ‘E’ captured the first fort, Aujila. Lt Clark and Sgts Burns and Murray entered Aujila at 5pm after being bombed once en route. On the same day Y Troop, in defending the maintenance column were subject to a four hour bombing and strafing attack. The enemy aircraft concentrated on attacking the four Bofors on the flanks of the column rather than the body of the column itself. Again, the Battery Troops behaved magnificently, damaging two aircraft and shooting down a Fiat bomber. Driver Ron Hutchinson was commended on his noble work of keeping the guns supplied with ammunition throughout the battle.

During the Second World War there were many Allied traitors, foreign nationals trapped in German occupied territory when the war started and former PoWs serving the Nazi cause. These people served in many capacities, such as spies, saboteurs, radio operators and radio propaganda broadcasters. Many others served in the Wehrmacht (German regular forces) and the Waffen-SS (Nazi armed volunteer units). For example, in August 1942 the Azad Hind Legion (India) had approximately 3,500 Indian soldiers serving alongside the German army in Holland and the coastal areas of southwest France (Thompson, 2002).

In comparison to these figures, the numbers of British, Commonwealth and Irish personnel enrolled by the Germans proved to be insignificant. Neither the British and Commonwealth nor the Irish groups produced enough volunteers (30+) to create an armed unit. But individuals within both groups did serve in different German units.



A Diamond, S Lake, W Diamond, J Dooley, Frank Walls and Indian comrades


“One of my Indian friends. They are great soldiers” Frank Walls (1942)

 

A picture of Squadron Leader Mehar Singh and Wing Commander Suboto Mukerji taken from an interesting little book published in 1945. 'Martial India' by Major F Yeats-Brown.



It includes a short chapter on the Royal Indian Navy who's fledgling existence and wartime experience I knew nothing about.

 

Good to see atleast someone remembers our contributions, from my many visits it seems like India dosen't care much about their contribution in the two world wars. Wars that came after independence with Pakistan and China are more "popular" with many.

I highly recommend you guys check out Mark Tully's program "Stand at East",

BBC - Radio 4 - Stand at East

Yours truly was the consultant and researcher for this programme.

 

Here's an Italian-language documentary about the contribution of the Sikh soldier to the liberation of that country.



Click "Settings" (the cog) > Subtitles/CC > Auto translate > Scroll to English and click.

 

This book, first published in 1999, tells the early history of the Mazhbi and Ramdasia Sikh Regiment.
It was raised as an infantry regiment in wartime in 1941, at a period of intense crisis and confusion. There were unusual difficulties to be faced on raising. There was no Training Centre, no pool of trained junior leaders, no established recruiting system. Army instructional manuals were of little use initially because only a handful of our intake of Mazhbi and Ramdasia Sikhs could read or write Roman Urdu. The provision of weapons, equipment and housing of all kinds was so slow that much valuable training time had to be confined to elementary foot drill and outdoor classes teaching the three ‘R’s.
Today the Sikh Light Infantry, with its many battalions, is a respected and successful regiment, playing a full part in the defence of India.


M & R: A Regimental History of the Sikh Light Infantry 1941-1947 : J D Hookway : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive