Search the Community

St Andrew's Gardens in Gravesend likely to get statue of Sikh war hero Mahinder Singh Pujji Comments | 2 by Thom Morris tmorris@thekmgroup.co.uk Mahinder Singh Pujji in 1940 Heritage Quarter developers Edinburgh House has submitted new plans for a bronze statue on St Andrew’s Gardens, believed to be in memory of an Indian pilot.Plans state the “Pujji statue”, believed to be of Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji, will be installed in May 2014, ahead of the refurbishment plans for the gardens. A former squadron leader, Pujji was one of the first seven Sikhs accepted as a fighter pilot, and won the DFC for his actions in the Far East against the Japanese. He also served across Kent in the days after the Battle of Britain, and was stationed in Gravesend. He also made his home in The Grove, in the town. The statue will stand on a 5ft stone plinth and be about eight foot high. Mr Pujji died in 2010 at Darent Valley Hospital aged 92. The first phase of the £120m Heritage Quarter plans will see three buildings, with 141 flats, restaurants, a 50-bedroom hotel and underground car parks built, due to start early next year. Guest of honour Sqd Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji at North Kent Police Station, Northfleet in 2008. Developers said after about a year once phase one starts, a detailed application for the redesigned grounds for St George’s Church and St Andrew’s Gardens, and an enlarged St George’s Shopping Centre will be submitted. The father-of-three joined the RAF as a 22-year-old after spotting an advert in an Indian newspaper appealing for pilots in 1940. He flew 25 different types of aircraft, including Spitfires, Hurricanes and Tomahawks, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving 300 American soldiers from Japanese troops in the Burmese jungle. Mr Pujji’s military achievements led him to meet Winston Churchill, Gandhi, King Farouk of Egypt, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. He won a gold medal for gliding, was a motor racing champion, a driving instructor and an air traffic controller at Heathrow. See next week's Messenger for more information.