Jump to content

Memorial To The Remarkable Sikh Soldiers Of Ww1


simran345
 Share

Recommended Posts

post-24162-0-10073300-1446285194_thumb.j. post-24162-0-24773700-1446285215_thumb.j

post-24162-0-93537000-1446285244_thumb.j. post-24162-0-18026800-1446285599_thumb.j

The first-ever tribute to the brave 130,000 Indian heroes set to be unveiled on Sunday.

A unique memorial is set to be unveiled in the heart of the Midlands in memory of the tens of thousands of Sikh soldiers who fought side by side with British soldiers 100 years ago in the Great War.

The First World War Sikh Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, near Tamworth, will be the countrys first ever national Sikh memorial commemorating the 130,000 Sikh soldiers who fought for Britains freedom during the four year conflict.

The Sikh contribution to the First World War is described as remarkable.

A spokeswoman for the National Memorial Arboretum said: Despite being only one per cent of the Indian population at the time, they constituted 20 per cent of the British Indian Army and were represented in over a third of the regiments at the time.

A unique memorial is set to be unveiled in the heart of the Midlands in memory of the tens of thousands of Sikh soldiers who fought side by side with British soldiers 100 years ago in the Great War.

The First World War Sikh Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, near Tamworth, will be the countrys first ever national Sikh memorial commemorating the 130,000 Sikh soldiers who fought for Britains freedom during the four year conflict.

The Sikh contribution to the First World War is described as remarkable.

A spokeswoman for the National Memorial Arboretum said: Despite being only one per cent of the Indian population at the time, they constituted 20 per cent of the British Indian Army and were represented in over a third of the regiments at the time.

During the First World War, brave Sikh soldiers fought on the Western Front, and in the trenches, and took part in key battles like Gallipoli, Neuve Chapelle and Ypres, and later also fought in World War Two. Lt. General Sir James Wilcox, Commander of the Indian Corps, is also recorded as stating that: It was the dark days of 1914 when our men had to face mortars, hand grenades, high explosive shells for which they themselves were not provided.

They could reply only with their valour, their rifles and two machine guns per battalion. And yet they did it.

The landmark Sikh Memorial is due to be unveiled on Sunday and a souvenir publication which is entitled Sikh Chronicles will be released to mark the landmark occasion.

Sikh Memorial Fund charity founder and chairman Jay Singh-Sohal, of Handsworth Wood , said: It is a tremendous achievement for Sikhs to be able to finally have a national monument in honour of the bravery and sacrifice of our forebears.

For far too long the contribution of those from India to the war effort has been overlooked.

But now young people have a symbol of remembrance which they can visit at the National Memorial Arboretum and which will inspire people from all backgrounds well into the future.

The memorial successfully received grassroots funding via the Kickstarter benefit company website to ensure the lasting legacy of Sikh remembrance.

An appeal to create it was launched last September and over 200 people made a contribution to it ranging from £1 to £1,000.

The sculptor is Mark Bibby, of Lincolnshire, whose grandfather served alongside Sikhs in World War Two and remembers him speaking highly of them. He said: To produce something like this for the arboretum is fantastic. Its a major achievement of my life. Its a pinnacle of my career.

The memorial has been widely welcomed, including by the Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt MP; memorials patron Peter Singh Virdee, of the Virdee Foundation; and Sir Francis Richards, Chairman of Imperial War Museums.

The statues unveiling, which will include speeches from dignitaries, a British Army band and re-enactment troop, will be sanctified with a traditional Sikh prayer and a minutes silence held.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/memorial-remarkable-sikh-soldiers-wwi-10357905#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The UK's first national Sikh memorial in honour of those who fought during the First World War has been unveiled in Staffordshire.

It stands at the National Memorial Arboretum and has been funded by donations.

Louisa Currie was at today's service:

https://www.facebook.com/midlandstoday/videos/10153685608734761/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Khalsa Aid is proud to

support the memorial in honour of Sikh soldiers who fought during World War One which was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire ( UK) earlier today.

Sikhs made up 20% of the British Indian Army in action, despite being just 1% of the Indian population.

Great work by Jay Singh Sohal, Chairman, WW1 Sikh Memorial Fund.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153124745805825&id=163220440824

post-24162-0-04175600-1446406721_thumb.jpost-24162-0-10232000-1446406738_thumb.jpost-24162-0-85372600-1446406752_thumb.j

post-24162-0-64468400-1446406769_thumb.j

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • lol dal panth Panj told me explicitly not to associate with Vadhbhag Singh Sodhi followers!
    • We have lamp (or Jyot) the pure unscented candle for a reason. Traditionally, Patis used candle light (jyot), so they could read SGGS in darkness. Light, elec didn't exist. Dhoop is used to attract the "Good spirits" but also keep freshness where Maharaj will be.  Interestingly and coincidentally I heard Sakhi a few dsys ago. During Dasa Pitha's time these souls were roaming the Earth and even Sangat noticed. Maharaj asked them "y u here?" They replied during recitation of SGGS and making Degh they didn't bother lighting candle. THAT WAS THEE ONLY REASON NO GATI WAS GIVEN TO THEM!!!  AUTHENTICITY NOT CHECKED I heard once on YT like 2 days ago.  If u apply dhoop in one room of your house twice a week u will notice a difference esp in the smell and freshness of that room. 
    • Sangat ji, With the hot weather as per Guru's Hukm, how can we look after our kes?  First of all the beard! Working in Construction, factory and any other heated environment I UNDERSTAND! At my workplace it's over 32 degree celcius and sometimes we have to lift 20kg ALL! DAY! My tips, regularly shampoo the beard during ishnan. APPLY OIL! The technique of applying oil is by rubbing it thoroughly in the roots. Pay attention to the noise esp on the chin. You will hear this "crosh crosh" noise. Keep rubbing oil until u can't hear it no more! This means the oil has blended in properly.  Second tip on beard, keep an extra kanga in your pocket. Every two, three hours give your beard a proper comb down to get rid of any sweat or stickiness. SECOND BENEFIT! Do this all 12 months every single day your beard will look like it's been professionally groomed. TRY IT! People will ask you "What gel u use? How can yer beard be naturally like that?" You can say all I use is coconut oil or whaeva oil but just comb the beard every 2-3 hours for a minute.  As for the kes, morning time get rid of all the gronjra (or knots - forgotten English word), in the morning. However, during evening comb down make sure you get rid of small remaining gronjra and comb yer hair nice and straight. You will feel soooo so relaxed. Yes our hair will go unnoticed due to Dastar, but our hair demands time and self grooming!So proper combing down, spending a good 15-20 mins most evenings is an absolute MUST!  Most evenings I let my hair down and cover hair with my parna for 2-3 hours so it gets to relax from the tying up.  FINAL TIP! We are Sikhs so we keep fighting and remember this! The tradition of Dastar and uncut hair started in India, where the weather is twice as hot. Everytime we bring this thought in the mind, Guru ji will bless us and make us feel cooled down by a notch.  Fateh.       
    • Been so much nindya and attacking Shastarvidiya since the 2000s, however if we look at gatka now it's still mostly as poor and poorly taught as it was back then, still morris dancing moves and still behzti moves in BBC shows about sikhi and vaisakhi. If people were going to attack shastarvidiya, wouldn't have made sense to improve gatka instead and make it more effective? Additionally, the Nihang Singh presence has improved greatly now, and the cracks within the the SGPC and affiliated jatha jathebandis are showing more greatly as panth becomes more knowledgable with dasam bani and itihas day-by-day, so much gyaan which was lost within panjabi sikhs during colonial times. In the 2000s, the groups were able to talk down this bani and  gyaan by associating it with  RSS and hindus, brahminwaad etc. Not working so well now is it? However with gyaan it would be also good for us to try and preserve our martial arts and keertan vidiya as well! More and more crazy keertan videos are coming out from jatha members that are being made fun of and making sangat annoyed and upset, on tiktok and instagram reels.  
    • Author Posted April 24   On 4/21/2025 at 2:43 PM, ipledgeblue said: sirr should not be nanga because keski is usually worn.   Sikhs can sleep nanga-sirr if they choose to . Being from Punjab, almost every Sardaarji i know (amritdhari or not) sleeps/showers with their hair uncovered. I don't think Guru Sahib asked us to wear Dastar to sleep and I don't think it is in SRM.   The idea of "keski being worn to sleep" is cos in Bollywood films (Bachna Ae Haseeno) Sikh characters usually tie a gol parna when sleeping since the actor's usually Hindu. So they gotta cover his head somehow or he'd have cut hair. Same reason Diljit wore a pagg to bed in the El Sueno vid. Only time they didn't do that was in Gadar with Sunny Deol which just looked odd tbh   What in the world? What sikh or even a decent human would base their knowledge of their culture or religion on a movie industry, that too Bollywood?  Believe me, no sikh ever said, I must cover my head becasue an actor did so in a movie. I've been doing it all wrong, I must start covering mh head because the sikh in that movie did.  Just because every panjabi and sardaar you know, does something, also doesn't make it right..  Follow the guru. And if you have a medical condition, then exemptions can be made.  Just admit it, because of my medical condition, I am not able to follow this rehit. Why are you getting everyone else to drop to your level?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use