Remembering Sikh Heroes

[sikhlionz]

The Sikh Community & Youth Service UK (SCYS UK) have successfully received funding from the Big Lottery Fund to undertake a Sikh Heritage Project.

‘Remembering Sikh Heroes’ will trace and document the memories of Sikh War Veterans who fought in the Second World War.

An exhibition will be created displaying a collection of photographs, memorabilia, artifacts and video footage of the veterans and will primarily be exhibited in community venues across the West Midlands.

Dawinder Bansal, Project Manager points out: “Many veterans are now well into their 80s so it is vital that we capture their memories and experiences of the war before it is too late, otherwise an important part of Sikh history will be lost. We are now looking for Sikh/Punjabi war veterans to take part in our project. These must ideally be from the West Midlands, preferably Birmingham and the Black Country. For veterans that have now passed away, we would like to interview their families.”

The research gathered will also be used to create educational resources informing younger generations (many of whom have little knowledge) about the history and experiences of ex-service men from their community. It will also give them the opportunity to understand a part of their identity and heritage.

Sundeep Singh, Manager of SCYS UK and visionary behind the project said “we want to give the elder generations a sense of worth and make them feel that their contribution over the years has not been forgotten and mattered”.

Media and Project Enquiries

Dawinder Bansal,

Project Manager, Arts, Culture and Lifestyle Journalist, Feature writer for Channel 4 IDEASFACTORY, TEN4 Magazine and BBC Online

Dawinder_bansal@yahoo.co.uk

Mobile: 07947 34 99 49

Come on people - lets give them FULL support - get in touch with him if you are in contact with sikh war veterans or if you have multimedia to contribute to the exhibition.

:lol: