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| Related Articles: Alfred Tennyson - Charge of the Light Brigade http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/bee58f4542072ad787256a250002b068!OpenDocument&Highlight=0 Sikhs In World War I http://sikhs.org/ww1/ "Thousand and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have lost their lives. If you go on the field of battle you will see corpses piled upon corpses, so that their is no place to place or put hand or foot. Men have died from the stench. No one has any hope of survival, for back to Punjab will go only those who have lost a leg or an arm or an eye. The whole world has been brought to destruction." (letter home from a Sikh soldier) There is also a photograph of a greveyard in France where many Sikh soldiers were buried. ******************************************************************************** A few excerpts from the book - Warrior Saints. http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~amandeep/index.htm Sir Francis Younghusband: Extremely well commanded, the Sikhs, as Captain Townsend wrote in his report, "Never murmured, took everything calmly - the over work, the half ration of atta, the over-fatigues, practically getting no rest and sleeping in their accoutrements and on their alarm posts during the siege. The spirit of the 14th Sikhs was our admiration, the longer the siege lasted the more willing they became to teach the enemy a lesson. There could not be finer soldiers than the men of the 14th Sikhs, and they were our sheet-anchor in the siege." *********************************************** Lovat Fraise in 'At Delhi': "They greeted him [Akali Sikh] with a ringing cheer, such a cheer was not heard on the streets of Delhi even on the day of the State Entry. Waving his spear he chanted in a high resounding voice the names of the Ten Gurus. Then he recited a prayer, and continued with an exhortation, reminding the Sikhs of the valour and the greatness of their race, and urging them never to forget the teachings of their Holy Book or to fail in their loyalty to the British." ************************************************ Brigadier Rt. Hon. Sir John Smythe, Bt.VC: "56 years ago I joined the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs in Loralai, Baluchistan and at once became embued with the teachings and the life of Guru Nanak. Ths Sikh Gurus, the Sikh religion, the Gurdwara, the Granth Sahib became part of my life. The British and the Sikh officers of the Regiment were convinced that religion was an important factor in the makeup of a good soldier and we fostered that in every way possible." **************************************************** Indian Voices of the Great War - Soldiers' Letters, 1914-18, David Omissi. From a letter written by a Jemadar in France, July 1916, to a relative in Ludhiana District, Punjab: "The Khalsa nowadays join in the Gurbani Prem [words of love from the writings of the Guru] and the Guru Granth Sahib is carried in procession through the entire village [in France], and is shown to all the Sikhs in the cavalry...Prayer meetings are constantly held, and our Sirkar [British Government] gives us every opportunity for holding them." (On the same page in the book is a photograph of Sikh soldiers of the 15th Sikhs singing kirtan in a Flanders village barn, 1915. There is also a beautiful picture of Sikh soldiers exchanging gifts with people of the village.) (The following is a picture from Sandeep Singh Brar's website. Sikh Soldiers In France During World War I http://sikhs.org/ww1/second.html **************************************************** The French caption to a postcard illustration reads: 'Autre type de Sikh du Punjab. Les Sikhs maintiennent leur barbe serree par un elastique.' - Another Sikh from the Punjab. The Sikhs keep their beards tightly tied with elastic cords. From a letter, dated 31 March 1915, written by a Sikh soldier in a hospital in England, to his friend in India: "The Sikhs did not turn even their noses. They were keen for the fight and where one man fell, another from behind stood in his place. And we took pleasure in the battle...Until now God has preserved us, but there is no hope of any of us returning to India. This is no war, but the destruction of the world." ************************************************** Indian Voices of the Great War - Soldiers' Letters, 1914-18, David Omissi. Another letter from a Sikh soldier fighting at Somme, July 1916: "...We shall experience very many and grave difficulties here, but we shall surmount them all and return victorious even if it takes us one hundred years to succeed." ***************************************************** The following is a caption under a magnificient photograph of Sikh soldiers marching in France at the conclusion of the First World War. Caption: The Sikh Regiment first landed in Marseilles on 26 September 1914 and received a heros' welcome. 'Unique stelwarts from the east' remarked the press. Not only were they welcomed but throughtout the war the French civilians treated them with unwonted friendliness and a spirit of equality. From a letter, dated 15 December, written by a Sikh cavalry soldier at Marseilles Depot: "The English and the women of this place [France] are very pleased to see us, like opening flowers. They shake hands with our men when they disembark, and attempt to feed them from their own pockets..." *************************************************** F. Yeates-Brown, "Martial India": "I have never seen a despondent Sikh in the front line. In a hospital in the rear he will moan dreadfully over a small wound, but in a fight he will go on to his last....with the battle cry of Khalsa ji ki jai. This very cry came over a field telephone in the Arakan when a Sikh signal havildar had been cut off beyond hope of rescue. The line remained alive. The havildar described to my friend how the Japanese were creeping up. A pause, then he came back to say that he had killed a skirmisher, but that now his ammunition had exhausted. 'There's not much time, Sahib. I'll break the telephone before they get me. Victory to the Holy Brotherhood.' They found him dead beside an enemy he had brained with the butt of his Sten." ************************************************* Major Henderson of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, Sikh Brigade Association Newsletter, 1998. "One of the highlights which I found most moving was when a widow, Nasib Kaur, came up to me, speaking in Punjabi and thanking for placing her husband on the first rung of the ladder. "He made Lt. Colonel you know, but unfortunately he died seven years ago." I asked her if his name was Darshan Singh, "yes", she said astonished. I must explain that in October 1942 I was on a recruiting tour in Ambala District and drove past three first class lads dressed only in their 'kach' pushing a plough behind a couple of bullocks. They saw me stop my truck and in reply to my shout "Join the Army" young Darshan Singh in perfect English said, "I don't mind coming as an Officer." I explained that I was only looking for sepoys but if he wanted to become an Officer his best approach would be to enlist with his two pals at Ropar......I must admit that both my Subedar and I were in some doubt as to whether he would pass the Selection Board....that was the last I heard of him, although I often wondered, until his widow approached me 50 years later, with the news that he made it." There is a picture of Lt. Colonel Darshan Singh who commanded the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sikh battalions, the 56th and the 90th Assam Rifles. ***************************************************** Colonel F.T. Brentwood OBE, "The Sikh Regiment in the Second World War": "The shouts rang clearly through the jungle and echoed round the hills while answering 'fatehs' [shouts of victory] were periodically heard from men of the 4th/15th Punjab Regiment holding positions over on the left. The self confidence of the Sikhs was most inspiring, and the Japanese could make no headway. Before dawn they withdrew back to their positions further south." *************************************************** General Sir Frank Messervy KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO. From the foreword of Colonel F.T. Birdwood OBE, "The Sikh Regiment in the Second World War". "Finally, we that live on can never forget those comrades who in giving their lives gave so much that is good to the story of the Sikh Regiment. No living glory can transcend that of their supreme sacrifice, may they rest in peace." ************************************************************* |
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