Gian Singh (5 October 19206 October 1996) was a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

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forces.

Early life

Singh was born into a

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family in Sahabpur, a village in the Nawanshahr district (now,

Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district is one of twenty-three districts of state of Punjab, India. It is located in Doaba region. It consists of three subdivisions, Nawanshahr, Banga, and Balachaur. There are three legislative seats in the district ...

) of eastern

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He enlisted in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

in 1937.

Details

He was 24 years old, and a Naik in the

15th Punjab Regiment The 15th Punjab Regiment was a infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with ...

in the

, when during the

Burma Campaign 1944–45 Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he performed the deeds for which he was awarded the VC. The citation reads: Singh received a mention in dispatches later that year. He was presented with his Victoria Cross by King George VI, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 16 October 1945.

Later life

Despite wounds to his leg which left him in pain until his death, Singh refused to be invalided from the Army. After Indian independence in 1947, he transferred to the 11th Sikhs when 15 Punjab was allocated to Pakistan. He regularly visited London to attend reunions of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. According to his son, for many years Singh never discussed the war or his VC action with his family, as he had lost all of his close friends in action. Singh was promoted to havildar (sergeant), with successive promotions to

jemadar Jemadar or jamadar is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arabic ''jamā‘a(t)'' 'muster' + Persian ''-dār'' ...

(now

naib subedar Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) is a term used for a group of military ranks which is higher than havildar ( non commissioned officer) and lower than lieutenant (commissioned officer). The term is only used by Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Sen ...

in the Indian Army) on 29 December 1955, followed by promotion to

subedar Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History ''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...

on 21 December 1961. He saw action in both the 1962 Sino-Indian War and in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. Promoted to

subedar major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...

on 15 June 1967, Singh retired from the army in August 1969 with the honorary rank of captain. He died in 1996.

The medal

Singh's medals, including his Victoria Cross, are held by his son Charangit Sangha, who lives in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Awards

References

External links

We were there – Naik Gian Singh VC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gian Sikh warriors Punjabi people Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army soldiers 1920 births 1996 deaths People from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district Indian Army personnel Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal