Sardar Bahadur Ishar Singh
VC,
OBI #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...
(30 December 1895 – 2 December 1963) was a soldier in the
British Indian Army and 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 award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and
Commonwealth forces. Born at Nainwa, he was the first
Sikh to receive the Victoria Cross.
[Ashcroft, p. 99.]
Victoria Cross
He was 25 years old, and a
sepoy in the
28th Punjabis,
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
during the
Waziristan Campaign when, on 10 April 1921, near
Haidari Kach he undertook the actions which led his senior officer, Captain Bernard Oddie, to recommend him for the award of a VC. The citation was published in a supplement to the ''
London Gazette'' of 25 November 1921:
He later achieved the rank of
captain,
[Ashcroft, p. 99.] and served in the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
.
In addition to the Victoria Cross, he was awarded the prestigious
Order of British India
The Order of British India was an order of merit established in 1837 by the East India Company for "long, faithful and honourable service". The company's powers were removed after the Indian Mutiny, and the Order was incorporated into the Brit ...
, First Class, which carried with it the title of "Sardar Bahadur."
His medal is held in the collection of Lord Ashcroft.
References
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External links
Ishar Singh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Ishar
Sikh warriors
Punjabi people
People from Bundi district
1890s births
1963 deaths
Indian recipients of the Victoria Cross
British Indian Army officers
British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign
Indian Army personnel of World War I
Indian Army personnel of World War II
Sardar Bahadurs