Naik Kirpa Ram (1916 – 12 September 1945) was a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

recipient of the George Cross, the highest

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 Commonwealth) medal for gallantry not in the face of the enemy. Born in 1916, Kirpa volunteered to join the

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- ...

in 1935. During 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 ...

he was a member of 8th Battalion,

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. History The 13th Frontier Force Rifles' ...

. He served in the Burma Campaign and his unit then returned to India. On 12 September 1945, during a field firing exercise at a rest camp at Thondebhavi,

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

a rifle grenade misfired and fell only eight yards from Kirpa's section. The 28-year-old soldier rushed forward, shouting at his men to take cover and attempted to throw it to a safe distance. It exploded in his hand, wounding him fatally, but his self-sacrifice meant that only two men of the section were slightly wounded. The posthumous award of the George Cross was announced on 15 March 1946, the citation read: In 2002 Kirpa's GC was among the contents of a trunk stolen from his widow's house at Bhapral, Bilaspur,

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. Although investigations were made at the time, no trace was found until the medal was presented for auction in London in late 2009. The medal was due to go under the hammer on 2 December 2009, but after the widow, Brahmi Devi, was alerted to the sale, steps were taken to suspend the sale. Finally, on 11 May 2015, Kirpa's GC was returned to his widow by the British government.

References

Indian recipients of the George Cross 1916 births 1945 deaths Indian Army personnel killed in World War II People from Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh {{India-mil-bio-stub