2324 Lance-Naik Indar Singh IDSM : 36th Sikhs
By : Avtar
Singh Bahra, Kulwant Singh Bahra & Dalwinder Singh Sidhu
On
the 28 February 2018, an auction house sold an Indian Distinguished Service
Medal awarded to Lance-Naik Indar Singh.
The catalogue description of the medal was “Indian Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (2324 Lce Naik Indar Singh 36th Sikhs)”. A
footnote recorded that the notification of the award appeared in G.G.O. 1386 of
1916 (dated 18 November 1916) and the award was for Mesopotamia. The medal’s
condition was recorded as “good very fine” and it was given an estimate of
between £300-360. The estimate was far
too low considering the prices Sikh gallantry medals have commanded, especially
when they are awarded to soldiers serving in Sikh regiments, in recent years.
The medal was hammered for £2000 without commission.
While
I haven’t been able to find a citation for Indar Singh’s medal, I have been
able to work out when he joined the 36th Sikhs. He was a career
Indian Army soldier and was one of the longest-serving
men of the Regiment when he was awarded his IDSM. I have used a variety of
sources to build up a history of the 36th Sikhs before the outbreak
of war, so you know where Indar served. As I will show, I believe that Indar
was very likely awarded his IDSM for gallantry on 12 April 1916 during an
attack on the Turkish position near Beit Assa. This was during the Kut-al-Amara
relief attempts.
Researching
soldiers who served in the Indian Army during the First World War is a
difficult task. Not only have service and medal records been lost but there are
usually no biographical sources to add more information about a soldier. The
only information I have had to work from for Indar was impressed around his
IDSM and the date the medal was announced. The Indian Army had no unique
regimental numbers during this period. If a soldier joined a regiment they
received a regimental number which was only unique within that regiment. If
they were transferred to a new regiment, they received a new number. The
numbering of Indian infantry regiment pre-war was straightforward and
chronological. Each new man joining the regiment received the next number and
when the regiment hit a number around 5000 it reset back to 1.
Indar’s regimental number of 2324 dates to early 1901 for the 36th
Sikhs. It is possible he enlisted in a different regiment and transferred to
the 36th Sikhs but most soldiers remained in a single regiment, at
least pre-war. As most Indian soldiers enlisted around the age of 16 – 20, I
expect he was born in the early 1880s and was in his thirties on the outbreak
of the First World War. Another soldier of the Regiment, 2240 Dall Singh IDSM
enlisted on 17 June 1900. I have looked at soldiers of the 36th
Sikhs who were awarded Long Service and Good Conduct Medals with the
announcements of the award appearing in a variety of Indian Army Orders. While
dating from the period prior to Dall Singh’s enlistment (there is a long gap
caused by casualties sustained during the First World War) they support 2324
being an early 1901 date.
In addition, seven soldiers were awarded the IDSM serving with the 36th Sikhs during the war had a regimental number between 2100 and 2400. Of these, four were Havildars and two Naiks, further supporting the view that Indar’s date of joining the Regiment was early 1901. Due to this date, I consider that it would have been very unlikely that Indar was a Reservist called back to the Colors on the outbreak of war. A soldier completing his terms of enlistment in the Indian Army did not have to complete a period in the Reserve as in the British Army. Also, Indar served into the early 1920s before he left the Indian Army which is another indication that he was a career soldier.
The
36th Sikhs had initially been raised as the Bareilly Levy in May
1858, one of several Sikh regiments formed in consequence of the Indian Mutiny
(1857 – 1858). The Regiment designation changed twice in 1861, becoming first
the 40th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry and subsequently the 36th
Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. The Regiment’s designation changed to the
36th (Bareilly) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry in 1864 and it
was disbanded in 1882. The Regiment was raised once again in 1887 at Jullundur
(Jalandhar, Punjab) by then Lieutenant-Colonel, later Major-General, James
Cook. James Cook used to travel the Punjab
looking for prospective recruits and challenge them to wrestling matches.
The
Regiment’s new title was 36th (Sikh) Regiment of Bengal Infantry and
it was a class regiment composed solely of Sikhs. This changed in the years
after the First World War when Punjabi Muslims were enlisted. In 1901, the
Regiment became the 36th Sikh Infantry and then the 36th
Sikhs in 1903. In 1922, the Regiment became the 3rd
Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment. The regimental center was at
Rawalpindi (Punjab, Pakistan) and it was linked to the 35th and 47th
Sikhs.
The
Regiment saw service on the North West Frontier (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) during the
1890s. The most common pre-war medal for soldiers of the Regiment is the India
Medal (1895 – 1902) with a combination of the following clasps: Punjab Frontier
1897-98, Samana 1897, and Tirah 1897-98. Small numbers of the 36th
Sikhs also qualified for the Central Africa 1891-98 medal. The Regiment had
found fame during the Battle of Saragari on 12 September 1897 during the Tirah
Campaign. A small fort garrisoned by 21 soldiers of the Regiment fought to the
death against overwhelming odds with all the soldiers receiving the Indian
Order of Merit.
The
most important source of information regarding the Regiment pre-war is the 36th
Sikhs’ confidential reports. These reports were published annually and included
the confidential reports of British officers serving with the regiments. They
are held at the British Library in Collection 405: Confidential Reports of
Regiments etc. (1887 – 1939): IOR/L/MIL/17007-17037. Unfortunately, the earlier
and post-1920 reports aren’t of the same
format as the examples I have provided for you. I have included a set of reports
for the period between 1902-03 and 1919-20. There were no reports for the years
1914-15 and 1915-16 (common for the first years of the war) and the other
surviving war reports are for the unit’s Depot.
After a long period on the North West Frontier, the 36th Sikhs arrived at Rawalpindi on 7 May 1898. The Regiment remained in the city until it moved to Malakand, North West Frontier Province on 25 September 1901. It was at Malakand, that Indar joined the Regiment. Indar would have trained at Meean Meer (Lahore Cantonment) where the 36th Sikhs’ Depot was located. The Malakand region was in the northeast of India running along the Afghan border. There had been fighting at Malakand in 1897 with a siege and a field force being despatched. The events are chiefly remembered these days for the involvement of a young Winston Churchill who joined the field force as a war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and subsequently published The Story of the Malakand Field Force.
I
have only quoted parts of the Regiment’s confidential reports below. In its
report for 1902-03, Major-General C. C. Egerton, Commanding Punjab Frontier
Force and Frontier District wrote:
Personnel: The British Officers are
keen, smart, and all take the greatest interest in their work. The Native
Officers are well selected and efficient. The rank and file are a magnificent
body of men.
Drill and Instruction: Very steady on parade,
handle their arms smartly, and work very
well in field maneuvers. They have benefitted greatly by their local surroundings, which afford great opportunities for
training in hill warfare.
General condition: (a) The Battalion is in first rate order. (b) Well trained in the field
and in practical musketry. (c) In all respects fit for service.
The
Regiment received another good report for 1903-04 with its personnel described
as “A magnificent regiment of fine physique”. The Regiment, at least during its
early years, had a minimum height standard of 5 foot 8 inches (1.73 m). The
report was highly favorable to the 36th Sikhs. The next year’s
report stated that also praised the Regiment with its personnel reported as “A
very fine regiment above the average in physique. Rather a superior body of
officers”. On the 6 January 1904, the Regiment arrived at Peshawar, the capital
of the North West Frontier. Due to the turbulent nature of the North West
Frontier and the city’s location close to the Khyber Pass linking India to
Afghanistan, the city held a large garrison.
The
36th Sikhs remained at Peshawar for nearly
three years, before it arrived at its regimental center of Rawalpindi on 3
December 1906. The Regiment continued to receive excellent reports during its
stay Peshawar, with its personnel described in its 1905-06 report as “A very
fine regiment with good British Officers and a good tone throughout”. The 36th
Sikhs’ was inspected by Brigadier-General C. H. Powell, Commanding Rawalpindi
Brigade for 1907-08:
Personnel: Is up to modern standard
and on the whole very satisfactory.
Efficiency in Drill: Drill and instruction is very satisfactory in all its branches. The
training of recruits receives special attention.
General Efficiency: Smart and soldier like and
most ably commanded. The individuality and independence of action of all ranks is properly encouraged: there is no tendency to
over-centralization. In all respects fit for active service.
Major-General
J. Stratford Collins commanding 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division reported:
Well commanded and particularly well efficient
regiment. There is a very good tone in all ranks. Their turn out is very good
and there is considerable esprit de corps.
Fit for active service. In much the same state as last year.
In
its final confidential report at Rawalpindi, the Regiment was described as “An
Indian regiment it is a pleasure to look at, the men of excellent physique are
turned out, well set up, and smart in appearance. The Native officers are a
particularly nice body of men”. On the 12 March 1911, the Regiment arrived at
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh, India) and this was the 36th Sikhs’ last station
in India pre-war. The last surviving confidential report for the Regiment
pre-war, 1912-13, dates from its service at Lucknow. Lieutenant General Sir
Robert Irvin Scallon, Commanding 8th (Lucknow) Division reported
that the 36th Sikhs was “An excellent battalion, fit for war”.
The
Regiment left India in 1914 and arrived at Tientsin, North China on 27 May 1914
where it was still stationed on the outbreak of war. Tientsin, now Tianjin, is 70
miles southeast of Beijing. While in China, the 36th Sikhs had detachments
at Shan-hai-kuan and Chin-Wang-Tao.
Chin-Wang-Tao is now Qinhuangdao a port city in northeastern China, 159 miles
northeast of Tientsin. Shan-hai-kuan
(Shanhaiguan) is now part of the port city of Qinhuangdao. While in China, the
Regiment’s Depot was at Fatehgarh (Uttar Pradesh). In the aftermath of the
Boxer Rebellion (1899 – 1901), Britain increased its garrison in China, with
Indian soldiers often being used.
On
the outbreak of war, the 36th Sikhs was
still at Tientsin and it was fortunate that it was. If it had been in India, it
would almost certainly have been sent abroad as part of one of the Indian
Expeditionary Forces. Even if it had remained in India, it would have sent
large drafts of men to other regiments. In the end, the only drafts it sent to
other regiments, including the 14th and 47th Sikhs were
mostly composed of new recruits who were trained at the Regiment’s Depot in
India. The Regiment’s first action during the war was at the Siege of Tsingtao
which had been blockaded on 27 August 1914. Tsingtao, now Qingdao was part of
Germany’s Kiautschou Bay Concession and was 360 miles southeast of Tientsin.
An
Anglo-Indian force consisting of the 2nd Battalion South Wales
Borderers and half the 36th Sikhs was sent to join the Japanese in
the siege. The 36th Sikhs arrived in late October 1914 with land
operations beginning on 31 October and ending on 7 November 1914. The
Anglo-Indian soldiers were just a token
force sent to help the Japanese and the 36th Sikhs suffered 2 dead
during the operations. If Indar was one of the soldiers sent to Tsingtao, he
would have qualified for the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
The 36th Sikhs did not remain at Tsingtao for long after the end of
the siege before it rejoined the rest of the Regiment at Tientsin.
A detachment of the Regiment was sent to Singapore at some point early in the war and was present when the 5th Jat Light Infantry mutinied February 1915. However, at the start of the mutiny, it was without arms or ammunition. At some point between February and August 1915, the Regiment returned to India and proceeded to the North West Frontier. The 36th Sikhs took part in the Battle of Shabkadar, near Peshawar on 5 September 1915, against Mohmand tribesman. This was the largest battle fought on the North West Frontier since 1897 and the Regiment suffered four dead. The Regiment saw further fighting on the 17 September when another four soldiers were killed. If Indar took part in the operations with the Regiment, he would have qualified for the 1914-15 Star, he definitely qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
I’m
not sure of the 36th Sikhs’ location between October 1915 and
February 1916 but I expect it was somewhere on the North West Frontier or
nearby. The Regiment’s war diary doesn’t start until the 1 March 1916 when the unit
was in camp at Basra, Mesopotamia (Iraq). I expect that the Regiment left India
in late February 1916, probably at Karachi. With the 36th Sikhs
arrival in Mesopotamia we can return once again to Indar as he was one of the
men who was camped at Basra.
The
announcement of Indar Singh’s award of the Indian Distinguished Service Medal
was published in Government General Orders 1386/1916 (dated 18 November 1916).
The medal was awarded for gallantry in Mesopotamia. I have looked at other
Indian soldiers awarded the IDSM in G.G.O. 1386/1916 and the awards were for
the attempts to relieve the besieged 6th (Poona) Division at
Kut-al-Amara. The 36th Sikhs was
part of the 37th Indian Infantry Brigade, 14th Indian
Division when Indar won the medal. There had already been three battles to try
and break the siege, the Battle of Sheikh Sa’ad (6 – 8 January 1916), Battle of
Wadi (13 January 1916) and Battle of Hanna (21 January 1916). While these
battles had pushed back the Turkish forces, the Anglo-Indian force had suffered
heavy casualties. I have included the following maps of the area Indar won his
IDSM as it’s very difficult to follow the battles without them:
·
Part of map T.C.4. “which had been issued to the troops prior
to the 6th March 1916”
·
To illustrate operations between 10th March &
end of April 1916
·
The Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt 8th March 1916
These
were taken from Official History of the
War: Mesopotamia Campaign: Volume II.
I have also included a modern satellite image of the area and you can
clearly see the Dujaila Depression.
The Regiment left Basra by boat on 2 March and proceeded up the Tigris to join the fight. The Regiment reached Wadi Camp, past Shaikh Saad on 7 March where “two shots were fired at the ship during the night without result, probably by an Arab sniper on the bank”. The Battalion disembarked the next day and moved to the “Ruined Hut Position map T.C.4. Square 16/D”. This was about 5 miles southeast of Beit Isa as the crow flies. There are some interesting entries in the war diary for the remainder of the month, including the appearance of “large bodies of Arab horseman” around the camp on 10 March. Also, flooding on the 16 March. The Regiment spent the month to the north and northeast of Umm al Baram, the marshy ground shown on the maps. There is nothing recorded in the war diary between 7 March and 11 April 1916 to suggest any gallantry medals were awarded in this period.
The
most likely date for Indar Singh’s act of gallantry was on the 12 April 1916
when an attack was made on the Turkish trenches near Beit Isa. I have
photographed the relevant section of the official history and there is a
detailed description in the war diary. The 36th Sikhs was in newly dug trenches west of the Abu
Rumman Mounds. I have quoted from the war diary of the 27th Indian
Infantry Brigade Headquarters below, as it gives the clearest indication of
what happened:
12 April 1916: 3 pm: Orders received for the 37th
Brigade acting in conjunction with 8th and 7th Brigades
to push forward and drive in enemy picquets and to establish strong picquet on
line 18C 4/0 to 18C 5/6 said to be held by enemy picquets. Instructions issued
to this effect at 3 pm for 1/4th Somersets and 36th Sikhs
to advance with 8th Brigade on their right. 36th Sikhs to
maintain touch with 7th Brigade who were south of flooded area. 1/2nd Gurkhas being
kept in reserve.
3.30 pm: Advance commenced 3.30 pm and was soon
heavily opposed, especially in front of 36th Sikhs, who came under
machinegun fire. Water in some cases over 2 feet deep also hampered the
advance.
7 pm: About 7 pm one Double Company 1/2nd
Gurkhas was pushed up to reinforce 36th Sikhs and assist them in
continuing the line to the left. About 11 pm a second Double Company 1/2nd
Gurkhas was pushed up as information was received that 36th Sikhs
had suffered severely. Early in the evening telephone communication with 36th
Sikhs had broken down and all messages had to be sent by hand which again were
further delayed by darkness and water. As far as could be ascertained in the
darkness the line ordered was occupied by 36th Sikhs with 1/4th
Somersets on right and 59th
Rifles on their right from about 7 pm.
About 9.30 pm 8th Brigade reported that
owing to water 59th Rifles and Manchesters were consolidating their
position about the line where their advance picquet was before operation commenced and that it was not
possible to dig in further westwards owing to subsoil water. Units were so
informed: 1/4th Somersets being instructed to keep in touch with 59th
Rifles and not to lose touch with 36th Sikhs. About 1 am on 13th
1/4th Somersets informed they had had to fall back to maintain touch
with 59th Rifles.
36th Sikhs had accordingly to fall back to line about 600 – 800 yards in rear as no intermediate line could be found
owing to water. A line was accordingly established from 18D 60//15 through
18D/80/50 to edge of flooded area near
the Narrows (Divisional Sheet 16). About 8 pm Brigade Headquarters moved
forward to trenches from which ¼th Somersets originally moved.
The 36th Sikhs casualties were recorded as one officer killed and three wounded, 34 other ranks killed, 144 wounded and 13 missing. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) recorded a total of 45 dead for the 36th Sikhs on 12 April 1916 with all of them commemorated on the Basra Memorial to the missing. The Regiment’s strength on 13 April was recorded as 7 British officers, 7 Indian officers and 341 other ranks. While there was an assault on the Beit Isa on 17 April, the 37th Brigade was held in reserve, though it did suffer 20 casualties from shell fire. On the 29 April, the 6th (Poona) Division surrendered at Kut which was noted in the Regiment’s war diary on 1 May. Without a surviving service record its impossible to know if Indar became a casualty or was invalided from the Regiment later. So, I’ve provided an overview of the 36th Sikhs’ activities during the remainder of the war.
For
the rest of the year, very little occurred in the Mesopotamia Campaign. Summer
brought a lull in the fighting as the Anglo-Indian forces were reorganized.
Between 1 May and 31 December 1916, the CWGC recorded a total of 10 dead for
the 36th Sikh. At least 2 died from accidents and some would also
have been from disease. I have checked
the war diary for the rest of the year and there are no incidents recorded
which suggest a gallantry award would be made for them. Of 19 IDSM awards for
the 36th Sikhs during the First World War, seven appeared in G.G.O.
1386 of 1916 (dated 18 November 1916) and three in G.G.O. 1388 of 1916 (also
dated 18 November 1916).
The
Regiment took part in the Anglo-Indian offensive which began in December 1916.
However, they were only to fight in one more battle during the war. This was an
unsuccessful attack on a Turkish position to the south of Kut. I have included
another map in the folder: Map to Illustrate Operations against the Hai Salient
and the Dahra Bend Positions and the Passage of the Tigris: 11 January – 24
February 1917. The 37th Brigade advanced from a line of trenches
from P13 A on the bank of the Shatt-al-Hair River to P16 (Gunning Trench). This
area is approximately 1.5 miles southwest of Kut as the crow flies.
The
official history recorded:
The operations on the west of the Hai were not so
successful, owing partly to the fact that the British preliminary preparations
had not been quite completed, especially in regard to work on the communication
trenches. After ten minutes’ intense artillery bombardment, the 45th
and 36th Sikhs of the 37th Brigade advanced to the
assault at 12.10 p.m., the 45th moving on the right in eight waves
and the 36th in four waves, on frontages of two hundred and sixty
yards and two hundred yards respectively. Immediately on emerging from the front
line trench, both battalions came under very heavy enfilade artillery and
machine gun fire from the northwest and from their left front.
The 45th managed without great loss to
capture both the first and second Turkish lines of trench; but the 36th, being more exposed, suffered such
heavy losses that in spite of most gallant efforts they could get no farther than the enemy’s first line, which they
found only lightly held.
The Turks then launched against both battalions a
heavy counter-attack which the advanced portions of the 45th Sikhs
tried to repel as it got to close quarters by a gallant charge across the open.
But although they, the 36th Sikhs and our supporting artillery
caused the enemy severe losses, the 45th also suffered very heavily;
and overweighed by numbers the remnants of both Sikh battalions were driven
back by 1.30 p.m. to their original starting point.
Out of a total of 17 British officers, 30 Indian
officers and 1,280 other ranks actually engaged in the two battalions, 16
British officers, 28 Indian officers and 988 other ranks had become casualties.
These casualties speak for themselves.
The
Regiment’s war diary recorded that after the battle “the Regiment now totaled 3
British officers, one of whom was wounded, one Indian officer and 85 men”. The
war diary also recorded that the 36th Sikhs went into the attack
with 10 British officers, 15 Indian officers and 618 other ranks. It suffered
the following casualties:
·
British officers: 4 killed, 1 died of wounds, 1 missing
believed killed and 3 wounded
·
Indian officers: 3 killed and 11 wounded
·
Other ranks: 71 killed, 54 missing and 388 wounded
This was a casualty rate of 83% of those who took part in the battle and the Regiment had to be withdrawn from the front to reorganize and await the arrival of new drafts. What was left of the 36th Sikhs was used on the Tigris Defences and Lines of Communications for the rest of 1917. During this entire period, the Regiment was at Amara. Between February and August 1918, the Regiment worked on the lines of communications at around Baqubah. Baqubah is a city 30 miles north of Baghdad and there was nothing to report for this period.
In
September 1918, the Regiment left Baqubah to move to Persia where it joined the
North Persia Force and joined the 36th Infantry Brigade. The 36th
Sikhs arrived at Hamadan, 200 miles southwest of Tehran on 6 October. The
Regiment remained at the city until May 1919 when it moved back to Mesopotamia.
There is very little to report regarding the 36th Sikhs’ stay at
Hamadan. In Mesopotamia, the Regiment garrisoned Kut-al-Amara as it was now
back on garrison and line of communication duties. The Regiment’s war diary
recorded on 30 September 1919 that “orders received that Regiment would embark
at Busra [Basra] for India on 9 October 1919 in the [?] and would be relieved
at Kut by 1/6 Gurkhas”.
The
36th Sikhs’ Depot had been at Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh, India) from
around 1918 onwards and once back in India, the Regiment also proceeded there.
However, it wasn’t there for long, as it moved to Nowshera (Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) around February 1920. Nowshera is 27 miles east of
Peshawar. There is one final confidential report for the Regiment in the old
format by Brigadier-General J. W. O’Dowda, Commanding Nowshera Brigade, dated 9
March 1920:
This battalion has only recently arrived in Nowshera,
and I have not seen much of its field work owing to absence from the Station.
Instruction and Training appears to be
well organised. Drill and manoeuvres satisfactory. The battalion has done no
regular Musketry since leaving Mesopotamia and is engaged in preliminary
instruction to be followed by selected practices. Fire direction and control
require attention. Bayonet instruction good. The battalion has also commenced
regular instruction in Mountain Warfare.
When Indar was awarded the IDSM, he started appearing in
supplements to the Indian Army List
recording Indian soldiers who had been awarded decorations. These supplements
are very useful in tracing gallantry winners as you can work out when a soldier
left the Indian Army when they stop appearing. Indar appeared in the January
1922 Indian Army List but not in the
January 1924 edition. This meant that Indar served for just over 20 years in
the 36th Sikhs before he left the army.
On the 9 February 1921, the 36th Sikhs left
Nowshera for Waziristan. By the 15 February, the Regiment had reached Saidgi (Sidgi), an isolated
posting in North Waziristan close to the Afghan border. Saidgi is 11 miles
northwest of Dande Darpa Khel. As Indar was probably around 40, he may have
left at the Regiment’s Depot at Jhelum. The Regiment was part of 8th
Indian Infantry Brigade and I have included a very short war diary for February
– March 1921. The Regiment qualified for the India General Service Medal
1908-35, with Waziristan 1921-24 clasp for its service on the frontier. The
Regiment remained at Saidgi until early 1923, as it was reported the 36th
Sikhs arrived at Ahmednagar (Maharashtra, India) on 23 April 1923. Indar would have left the Regiment
at some point during this period.
Every medal issued to a Sikh or anybody else has a story
behind it. The story of Lance-Naik Indar Singh of the 36th Sikhs available here
is after pain staking research, time spent, money and being relentless in the
search for the truth. Hopefully this example would be an inspiration to write
many more stories about the other Sikh medal recipients.
This book is the first attempt by anybody to try to compile
medals or medallions issued to Sikh soldiers between 1840’s to 1947. There are
many more military and non-military medals out there issued to Sikhs during
that period which are not recorded in this book. The recipient of all these
medal are well documented or course, but the medals in themselves are very hard
to obtain. Most families of these recipients have ignored these medals and
either have sold them or melted for its silver value and made into jewelry.
The contribution of the Sikhs can only be documented if somebody is willing to spend the time and
money to do it. The Sikh coins issued in the early 18th Century left
a great legacy, up to 1849. I would say this continued even after that , and
was made very visible from the medals issued to these brave Sikh soldiers since
then.
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