I attended the Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph in Walsall Town Centre on Sunday 8 November 2026 to remember those who have fought in all the Wars.
We are asked to remember all those from the Indian subcontinent. Victoria Cross, George Cross, and Military Cross: these are the honours of men who fought for our freedom, a freedom they did not have. They were among nearly four million men from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in the World Wars. Yet too often, we have forgotten their names, their bravery and their ultimate sacrifice.
Kamal Ram, Victoria Cross (Italy, 1944): At just nineteen, he silenced enemy machine-gun posts and secured a vital bridgehead.
Yeshwant Ghadge, Victoria Cross (Italy, 1944): At 22, the last man standing, he charged and captured an enemy machine-gun post alone, giving his life.
Premindra Singh Bhagat, Victoria Cross (East Africa, 1941): For 96 hours without sleep, he cleared fifteen minefields across fifty miles.
Subramanian, George Cross (Italy, 1944): He threw himself on a live mine to save his comrades, the first Indian ever to receive the award.
Dalpat Singh, Military Cross (Haifa, 1918): In one of history’s last great cavalry charges, he charged an entrenched gun with only his trumpeter beside him, and fell in the battle still honoured every year on Haifa Day.
M. K. Unni Nayar (Florence, 1944): At Montegufoni Castle he found 272 of the world’s most precious artworks hidden from the war: the treasures of the Uffizi, among them Botticelli’s Primavera. He placed them under Indian guard. The masterpieces of the Renaissance and of Christian sacred art, the heritage of Western civilisation, were protected by a Hindu captain from Kerala.
Khudadad Khan VC, the first Indian soldier to win the Victoria Cross, defending Belgium in 1914.
Darwan Singh Negi VC, at Festubert in 1914.
Gian Singh VC, in Burma in 1945.
Ali Haidar VC, in Italy in 1945.
Noor Inayat Khan GC, tortured and executed at Dachau, who never betrayed her comrades.
Thousands of gallantry awards were won by the Indian Army, which in the Second World War became the largest volunteer army in human history. Their story is British history, and the heritage of many families across Britain today.
Mission Marigold Team are working to help us remember their sacrifice. https://www.missionmarigold.org/#educational