Name of the Book: Sikhs in World War I Name of Author: Sardar Bhupinder Singh Holland ISBN: 978-93-5104-098-9 Publisher: A Wisdom Collection - An Imprint of GS Distribution Inc. Ludhiana,Punjab. Address: G.S. Estate, PO # 714, GT Road, Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana - 141003, Punjab. India. Email: [email protected] Name : Sardar Ranjodh Singh Date and Year of Publication: 13 April 2013 (Birth of Khalsa ) Price: Euro € 22,00, USD $27,50, IND ? 1195,00 Pages: 1656 + 78 Colored pages with Photos, Title Cover:Hard with Gold LeafText. |
Sikh's historic Treasure to be unveiled on Baisakhi Day-2013 |
A Wisdom Collection- An imprint by GS Distribution Inc. Ludhiana, Punjab presents with pride and honor the First ever rare and complete book on history of the 'Sikhs in World War I.' written by S.Bhupinder Singh Holland. |
Some other Historical facts in the book are highlighted:
- A book that gives voice to history's unsung Sikh heroes of World War I.
- An encyclopedia and monumental work with rare pictures.
- Sikhs have fought and died in France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy - Malta, Romania and some graves of the Sikhs (Pilots and wounded) are also in the United Kingdom. Sikhs fought also in Kenya and Tanzania, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria. Hong Kong, India (names are on India Gate) and Turkey. Complete list with Names, Father's Name, Service Number, Village, Regiment Name, Date of Death, Cemetery, Location, Photos, History and Country etc. is fully given in the book.
Many letters of the Sikh soldiers are in the book:
- The Menon Gate in Ieper has the name of 15 casualties from the 47 Sikh Regiment while alone on 27 April 1915 (during the 2nd Battle of Ieper) out of 444 men 348 did not come back. They are nowhere else commemorated.
- Between 24th April and 1st May 1915, the Lahore Division had lost 3,889 men, or 30 % of the troops it had employed."
- After the bloody battle of Neuve Chappelle, France (10 till 13 March 1915) the Sikh Regiments had lost eighty percent of their men and three regiments stood at only sixteen percent of its original composition.
- During World War I on the western Front that is Belgium and France, only in 14 months, the Indian Corps had lost 34,252 men (dead, wounded, ill, or prisoner of war mostly the Sikhs.)"
- There are 15,519 Burial place ( Smaads ) of the British Indian soldiers and 64,963 are commemorated by Memorial thus total of 80,482 have died in 1st World War (1914-18)
- A Sikh soldier wrote to his uncle in Jalandhar (Punjab), "Thousands and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have lost their lives. If you go on the fields of battle you will see corpses piled upon corpses so that there is no place to place or put hand or foot. Men have died from the stench. No one has any hope of survival, for back to Punjab will go only those who have lost a leg or an arm or an eye. The whole world has been brought to destruction."
- Sikh recipients of Victoria Cross, Indian Order of Merit IOM and Indian Distinguished Services Medals IDSM of both World Wars are in the book.