Gobind Singh VC (7 December 18879 December 1942) was a soldier in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, and recipient during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. Gobind Singh was a Rathore

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

and hailed from a small village named Damoi in the

Nagaur district Nagaur District is one of the 41 districts of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Panchayati Raj was introduced here. It is the fifth largest district in Rajasthan and the area of the district is . The city of Nagaur is the district head ...

) of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India. He was part of a squadron of Jodhpur Lancers (Sardar Risala) which was transferred to 3rd Madras Cavalry in Oct 1902, later renumbered as 28th Light Cavalry in 1903. He was 29 years old when he became a Lance-Daffadar in the 28th Light Cavalry, the present

7th Light Cavalry The 7th Light Cavalry, previously the 28th Light Cavalry, was a regular army cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1784 under the East India Company. The regiment later saw service on the North West Frontier and in World ...

. He was later attached to

2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) The 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) is one of the oldest and most highly decorated armoured regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of two of the oldest regiments of the Bengal Army – the 2nd Royal Lancers (Gar ...

during the

. His grandson, Rajendra Singh Rathore has also served as a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

The Battle of Cambrai was an all-important battle not only because it was an effort by the allied forces to break the Hindenburg Line of the Germans, but also because it was there that

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s were used successfully for the first time in the history of warfare. On the night of 30 November and 1 December 1917 east of Poizière,

Épehy Épehy (Picard: ''Épy'' ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Valentine Fleming died there in 1917. Geography Épehy is situated in the northeast of the department, on the D24 and D58 roads some north- ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Lance-Dafadar Gobind Singh was in the midst of the Battle of Cambrai, when his regiment was cut off and surrounded by the enemy. An urgent message had to be sent to the brigade headquarters giving the position of the regiment. The route was a 2-mile stretch over open ground, under constant observation and enemy fire. Singh volunteered and not only delivered the message but also undertook a return message and a subsequent one. He survived enemy machine gun fire directed at him on all three occasions although his horses were killed every time. He was one of six men from India to receive the Victoria Cross during World War 1.

The Citation

Details

On 1 December 1917 when the 2nd Lancers was surrounded by the enemy brigade, the situation became very tense because the headquarters was about two miles from this place (

-France). At this time volunteers were called for to carry a message giving the position of the regiment to the headquarters on the outskirts of Pozieres. Lance Dafadar Gobind Singh and Sowar Jot Ram were selected and given duplicate messages and two different routes. Both of them started immediately on a gallop. Jot Ram was killed as he tried to make his way through the valley. L/Dfr. Gobind Singh was given the open, more difficult route which was under constant enemy fire. He had travelled about half a mile of the lower ground when his horse was killed by machine gun fire. For some time Singh lay still close to his horse, then judging he was no longer watched, he got up and began to run on foot. Immediately there was a burst of machine gun fire upon him. He trembled over as if shot and waited before getting up again and running. By repeating this process varied by wriggling along the ground, he reached the brigade headquarters. A return message now had to be sent and he volunteered to take this too. He was given another horse and started back taking the high ground south of the valley until he reached the German post. Then dipping down and across the sunken road he had covered two-thirds the distance when his horse was shot and he had to make the rest of his way on foot amid raining machine gun fire. An hour later another message had to be sent from the regiment. Although exhausted and wounded, Singh came forward again. He was told that he has already done his share but he insisted that it was a privilege and that he knew the ground better than anybody else. On the strength of this the Adjutant allowed him to go. This time he started from the lower end of the road, turned right and passed 'Catelet Copse' and went straight through the barrage in 'Épehy'. By this time the Germans had started heavy shelling and soon his comrades saw a shell land right behind his horse, cutting it in half. Singh disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was presumed dead, but the shell had only killed the horse and thrown him off it. Covered in blood and dust he soon got up and ran on and eventually got into dead ground in rentrant which

debouch In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The ter ...

ed into the valley. Thence he made his way out of the sight of the enemy to Poizière. Thoroughly exhausted and badly wounded he arrived there at 11.55 AM. He volunteered to make the journey a fourth time, but was not allowed to do so because that would have been certain death. For his conspicuous bravery and unwavering devotion to duty in saving his regiment and fellow men, Lance-Dafadar Gobind Singh was awarded the

The Medal

The medal is currently displayed by his regiment 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse),

References

External links

Gobind Singh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gobind Indian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army soldiers 1887 births 1942 deaths People from Nagaur district Indian State Forces officers