Gian Singh

Wounded in the arm, he rushed foxholes and an anti-tank gun.

Gian Singh came from a Sikh family in the Punjab and joined the Indian Army before the Second World War. He served in the 4th Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, during the Burma campaign. By March 1945 he was a naik, commanding an infantry section in the advance toward Myingyan after the Irrawaddy crossing.

On 2 March 1945, two companies moved behind a strong Japanese position astride the Kamye-Myingyan road. Water supplies and the road were still controlled by the enemy, so the position had to be cleared. Singh’s section led a platoon attacking defended ground near a village, where concealed foxholes and cactus hedges slowed the advance.

Ordering his light machine gunner to cover him, Singh went forward alone with his submachine gun and grenades. He was wounded in the arm but continued from one position to the next. When an anti-tank gun threatened the supporting tanks, he rushed its crew and captured the weapon. He then led his section through the remaining defended lane. Despite orders to report for treatment, he obtained permission to remain until the operation was complete. His actions earned the Victoria Cross, presented by King George VI in October 1945.

Singh continued his military career. After Partition he transferred to the Indian Army’s Sikh Regiment, later serving during the confrontation with China in 1962 and the conflict with Pakistan in 1965. He rose to subedar-major and retired in 1969 with the honorary rank of captain.

In retirement he returned to family farming and maintained connections with his former regiment and other Victoria Cross recipients. He and his wife Hardail Kaur raised three sons and two daughters. He died at Jalandhar on 6 October 1996. His surviving medals remained with his family before a group was loaned for museum display in Glasgow.