Ram Sarup Singh

Charging despite his wounds, he defeated the counterattacks.

Ram Sarup Singh was born in Kheri-Talwana village in the Mahendergarh district of Patiala State in 1919. His father was Jorawar Singh. He enlisted in the Indian Army on 12 April 1937 and served with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment. His early service included operations on the North-West Frontier before the Second World War took the battalion to the fighting in Burma.

During the Burma campaign he served in the Arakan and, in 1944, in the operations around Imphal. He became a jemadar in March 1944. By October he was serving as an acting subadar as the battalion advanced along the Tiddim Road.

On 25 October 1944, near Kennedy Peak, two platoons were ordered to make a diversionary attack against a strongly fortified Japanese hill position. Ram Sarup Singh immediately led his platoon and another section forward. Their sudden charge drove the defenders from bunkers overlooking the approaches. Although wounded in the legs, he remained in command while his men consolidated the captured ground.

The Japanese then attacked the flank in successive waves, supported by grenade dischargers. He brought another light machine gun into action and led a charge that checked the advance. Wounded again in the thigh, he rose and renewed the attack, encouraging his men and engaging opponents at close quarters. Machine-gun bullets struck his chest and neck, killing him. When volunteers were requested to recover his body under fire, the entire company stepped forward.

His Victoria Cross was announced in February 1945. Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, presented it to his widow, Nath Kanwar, at the Red Fort in Delhi on 1 April 1945. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial. His Victoria Cross group later entered the Lord Ashcroft Collection.

Victoria Cross citation: In Burma on the 25th October, 1944, two platoons of the Ist Punjab Regiment were ordered to put in a diversionary attack on the flank of an enemy position. This feature was of exceptional natural strength and was defended by a large force of fresh Japanese troops who had turned the hill into a fortress. Every approach was covered by medium and light machine guns sited in bunkers. The platoon of Subadar Ram Sarup Singh at once charged the position with another section. This instantaneous action completely bewildered the enemy, who fled from the bunkered positions suffering casualties in their retreat. The Subadar was wounded in the legs but took no notice of his wounds. While he was consolidating his position, the enemy opened heavy fire with grenade dischargers, and at the same time put in a strong counter-attack in three waves of twenty each from a flank. It seemed that the platoon must be overwhelmed but Subadar Ram Sarup Singh got another light machine gun into position and led a charge against the advancing enemy, bayonetting four himself, and checking them. Although badly wounded in the thigh, he got up and, ignoring his wound, again went for the enemy shouting encouragement to his men. He bayonetted another Japanese and shot a further one, but was mortally wounded by a burst of medium machine gun fire in the chest and neck. It would be difficult to find a finer example of cool bravery, cheerfulness, leadership and determination. His action had a profound effect on the rest of the Company, and when volunteers were called for to bring in his body, under the heaviest fire, the entire Company volunteered. Subadar Ram Sarup Singh’s gallantry will inspire the Regiment for all time.

Supplement to The London Gazette of 6 February 1945. 8 February 1945, Numb. 36928, pp. 791-92