Lives of the First World War

Seated in uniform engaged in operations in the North West Frontier, alongside two other officers of the Sikh Pioneers.

War service history shows that prior to WW1, Sub. Maj. Bawa Singh saw action in NWF of India, Waziristan (1901-02), Tibet expedition (1903-04) and the NWF (Zakha Khel) again in 1908. During the Great War, he was attached the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). This entailed action in Perim Island, Aden in 1914 against the Ottoman empire. Thereafter, as part of General Allenby's advance, he saw action in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine, again, against the Ottoman Turks. Mentioned in despatches. Thereafter, he was attached to the Army of the Black Sea which took his unit to Georgia and Armenia via Constantinople, fighting against the Bolsheviks. In the interwar period he saw action in Waziristan (1921-24). Mentioned in despatches.

Subedar Bawa Singh mentioned in despatches as part of General Allenby's advance into Sinai and Palestine in 1918-1919. Designation at the time: 1st battalion, 23rd Sikh Pioneers.

Subedar Major Bawa Singh mentioned in despatches for distinguished service for military operations in Waziristan in 1924. Designation at the time: 1st battalion, 3rd Sikh Pioneers.

Following the declaration of armistice in November 1918, the 1/23rd Sikh Pioneers are preparing for embarkation back to India. The entry on the 6th January 1919 describes the formation of an advance party under Bawa Singh which left for Suez (a later entry confirms that the destination was India).

Having left for India on 6th January 1919, Subedar Bawa Singh was recalled to join his unit, who at this point were in Turkey an integral part of the Army of the Black Sea during the occupation of Constantinople. The entry on the 12th June, 1919 confirms that Subedar Bawa Singh had left Haifa for India on 6th January 1919 and had now returned and reunited with his battalion.

This is the pagri (turban) badge and the shoulder badge for the 23rd Punjab Pioneers, which later became to be known as the 23rd Sikh Pioneers.

Subedar Major Bawa Singh with the distinctive insignia of the Sikh Pioneers Regiment, the crossed axes on the collars.

This is a Memorial stone in the village of Panjaur, which provided 128 men during WWI. 8 men gave their lives. Panjaur, also known as Panjaura, is in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.

This recruitment register or military census was conducted across villages in Punjab c.1918/1919 to determine how many men and from which community's and villages contributed to the war effort. In the absence of surnames or family names, identity was a function of the individual's name, father's name, caste and village. Thereby, the recruitment register was organised by individual villages and districts within Punjab. It follows that for the village of Panjaur in the Hoshiarpur district, each entry included the soldier's name, father's name, caste, regiment and rank.

Bawa Singh was listed in an appendix of Subedar Major's in a book by Captain H.N. Pirouette (1st Bn., 3rd Sikh Pioneers) entitled 'A Short History of the 23rd Sikh Pioneers'. Bawa Singh was the penultimate Subedar Major of the 1st battalion, 3rd Sikh Pioneers (formerly, 1/23rd Sikh Pioneers) Regt.

This is a comparison of the photo of Subedar Major Bawa Singh from The National Archives (left) and the painting within the family (right).

The Sikh community in Huddersfield have produced a informative booklet for the proposal for a Sikh soldier statue in Huddersfield to commemorate the contribution of Sikhs in the world wars. Bawa Singh was depicted on one of the pages of this booklet to project an example of a Sikh soldier.

As per the Indian Army List January 1927, Subedar Major Bawa Singh was qualified in pioneering works (q), qualified in operating the Vickers Machine Gun (55) and also held a Musketry Certificate (Indian Ranks) (56). Such qualifications could assist in promotion through the ranks.

From 1857 to 1933, the 1/23rd Sikh Pioneers (1/3rd Sikh Pioneers) were awarded many battle & theatre honours for service across Europe, China, Africa, Afghanistan, Middle East and the North West Frontier.

This painting of my great-grandfather, Subedar Maj. Bawa Singh, has been within the family possession for almost a century. He was born into the family of Saran Singh, a practitioner of herbal medicine, in a village called Panjaura (Panjaur) in the Hoshiarpur district of East Punjab (India). He was married to Partap Kaur. He enlisted in to the 23rd Sikh Pioneers Regiment on 13th February, 1901. Therefore, due to the age of recruitment, I estimate his year of birth to be 1881-83.