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Subedar Major Man Singh, Bahadur, OBI, MC, 29th Punjabis
Subedar Major and Honorary Captain Man Singh came from a distinguished line of soldiers and the family’s record of military service amply illustrates how effective the honours system was in ranking and rewarding the disparate elements of the Indian Army and reconciling their position within the colonial hierarchy.
A Cheema Jat Sikh from Gujranwala District, his ancestors held responsible mansabs under the Lahore Durbar during the Sikh Rule. His great grandfather, Sardar Hukam Singh, was killed at Mudki while Hukam Singh’s younger brother, Sardar Jagat Singh, fell fighting the British at the Battle of Chillianwalla. After the Punjab was annexed, the family took service in the British Indian Army, and had 23 serving and retired members during the period 1860-1920, including seven VCO’s.
He himself enlisted in the 29th Punjabis in 1890 and was commissioned in 1906. In the photograph, taken c. 1938, when he was a honorary magistrate and Vice President of the Gujranwala District Soldiers Board, he wears an impressive sting of decorations, starting with the IGS 1854 with clasp Samana 1891, and ending with George V’s silver jubilee medal of 1935. For distinguished war services, he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross and OBI, made an Honorary Captain and granted a jagir. Man Singh’s son was to serve in 1-11 Sikhs in Burma in World War Two, while his grandson retired as an Air Officer from the Indian Air Force.
(This photograph may not be reproduced in any format electronically or in print without the prior consent of the Owner or Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India.)
Subedar Major Man Singh, Bahadur, OBI, MC, 29th Punjabis
Subedar Major and Honorary Captain Man Singh came from a distinguished line of soldiers and the family’s record of military service amply illustrates how effective the honours system was in ranking and rewarding the disparate elements of the Indian Army and reconciling their position within the colonial hierarchy.
A Cheema Jat Sikh from Gujranwala District, his ancestors held responsible mansabs under the Lahore Durbar during the Sikh Rule. His great grandfather, Sardar Hukam Singh, was killed at Mudki while Hukam Singh’s younger brother, Sardar Jagat Singh, fell fighting the British at the Battle of Chillianwalla. After the Punjab was annexed, the family took service in the British Indian Army, and had 23 serving and retired members during the period 1860-1920, including seven VCO’s.
He himself enlisted in the 29th Punjabis in 1890 and was commissioned in 1906. In the photograph, taken c. 1938, when he was a honorary magistrate and Vice President of the Gujranwala District Soldiers Board, he wears an impressive sting of decorations, starting with the IGS 1854 with clasp Samana 1891, and ending with George V’s silver jubilee medal of 1935. For distinguished war services, he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross and OBI, made an Honorary Captain and granted a jagir. Man Singh’s son was to serve in 1-11 Sikhs in Burma in World War Two, while his grandson retired as an Air Officer from the Indian Air Force.
(This photograph may not be reproduced in any format electronically or in print without the prior consent of the Owner or Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India.)