Umrao Singh
Regiment of Artillery
- North Africa Campaign
- Burma Campaign
Padma Bhushan
Umrao Singh Yadav (21 November 1920 – 21 November 2005) was an Indian recipient of the
Early life
Umrao Singh Yadav, son of Mohar Singh, was born into a
He attended a local school and joined the Indian Army during World War II in November 1939. He was promoted to Havildar (Sergeant) in the Royal Indian Artillery, Indian Army in 1942.
Award
On the night of 15 to 16 December 1944 in the
A second wave of attackers killed all but Singh and two other gunners, but was also beaten off. The three soldiers had only a few bullets remaining, and these were rapidly exhausted in the initial stages of the assault by a third wave of attackers. Undaunted, Singh picked up a "gun bearer" (a heavy iron rod, similar to a crow bar) and used that as a weapon in hand-to-hand fighting. He was seen to strike down three infantrymen, fatally wounded, before succumbing to a rain of blows.
Six hours later, after a counter-attack, he was found alive but unconscious near to his artillery piece, almost unrecognisable from a head injury, still clutching his gun bearer. Ten Japanese soldiers lay dead nearby and seven critically wounded. His field gun was back in action later that day.[3]
Later life
Singh was presented with his VC by
He was promoted after recovering from his wounds. He retired from the British Indian army in 1946, but rejoined the army in 1947 following independence. On 1 February 1950, Singh was promoted to the
At the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of
He attended the service of dedication of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Memorial in Westminster Abbey on 14 May 2003. In his book 'Toward Resurgent India', Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M. M. Lakhera, PVSM, AVSM, VSM writes:
I had gone to UK in 1995 as Deputy Leader of the Indian Delegation to take part in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the victory in Europe during the Second World War. I, along with four other Army officers, had just stepped out after attending the inaugural session and were waiting on the roadside for the traffic to ease so as to walk across the road to the vehicle park. Among those with me was Honorary Captain Umrao Singh, a Victoria Cross winner. All of a sudden, a car moving on the road came to a halt in front of us and a well-dressed gentleman stepped out. He approached Umrao Singh and said, "Sir, may I have the privilege of shaking hands with the Victoria Cross (winner)?" He shook hands with him. Evidently he had spotted Umrao Singh's medal from his car and had stopped his car to pay his respect to a winner of the highest gallantry medal of his country. Then he looked at me and said, "General, you are from the Indian Army." When I replied in the affirmative, he gave out his name, saying that he was Michael Heseltine. I was absolutely astounded, as the recognition dawned on me that he was the Deputy Prime Minister of [the] UK. I was totally overawed by such courtesy shown by a dignitary of the second highest status in the British Government, and humbly thanked him for having invited our delegation for the VE-Day function. Again, his reply was typical of his sagacity, "General, it is we, the British, who should be grateful to your country and your Armed Forces, who had helped us win both the First and the Second world wars. How can we be ever so ungrateful to forget your country's great contribution?" Suddenly I became conscious that all the traffic behind his car had come to stand still. I hurried to thank him and politely requested him to move along to relieve the traffic hold-up. He stated, "Sir, how dare I drive off when [the] Victoria Cross has to cross the road." Realizing his genuine feeling I and my colleagues quickly crossed the road. Reaching the other side I looked back and saw that Mr. Hailstine was still standing waiting for the Victoria Cross to be safely across.
After being diagnosed with
In spite of personal hardship and receiving substantial offers, Singh refused to sell his medal during his lifetime, saying that selling the medal would "stain the honour of those who fell in battle".
His name was the last one to be added to the memorial of Victoria Cross winners of the Royal Artillery in the
Awards
Padma Bhushan | General Service Medal 1947 | Samanya Seva Medal | Samar Seva Star |
Raksha Medal | Indian Independence Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |
Victoria Cross | 1939–45 Star
|
Burma Star | War Medal 1939-1945
|
India Service Medal | Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal | Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
References
- ^ Indian information, Volume 16. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 1945. p. 783..
- ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India (1970): Volume 91, Issue 3, Page-4, "Umrao Singh (Rohtak Ahir) won the Victoria Cross during the second world war"
- ^ "No. 37101". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 May 1945. p. 2741.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 25 March 1950. p. 423.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 August 1968. p. 732.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4". The Gazette of India - Extraordinary. 15 August 1970. p. 98.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- VC winner bid farewell with full military honours, Outlookindia.com, 21 November 2005
- Last Indian Victoria Cross winner dies, The Hindu, 22 November 2005
- Obituary, The Times, page 60, 22 November 2005.
- Obituary[dead link], The Telegraph, 22 November 2005.
- Obituary, The Independent, 24 November 2005.
External links
- Umrao Singh Archived 13 June 2002 at the Wayback Machine
- VC citation