List of Waziristan Campaign Victoria Cross recipients

Last updated May 18, 2023

The following is a list of Victoria Cross recipients during the Waziristan Campaign in northwest British India (now Pakistan) during the 1920s.

Captain Ishar Singh

Ishar Singh (13 December 1895 – 2 December 1963).

Ishar Singh was 25 years old, and a Sepoy in the 28th Punjab Regiment, Indian Army during the Waziristan Campaign, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on 10 April 1921, near Haidari Kach (Waziristan). When the convoy protection troops were attacked, this Sepoy was No. 1 of a Lewis Gun Section. Early in the action he received a very severe gunshot wound in the chest, and fell beside his Lewis gun. Hand-to-hand fighting having commenced, the British officer, Indian officer, and all the Havildars of his company were either killed or wounded, and his Lewis gun was seized by the enemy.
Calling up two other men, he got up, charged the enemy, recovered the Lewis gun, and, although bleeding profusely, again got the gun into action.
When his Jemadar arrived he took the gun from Sepoy Ishar Singh and ordered him to go back and have his wound dressed. Instead of doing this the Sepoy went to the medical officer, and was of great assistance in pointing out where the wounded were, and in carrying water to them. He made innumerable journeys to the river and back for this purpose. On one occasion, when the enemy fire was very heavy, he took the rifle of a wounded man and helped to keep down the fire. On another occasion he stood in front of the medical officer who was dressing, a wounded man, thus shielding him with his body. It was over three hours before he finally submitted to be evacuated, being then too weak from loss of blood to object.
His gallantry and devotion to duty were beyond praise. His conduct inspired all who saw him.

He later achieved the rank of Captain.^[1]

Lieutenant William David Kenny

William David Kenny.

Temporary Captain Henry John Andrews

Henry John Andrews (1871-22 October 1919).

Andrews served as a T/Captain in the Indian Medical Services. He was awarded his VC posthumously for service on 22 October 1919. He is buried at the Bannu Cemetery, Peshawar, Pakistan.

Related Research Articles

Colonel Robert Hope Moncrieff Aitken was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Henry John Andrews was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Barnsley Allen</span> British medical officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross (1892-1933)

William Barnsley Allen was a British Army medical officer who was decorated for gallantry four times during the First World War, including an award of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellenden Hutcheson</span>

Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson was an American-born Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) during the First World War. The VC is the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Hutcheson was one of the seven Canadians to be awarded the Victoria Cross for their deeds on one single day, 2 September 1918, for actions across the 30 km long Drocourt-Quéant Line near Arras, France. The other six were Arthur George Knight, William Henry Metcalf, Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney, Cyrus Wesley Peck, Walter Leigh Rayfield and John Francis Young.

Ali Haidar VC was a Pakistani recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. During the Second World War, at Fusignano, Italy, 31-year-old Ali Haidar, serving in the British Indian Army, performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhandari Ram</span>

Bhandari Ram VC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Frederick Whitchurch</span> Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Harry Frederick Whitchurch was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Fazal Din VC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Ervine-Andrews</span>

Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews, VC was a British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and the Commonwealth forces, for his actions during the Second World War.

Chatta Singh VC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

William David Kenny VC was a British Indian Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Sardar Bahadur Ishar Singh VC, OBI was a soldier in the British Indian Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born at Nainwa, he was the first Sikh to receive the Victoria Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gian Singh (soldier)</span>

Gian Singh was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karanbahadur Rana</span> Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Karanbahadur Rana Magar VC was a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth forces.

Jemadar Nand Singh, VC, MVC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces and he was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second-highest Indian decoration for battlefield gallantry. This makes Nand Singh unique in the annals of VC winners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkash Singh</span>

Major Parkash Singh VC was a Sikh Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

The British Indian Army was involved in World War I as part of the British Empire. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.

The 39th Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army.

The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)</span>

The Waziristan campaign 1919–1920 was a military campaign conducted in Waziristan by British and Indian forces against the fiercely independent tribesmen that inhabited this region. These operations were conducted in 1919–1920, following the unrest that arose in the aftermath of the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

References

↑ The Indian Express 10 January 1998.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] The Indian Express 10 January 1998.

[1]