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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Sepoy Khudad Khan VC


Bob Bedward

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BORN 26-10-1888 Dabb Village Chakawl, Jhelum District, Punjab, India. Died 8-3-1971 age 82 at Chak No 25 Rukhan Tehsil Village , Phalia District, Mandi, Bahu-ud-Din Pakistan. Buried Rukhan Village Cemetery

31-10-1914 (Sepoy --Private) When all other men of his machine gun section had been killed or wounded, he continued working his gun, although badly wounded.Before he crawled back to his company to seek medical aid, he rendered his gun useless to the enemy. Gazette 7th Dec 1914. Commemoration: Statue of him in gardens of the Army Museum, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Silver Statuette at Quetta Staff College to his memory.

KHUDADAD KHAN VC SUBADAR (2ND LT) 129TH DUKE OF CONNAUGHTS OWN BALUCHIS,INDIAN ARMY

Cheers Ralph.

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  • 1 year later...

It's good to see that the anniversary of the action for which Sepoy Khudadad Khan received his VC is mentioned on the MoD's Defence News 'On this day...' feature http://www.operations.mod.uk/onthisday/onthsday.htm

On this day...

31 October

1914
: Sepoy Khudadad Khan was serving in the machine-gun section of the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis at Hollebeke, when German fire killed all the other men in his detachment. Himself wounded, he nevertheless continued to man a machine-gun until the position was overrun. The German troops left him for dead, but he recovered sufficiently to crawl back to British lines and rejoin his unit. He was the first native-born Indian to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).

and that he also has a page on Wikipedia now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khudadad_Khan

NigelS

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  • 4 years later...

Just resurrecting an old thread in case the following is of interest.....

From a letter (dated 22/12/1914) written by an Australian Nurse (Lindsay Gray) who was serving in the Brighton Royal Pavilion Hospital at the time:

King George asked that the Royal Pavilion and Dome should be turned into a hospital for the Indian troops. So the Corporation of Brighton has also turned over the county schools. The pavilion was built by George IV, as a palace, but of late years used as a concert hall. It is a beautiful place, great space filled now with beds and nice grounds. Here, as a patient, and a very sick one too, they have the first Indian to receive a V.C. He bayoneted a German officer, then 10 men. After that he feigned death, was hit by a German with the butt of his rifle, but never turned a hair, and later on he and a German officer dressed each other’s wounds. He tells the tale quite simply. Nothing to make a fuss about he thinks.

Cheers, Frev

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