Khudadad Khan
Khudadad Khan | |
---|---|
First World War | |
Awards | Victoria Cross |
Khudadad Khan, , he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
He was the first British Indian subject to earn the Victoria Cross, after members of the British Indian Army became eligible for the Victoria Cross in 1911, replacing the Indian Order of Merit first class.[3]
Life
Born on 20 October 1888 in the village of
In October 1914, when the Germans launched the
Official citation
His Majesty the KING-EMPERORhas been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned soldier of the Indian Army for conspicuous bravery whilst serving with the Indian Army Corps, British Expeditionary Force: —4050, Sepoy Khudadad, 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis.
On 31st October, 1914, at Hollebeke, Belgium, the British Officer in charge of the detachment having been wounded, and the other gun put out of action by a shell, Sepoy Khudadad, though himself wounded, remained working his gun until all the other five men of the gun detachment had been killed.
— London Gazette, 7 December 1914.[6]
He was supposed to be awarded the medal on the same day, 5 December 1914, as Darwan Singh Negi VC but Khan was too sick. Khan was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V during a visit to troops in France on 26 January 1915.[7] As such Khan is regarded as the first Indian recipient, as Negi's VC action was on a later date.[7]
Later life and legacy
Khan was subsequently sent for treatment at the
A statue of Khudadad Khan is at the entrance of the Pakistan Army Museum in Rawalpindi.[11]
In 2016 a play by Ishy Din, Wipers, about Khudadad Khan's feat was put on in a number of English theatres.[12]
Footnotes
- ^ There is some controversy as to whether the medal on display is genuine. According to contemporary newspaper reports Khudadad Khan's original VC was stolen from him in Rawalpindi in 1950, and a police report was lodged at that time but the medal was never recovered. In 2011, there were reports in Pakistan that the original VC was 'for confidential sale' with a jeweller in Haripur area.[9][10]
References
- Citations
- ^ "Khudadad Khan and Ghulam Haider of the 129th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Baluchis". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ Makepeace, Margaret (31 October 2014). "Award of Victoria Cross to Khudadad Khan". Untold lives blog. British Library. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ISBN 0-902633-74-0
- ^ Thatcher (1932), pp. 13–17.
- ^ Ahmed (1998), pp. 173–178.
- ^ "No. 28999". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 December 1914. p. 10425.
- ^ a b Oldfield 2014, p. 235.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Victoria Cross 1914 for sale". OLX. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "National Treasure for Sale". omrite.blogspot. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Subedar Khuda Dad Khan". Pakistan Army Museum Collections. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Ell, Jenny (12 May 2016). "BWW Review: Wipers, Belgrade Theatre Coventry,". Broadway World. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-906324-27-1.
- Ahmed, Maj.-Gen. Rafiuddin (1998). History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. ISBN 1-84734-130-6.
- Gliddon, Gerald (1994). ISBN 978-1-84015-006-3.
- Monuments to Courage. Kevin & Kay Patience.
- Oldfield, Paul (2014). Victoria Crosses on the Western Front August 1914 - April 1915. ISBN 9781783030439. - Total pages: 362
- Qureshi, Lt.-Col. I. A. (1966). History of 11th Battalion, the Baluch Regiment. Lahore: The Allied Press.
- Thatcher, W. S. (1932). The Fourth Battalion, Duke of Connaught's Own, Tenth Baluch Regiment in the Great War. Cambridge: The University Press. ISBN 1-84734-752-5.
External links
- "Sepoy Khuda Dad Khan". The Victoria Cross (in India) (1912–1947). Rock Hill, South Carolina: Winthrop University. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2017.