Category: WW1

The Medal Mystery Solved: Indar Singh and the Oder of St. Stanislaus (WW1)

I had a conundrum with one of my ancestors’ medal.  At first glance it is an inconsequential, flimsy medal; a red enameled cross with a ceramic white center with the letters SS surrounded by a gold wreath of sorts.  It doesn’t resemble any known British campaign medal of the time.  Plus, I hypothesized, given its lackluster and diaphanous quality, it to be an insignificant regimental honor given for a sporting competition or some leisure activity.  So you can imagine my astonishment and disbelief when my friend Tejpal shared it to be the Russian Imperial medal ‘The Order of St. Stanislas’ (Orden sv. Stanislava, Орденъ Св. Станислава).  A medal of great historical significance and quite a collector’s item!  

Wait.  What? A dynastic Russian award from the times of the Tsar/Czar!  What? How did my ancestor, an Indian soldier of the British-Indian army, ever get such a decoration?  In what way would he have had contact with any Russian?  As the name of the ancestor is not inscribed on the medal, could it be from Babaji Sawan Singh’s 2nd Afghan war times which was fought to drive Russians out of Afghanistan?  Or was it from Babaji Indar Singh’s generation when Russian empire was part of the ‘triple alliance’ on the Western Front?  It so turns out that during the First World War about 350 ‘Orders of St Stanislas’ were awarded to British and Indian troops!  Iain Smith, my connection from the UK based ‘Sikh Pioneers and Sikh Light Infantry Association’, stated that “at the end of the war, the Allied states made a point of making reciprocal awards of medals to their fellow Allies. You often find lists of medal awards in the London Gazette with British and Indian soldiers receiving French, Belgian, Serbian, Romanian or Russian medals. You are very lucky still to have the medal”.

Hold on.  When was the Russian Revolution?  Wasn’t the Russian imperial family deposed in 1917 (while the Great war ended in 1918)?  So, was this awarded under Czar Nicholas II’s reign or by the Russian provincial government that took over when the Czar abdicated?  Although, getting my head around Tsar Nicholas II, ’House of Romanov’ or ‘Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution’ was overwhelming but it really brought history to life!  Now those boring and monotonous classes of world history (and historical events) had context and connection. Wow!  By now you must be wondering.  What is this award?  From my research it appears that this royal decoration has origins in Poland where it was awarded for ‘chivalry and exemplifying christian virtues’. Then sometime in 1831, it entered the Russian honor system and was given out to both military personnel and civilians for their distinguished service.  In 1844, after undergoing a few revisions and redesigns ( including splitting it into 3 classes), it started to be given out to non-christians as well.  It remained in place in Russia for some time in 1917, when the ‘Provincial Government of Russia’ came into power after the abdication of the Czar.  However, once the ‘Bolsheviks’ took control, all imperial and dynastic award were suspended and discontinued.  The original medal as it would have been awarded to my great grandfather would have been a ‘Bath’ cross with four double-headed eagles (representing the Russian empire) with swords at each angle (all made of gold), with a circular wreath of green laurel holding the white enameled medallion with red SS in the middle.  Plus, it would have been finely crafted in the workshops of highly skilled goldsmiths, silversmiths and enamelers!  

In closing, although, ours is a denuded medal that is stripped of its decoration of gold crown, eagles, and swords (perhaps for its extrinsic value), it is a magnificent reminder of my ancestor’s valor, heroism, sacrifice, and for being brethren in arms in the trenches of an awful war.  It tells of a tremendous story of resilience in the battlefield for which he was recognized by a foreign sovereign/government.  What an exquisite and priceless piece of history which I will cherish all my life!

Other Interesting stuff –

  1. Our medal has a mismatched ribbon! For some reason, a family member swapped out the ribbon with the one from 1911 Delhi durbar.  Hopefully, I can correct it in future once I procure the correct ribbon.
  2. Did you know historians did not chronicle WW1 records until 1922 (4 years after the war ended)?  Therefore, they may have failed to properly document the accounts of Indian soldiers especially the ones who perished before the war records were tabulated.  Thus my great grandfather’s story in an incomplete one! (Thank you Tejpal for this information

References – 

http://www.theaerodrome.com/medals/russia/osts.php

http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/wr.php?main=inc/a_foreign_russian

http://nicholsonadvisory.com/imperial-royal-order-of-st-stanislas

The Raj, Wars and My Paternal Ancestors…

 

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Last month was special.  I came across some of my ancestor’s military service documents, commendations, awards/medals, etc., for the empire days (majority of which didn’t survive partition of India and the great migration that ensued in 1947).  I was most excited about two notable documents – First, being a 130 year old enlistment certificate from the reign of Queen Victoria of my great great grandfather Sawan Singh, and second, a WW1 commendation certificate of my great grandfather Indar Singh signed by Sr. Winston Churchill (the then secretary of war). This month we also celebrate the 100th Armistice Day marking the end of World War One.

It reviewing the documents, it appears that on October 5th, 1888, my great- great- grandfather Sawan Singh enlisted in the ‘34th Sikh Pioneers’, an infantry assault regiment of the British-Indian army. I remember Manji (my great grandmother) telling us that Babaji Sawan Singh had a very long and illustrious service, that he was a Subadar-Major (which is the highest rank an Indian could attain in the Imperial armies at that time), and that he was awarded a land grant of 5 Murraba (125 Acres) in the village of ‘GB Chak No. 232’ in Lyallpur district (now in Pakistan).She also talked about all the memorabilia he brought from his various deployments, especially the Chinese storage boxes (Sandooks) and Peking Silk that had to be left behind during the hasty migration of 1947.  My research shows that some of his deployments would have been ‘relief of Chitral’ (1897), ‘Tirah Campaign’ (1897-1898), China ‘relief of Peking and Tientsin’ (1900-1901) following the boxer rebellion, etc.

Indar Singh, my great grandfather, also followed in his father’s footsteps and enlisted in the 34th Sikh Pioneers.  During the ‘Great War’ of 1914-18, his regiment (part fo the 3rd Lahore division) was first deployed on the Western Front and winning the battle honors of Festubert, St Julien, La Bassee, Armentieres, Givenchy, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres, France and Flanders, and then moved to the Middle East in the Mesopotamia Campaign where he fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.  Manji used to mention that he showed great bravery in the battlefield, and despite being wounded himself, carried his commander to safety.  He returned home shortly thereafter as a war-casualty, and later succumbed to his injuries at home, during the month of ‘Kata’ (Punjabi month that straddles October/November), in 1918 during the deadly ‘Spanish Influenza’ outbreak.  Although Manji was pregnant with my grandfather when he passed away (so he never got to see his son).  Manji stated that he was tall (6’ 4” or 6’5″), good looking, and also a Subadar-Major like his father.  She would also talk about her wedding (she being his second wife), going to Ambala Cantt (the base of his regiment) where he was stationed as a Jamadar-Adjutant (which she pronounced Jamadar-Jitten).  She also shared of her good relations with his first wife Rattan Kaur and her stepdaughter Kamal Kaur (my father also remembers Bhauji Kamal Kaur very fondly).

Although these artifacts & stories made me aware of their rich lives and legacies, it also makes me wonder how they would have been in person.  Although history may not give them the proper dues, I for sure have a greater appreciation, respect and awe of their bravery, sacrifices, and courage.  I salute them and honor their DNA that runs thru my veins.