Sikhs witness royal tribute to WW1 fallen

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall met Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Gurkha soldiers at a ceremony which paid tribute to South Asian troops who fell at the battle of Neuve-Chapelle in France during the First World War.

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, paid homage at a memorial which commemorates the lives of 4,742 Indian soldiers with no known grave who died during a British Army offensive at Neuve-Chapelle, in the Artois region.

Prince Charles paid homage at a memorial

Also present were children from a number of UK schools learning about the contributions of the many different ethnic communities who fought for the Allied cause.

A poem written by a Sikh soldier who served at Neuve-Chapelle was recited by Rasnam Singh, 10, who journeyed there with a Sikh delegation. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall listened to this and to a poem specially written by a pupil from a school in Leeds.

The royal couple then toured the memorial grounds meeting with veterans and representatives from Britain’s Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities.

Prominent among the Sikh visitors were representatives of the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail, whose party included Scottish Sikh music producers Tigerstyle.

Goodwill ambassadors for the organisation, Tigerstyle welcomed the opportunity to attend because they saw it as their duty to “preserve the memories of our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Europe”.

Picture courtesy of the Prince of Wales website