Queen’s demise brings back royal memories

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, September 10

When news channels on Thursday night broke the news of the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of Britain, Jalandhar resident Sandeep Singh went on a trip down the memory lane of colonial legacy spanning generations.

Sandeep’s great grandfather — Risaldar Major and Honorary Captain Narain Singh — was among the four Sikhs to have served as orderly officer as King George V and King Edward VIII until 1936 at Buckingham Palace. King George V was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.

A member of the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Lancers (a cavalry regiment of the Indian British Army), Risaldar Major Narain Singh fought for the British on various fronts.

Legacy spanning generations

• Risaldar Major and Honorary Captain Narain Singh was among the four Sikhs to have served as orderly officer of King George V and King Edward VIII until 1936 at Buckingham Palace. King George V was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II
• His son Lt Gen Bikram Singh also served in the British royal forces and was selected to train at the Military Training Academy. In 1933, Lt Gen Bikram Singh received an appointment letter from King George V. The family still has the letter at its Jalandhar residence

“I remember as a child seeing a photograph of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret as little girls. When my great grandfather served the king, Queen Elizabeth II must have been six or seven. In that photograph, my great grandfather is seen attending to the royal family as the King’s orderly. When the news came yesterday, it was this photograph that immediately came to my mind. Unfortunately, we lost precious letters, photographs among a host of other important documents in floods in the 1980s. However, some are still preserved,” says Sandeep.

Placed on a table in the drawing room of the family home in Jalandhar is a photograph of King Edward VIII, which Sandeep says was duly signed by the future King himself for his Sikh orderly. However, over time, the ink of the picture came off. The family also discovered a glorious painting of the Honorary Captain at the National Army Museum in Britain.

Sandeep says, “Some of the best men in the military were picked as King’s orderlies. When my great grandfather’s tenure as an orderly ended, he brought back a horse gifted to him by the royal family. The story goes that my great grandfather was a burly 6-ft-tall man and the initial horse he rode on, used to get tired. The king had then asked for one of the best horses to be replaced, for him.”

Originally hailing from Pakistan, their family came and settled at Khumana village in Punjab, later shifting to Siana village in Balachaur.

Sandeep’s grandfather Lt Gen Bikram Singh, a PVSM who was hailed as “Hero of Ladakh”, also started his military journey from the British Indian Army. He rose to be among the top defence personnel of the country. He was among the five top defence personnel who lost their lives in the tragic Poonch copter crash of 22 November, 1963 – the day US President John F Kennedy was assassinated.

Lt Gen Bikram Singh, inspired by his father, had begun his journey in British royal forces when he was selected to train at the Military Training Academy at Sandhurst (England). In 1933, Lt Gen Bikram Singh received an appointment letter from King George V. The family still has the letter of his appointment as second Lieutenant.

Sandeep Singh said, “My great grandfather, my grandfather and my father all served in the army. As I get nostalgic about the family’s legacy on the Queen’s demise I also feel very proud of the feats of my ancestors. Buckingham Palace also wrote to the family condoling Capt Narain Singh’s demise. I have preserved the medals of my great gradfather and grandfather. However, a precious OBE pure gold medal that my great grandfather had received got stolen from our village. Our family also plans to write to the British government for a possible replacement of the stolen medal as a part of the family heirloom.”