Sandhurst Sikhs

We spent a WHOLE day filming at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for the upcoming short feature series "Slough to Sandhurst."

What we thought would take a few hours ended up being a whole morning and afternoon - there is so much history and heritage at Sandhurst that it's not very easy to do it justice in a short film.  Nor is it simple to combine the stories of so many role models from the BME communities currently serving.

We were there filming with Sikh officers and soldiers (above cameraman Juggy with Capt Sartaj Singh Gogna and recruits) for a new short film series about the various stages people go through to join the British Army - from civvies inspired to serve, to walking through the doors at the recruitment office and signing up, to undertaking medicals, tests, being accepted as 'Soldiers under Training' and going through to Phase 1 training.

At Sandhurst, we filmed two young aspiring officers discovering more about what Sandhurst has to offer - and telling us about what inspired them to want to serve.  They had the opportunity to see the historic buildings - and the history contained in them relating to the British Raj in India.

We were all inspired in particular by Capt Sartaj Singh Gogna (above) an officer with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.  Capt Gogna joined the British Army 12 years ago, what's extraordinary is that he chose to start growing his hair and tie a Turban AFTER he joined.  While most find joining the military difficult with these articles of Sikh faith intact, Capt Gogna described the process of learning that led him to chose to don this very important headdress - and compliment his Officers uniform with a Turban.

We'll feature the interview in the "Slough2Soldier" series.  Our thanks for allowing us to film at Sandhurst to the Protocol Officer L Col Parkinson and the National Army Museum for making use of the display items (about which I will post a separate entry.)

Captain Makand Singh MBE

We had the pleasure of filming with Captain Makand Singh (Royal Logistic Corps) and his family - after his visit to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE for services to Great Britain.

Captain Singh joined the British Army in 1977 at the age of 17 - when Britain was very different to now - what makes his story all the more fascinating for our upcoming series is that his father was the first Sikh to join an English regiment WITH his Turban and Beard.

It might seem bizarre because of the rich history of Sikhs fighting for Great Britain during the Worlds Wars, but we often forget that turbanned Sikhs who wanted to join mainland UK regiments had to conform to uniform policies at the time which did not make allowances for the Turban and uncut hair.

This was not because of any racist or discriminatory policy but because of the conformity of these units which ensured that all soldiers and officers were the same, in spirit de corps or administration.  It's similar to what US units have been through recently, although they too have now begun to allow Sikhs to maintain their distinct identity.

The British held the Sikhs in high esteem because of the bravery and valour shown during the Anglo-Sikh Wars, WW1 and WW2 - and in far flung parts of Empire.  But never had a Sikh joined a British unit in the UK...

That was until Makand Singh's father - Baldev Singh - applied to join.  He was rejected because he would not cut his hair.  Baldev Singh persisted, taking his case to policymakers - and won - being allowed to serve with his uncut hair.

Without his efforts, Sikhs today would have struggled to serve with their uncut and Turbans intact.  In fact, it is because of Baldev Singh's immovable belief in his Sikh identity that the British Army has developed into such a modern and diverse workforce with a focus on recruiting black and minority ethnic soldiers and officers.

His actions inspired many people, and foremost amongst them is his son Makand Singh - who this blog post celebrates as a role model and inspiration.

Captain Singh spoke very little English when he came to the UK from Malaysia and joined the Army - but he worked his way up becoming well known for his contribution to the forces especially within sports such as Hockey and Kabaddi (which he introduced to the Army).  

After 33 years in the Army - which includes postings to Germany, Belize and Hong Kong - Singh rightly adds the MBE to his achievements which include the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal for his commitment to recruiting members of the BME community.

Our interview with Makand Singh will feature in our new series coming soon - as we delve into what inspires young Sikhs to join and serve their country.  Hearing his answers outside the memorial celebrating the contribution of soldiers from all over Empire has enabled us to appreciate more the sacrifices our forefathers made for Great Britain.

Inspiration

What inspires Sikhs to join the British Army?

It's a question I'm currently asking a lot of officers and soldiers in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, for our new short film series.

Is it awareness of the Sikh contribution during the Worlds Wars and history with the British?  Or a desire to serve one's country and excel in the military?

If you're Sikh - either thinking of joining or are joining - I'd like your thoughts ... please comment to this post...

New Film Project

The team at Dot Hyphen Productions has spent the past few months working on bringing the "Turbanology" exhibition to central London in April - now that is over I'm pleased we can move forward with a series of exciting films.

Not to give much away, we've been tasked with looking at the role of Sikhs in the British Army - past and present.  Over the next few months I'll blog about what we're researching and finding.

We started the project, in fact, back in March by filming with a young Sikh from Slough who's joining the Army - and the Parachute Regiment!  Sounds very interesting, but more so when you hear that he is a Sikh with a full beard and wears a Turban!  So how will he cope when the job spec for the Reg is for him to jump out of planes?

We'll let you know soon...

HMS Sikh E-book on Amazon

Two months after it's release, we've had a fantastic response so far to the e-book version of HMS Sikh - which is available (below) on Kindle via the Amazon store.

Click for link here

The book was originally a research paper I wrote as I explored making a short film for the Sikhs@War project. But the footage never quiet lived up to do the project justice, and so I released my written research first as a short book.

But knowledge should be available for all to access - and it was a defining moment for the Sikhs@War project to release this as an ebook, demand has been high and so too has the thirst for quality research.

Our sales stats have been very healthy indeed, but rather than being about making profit what we've learnt is that this is a new generation of history enthusiasts who want to learn more about the Sikh contribution to the World Wars.

While the HMS Sikh did not have any serving Sikh personnel on board, it was certainly named and launched with the martial race in mind.

With this in mind, we're pursuing our research interests through the Sikhs@War project and will have more ebooks in store soon!

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day, a date in the diary we are unlikely to forget.

An occasion to remember those that have laid down their lives in service of their country - and continue to put themselves in harms way to defend our liberties.

The events of the past week, surrounding the way the England football team should be allowed to pay their respects by wearing a poppy on their shirts, has highlighted our rather British sense of ensuring proper respects are always paid on this of all occasions.

In the past it has been TV presenters not appearing with poppies that attracted the ire of the public, and more recently protests by groups such as the now banned Muslims Against Crusades (who burned poppies in protest in London last year).

Leaving aside the acts of publicity and hatred; such debate about how we remember our fallen heroes brings up strong emotions, even as we near a century since Flanders where so many fought and lost during the Great War. And rightly so - it should not be deemed an easy act to fight and if needed, make a sacrifice in service of ones country.

Today of all days we should salute those that paid the ultimate sacrifice - and have in our minds serving troops at home and abroad who face daily hardships working to bring peace in harsh environments.

The wearing of a poppy is a simple way of remembering our fallen heroes and supporting the Royal British Legion, an act that in some small way can make a big difference to the lives of those hurt in war, in particular those currently serving in Afghanistan where 365 British troops have been killed over the past 10 years.

Historically it brings with it thoughts and recognition for those who enabled us to live our lives the way we do today, and in the present a sign of support to those currently serving that their actions too will not be forgotten.

As a Territorial, I'll be taking great pride in wearing my uniform and remembering those who have fallen for our country at a Remembrance Day parade this Sunday.

They gave their today for our tomorrow.

HMS Sikh book - release 11th November.

The HMS Sikh research book will be released on 11th November 2011 (Armistice Day).

It is the culmination of a years research into the Naval Destroyer, and is the first self-published booklet I am releasing under my 'Dot Hyphen Publishers' label.

The book gives a general history of the ship and its actions at sea - an excellent insight for historians and researchers.

To order visit Amazon.co.uk and type HMS Sikh

Feel free to share on Twitter/FB ... and please leave a review too!

Back to blogging 2

... so updated my browser from IE to Google Chrome - and it's done the trick! My posts are now being published ... so watch this space for more ...

Back to blogging

So a busy few weeks in the day job - but you can follow @SkyNewsSingh for that.

On here, I'm writing about Sikh involvement during the Great War & World War 2.

And with the HMS Sikh book nearly ready and Remembrance Day upon us, I wanted to share this thought with you - for discussion so please your comments.

How many Sikhs today are willing to sign up and fight for Great Britain?

No doubt we have a long historic tradition of doing so, but sadly in 2011 our numbers have dwindled to less than 100 in the British Army.

Perhaps the example of those from yesteryear can inspire British Sikhs to see the virtue of serving our country and do so in memory of those that fought to liberate Great Britain.

Book on HMS Sikh 1939-42

Curiosity leads you to uncover amazing things in life.

That's the way it's always been for me - perhaps a fitting quality for a journalist.

It was curiosity that led me to enquire about a Royal Navy ship called HMS Sikh that served during the 2nd World War.

That made me take time out from busy work days to travel to the British Library and National Archives to dig into it's history.

The result of a year's research, writing and reading is a new booklet I'm printing later this year.

HMS Sikh 1939-42 is a short research paper about the Destroyer and will be available for a modest fee on Amazon.co.uk

While the work I've put into this has been somewhat removed from my main research interests of the Great War period; I've learnt lots of new skills from the process.

My curiosity certainly got the better of me!

I'll put a direct link to the sale page here when it's ready.