A forgotten veteran of World War-II

RC Ganjoo

A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full members ----- Shakespeare

Killar Singh (Then) He may be forgotten but a veteran of World War- II , Killar Singh , 96, is a legendary entity. At 18, he joined the 17 Poona Horse ( the regiment is 200 years old) known as 17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry , as a Savaar (Jawan) on the salary of Rs 18. Without informing his parents, he, along with a group of his friends from his native village Barahi, district Jhajjar, Haryana, joined on 17 Dec 1940 at Bhadurgarh. Decorated with World War-II 1939- 1945, Africa Star, Independence Medal 1947 and Defence Medal, Killar Singh retired at the rank of Dafadar ( Havildar) in 1961 after serving in the Army for 21 years on penury pension of Rs 49.

Killar Singh (Now) After rigorous training for one year in Babina his regiment 17- Poona Horse under the command of Lieutenant Colonel G.D. Baines, was given marching orders in November , 1941 to join British Eighth Army in World War-II.
The troop embarked in SS Rajula passenger ship at Bombay and reached port of Basrah, Iraq. At the end of March 1942, the regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel K.E.Hatch, was ordered to operate from Mosul borders of Syria and Turkey. In May, a warning order was received that the regiment had to move to the Middle East because the Battle of Gazala in the Western Desert was imminent. From Northern Iraq, via Palestine to Egypt, the regiment undertook its longest and most hazardous march on 2nd June 1942.
From Mena the next march was to Amriya, a few miles of South- West of Alexandria. During World War II, it was used as a military airfield by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces against Axis forces headed by Aldof Hitler) It was approximately two weeks earlier, on 26th May 1942, that Erwin Rommel a German Army general had launched his offensive against the British allied forces from the Gazala front in the desert of South. Erwin Rommel, a German General and military theorist, popularly known as the " Desert Fox", served as field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II had given sleepless night to British General Bernard Montgomery who commanded British Eighth Army.

"Today Killar Singh, along with his wife Smt Vidyavati, is leading a comfortable life in Rohtak, Haryana. They have one daughter and four sons. One son, who worked in the Merchant Navy, is now settled in Melbourne, Australia . Their other son, Brig Ram Chhillar, was decorated with the Sena Medal (twice) and the Vishisht Sewa Medal. He voluntarily retired from service in 2014 as one of the most decorated military intelligence officers of the Indian Army."

According to Killar Singh, "our forces were scared of Rommel . A number of times we had to cross the Suez Canal as tactical withdrawal from battle field. But the German forces had opened fronts from various areas. Secondly, they were short of essential supply and ammunition for forces.” Between Iran and Iraq their regiment was under tremendous pressure and hardships due to typical weather and terrain.
The Poona Horse under the direct command of 8th Army C-in- C Middle East Bernard Montgomery, was tasked to guard El Alamein , Tac Headquarters , at most tactical area. The 8th Army succeeded to give defeat to Rommel.
Again, the regiment set out on its longest march, to cover 1500 miles through Palestine, Syria, Iraq and via Paitak Pass into Northern Persia and to Sultanabad, approximately 100 miles away from South-West of Teheran. “We succeeded to meet the enemy challenge," Killar said proudly.
With all appreciation for British Indian army, Killar said, " attitude of British officers towards Indian soldiers, was excellent and caring. Today's Indian army lacks discipline and proper selection procedures.”
In November 1943 the regiment moved to Mosul and for the next ten months constantly were put on patrolling duty from Northern Iraq to Southern Persia. In April 1944 a move was made to Haftkel in Southern Persia with similar oilfield patrolling duties. From here followed a series of moves to Ahwaz, Kermanshah and finally to Karind near the Iraq border.
Shuttling between Iran and Iraq his troop was braving the harsh climatic condition.
"After the harsh and arid desert country of Iraq, the barren mountainous region of Persia and the evil smelling oil fields, Cyprus was a paradise," Killar narrated. On 7th May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. The war in Europe and the Middle East was over. On October3, 1945 ,17 Poona Horse, without any war causality, returned to India and landed at Bombay and from here moved to Ahmednagar .
" For the entire period of three and a half years spent in overseas, the majority of Indian officers and men had served without leave and without seeing their families. In the battlefield our focus was only on enemy to kill him or to get killed.
There was no feeling of home sickness." said Killar.
"Today Killar Singh, along with his wife Smt Vidyavati, is leading a comfortable life in Rohtak, Haryana. They have one daughter and four sons. One son, who worked in the Merchant Navy, is now settled in Melbourne, Australia . Their other son, Brig Ram Chhillar, was decorated with the Sena Medal (twice) and the Vishisht Sewa Medal.
He voluntarily retired from service in 2014 as one of the most decorated military intelligence officers of the Indian Army."



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT FRANKLY SPEAKING REALPOLITIK ISI WEB DRUG MENACE IN PUNJAB FARMERS' LOAN WINDOW ON M.P. HIMACHAL AGONY LOOKING BACK SIGNS OF THE TIMES PAKISTAN TODAY DRAGON DRILL IN TIBET MODI'S DIPLOMACY GLOBAL AFFAIRS REVIEW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HITS & MISSES DIARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CHANGING TIMES THIRD SEX YOGA IN DAILY LIFE A SPRITUAL GURU ART OF LIVING Issue:August' 2018 Subscribe Now	A PAGE FROM HISTORY A forgotten veteran of World War-II RC Ganjoo A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full members ----- Shakespeare Killar Singh (Then) He may be forgotten but a veteran of World War- II , Killar Singh , 96, is a legendary entity. At 18, he joined the 17 Poona Horse ( the regiment is 200 years old) known as 17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry , as a Savaar (Jawan) on the salary of Rs 18. Without informing his parents, he, along with a group of his friends from his native village Barahi, district Jhajjar, Haryana, joined on 17 Dec 1940 at Bhadurgarh. Decorated with World War-II 1939- 1945, Africa Star, Independence Medal 1947 and Defence Medal, Killar Singh retired at the rank of Dafadar ( Havildar) in 1961 after serving in the Army for 21 years on penury pension of Rs 49. Killar Singh (Now) After rigorous training for one year in Babina his regiment 17- Poona Horse under the command of Lieutenant Colonel G.D. Baines, was given marching orders in November , 1941 to join British Eighth Army in World War-II. The troop embarked in SS Rajula passenger ship at Bombay and reached port of Basrah, Iraq. At the end of March 1942, the regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel K.E.Hatch, was ordered to operate from Mosul borders of Syria and Turkey. In May, a warning order was received that the regiment had to move to the Middle East because the Battle of Gazala in the Western Desert was imminent. From Northern Iraq, via Palestine to Egypt, the regiment undertook its longest and most hazardous march on 2nd June 1942. From Mena the next march was to Amriya, a few miles of South- West of Alexandria. During World War II, it was used as a military airfield by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces against Axis forces headed by Aldof Hitler) It was approximately two weeks earlier, on 26th May 1942, that Erwin Rommel a German Army general had launched his offensive against the British allied forces from the Gazala front in the desert of South. Erwin Rommel, a German General and military theorist, popularly known as the " Desert Fox", served as field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II had given sleepless night to British General Bernard Montgomery who commanded British Eighth Army. "Today Killar Singh, along with his wife Smt Vidyavati, is leading a comfortable life in Rohtak, Haryana. They have one daughter and four sons. One son, who worked in the Merchant Navy, is now settled in Melbourne, Australia . Their other son, Brig Ram Chhillar, was decorated with the Sena Medal (twice) and the Vishisht Sewa Medal. He voluntarily retired from service in 2014 as one of the most decorated military intelligence officers of the Indian Army." According to Killar Singh, "our forces were scared of Rommel . A number of times we had to cross the Suez Canal as tactical withdrawal from battle field. But the German forces had opened fronts from various areas. Secondly, they were short of essential supply and ammunition for forces.” Between Iran and Iraq their regiment was under tremendous pressure and hardships due to typical weather and terrain. The Poona Horse under the direct command of 8th Army C-in- C Middle East Bernard Montgomery, was tasked to guard El Alamein , Tac Headquarters , at most tactical area. The 8th Army succeeded to give defeat to Rommel. Again, the regiment set out on its longest march, to cover 1500 miles through Palestine, Syria, Iraq and via Paitak Pass into Northern Persia and to Sultanabad, approximately 100 miles away from South-West of Teheran. “We succeeded to meet the enemy challenge," Killar said proudly. With all appreciation for British Indian army, Killar said, " attitude of British officers towards Indian soldiers, was excellent and caring. Today's Indian army lacks discipline and proper selection procedures.” In November 1943 the regiment moved to Mosul and for the next ten months constantly were put on patrolling duty from Northern Iraq to Southern Persia. In April 1944 a move was made to Haftkel in Southern Persia with similar oilfield patrolling duties. From here followed a series of moves to Ahwaz, Kermanshah and finally to Karind near the Iraq border. Shuttling between Iran and Iraq his troop was braving the harsh climatic condition. "After the harsh and arid desert country of Iraq, the barren mountainous region of Persia and the evil smelling oil fields, Cyprus was a paradise," Killar narrated. On 7th May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. The war in Europe and the Middle East was over. On October3, 1945 ,17 Poona Horse, without any war causality, returned to India and landed at Bombay and from here moved to Ahmednagar . " For the entire period of three and a half years spent in overseas, the majority of Indian officers and men had served without leave and without seeing their families. In the battlefield our focus was only on enemy to kill him or to get killed. There was no feeling of home sickness." said Killar. "Today Killar Singh, along with his wife Smt Vidyavati, is leading a comfortable life in Rohtak, Haryana. They have one daughter and four sons. One son, who worked in the Merchant Navy, is now settled in Melbourne, Australia . Their other son, Brig Ram Chhillar, was decorated with the Sena Medal (twice) and the Vishisht Sewa Medal. He voluntarily retired from service in 2014 as one of the most decorated military intelligence officers of the Indian Army."