Chattri Indian Memorial, Brighton
Image: Annual Indian Memorial Service, Chattri war memorial.
During the First World War injured Indian soldiers were hospitalised in the Royal Pavilion, Dome and Corn Exchange in Brighton. There were over one and a half million Indian soldiers on active service with the British Army. As the story goes, King George V decreed that Indian soldiers were to be treated at the Pavilion in the belief that the iconic architecture of the Indo-Saracenic building would provide familiar surroundings for them. Some 12,000 were treated here in Brighton. Muslims who died at the hospital were taken to the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking, Surrey, there buried in accordance with Islamic tradition. The bodies of 53 Hindus and Sikhs were taken to this location, on the South Downs above Brighton, where a ghat – funeral pyre – was built, so they were cremated according to religious custom, their ashes then scattered in the English Channel.
The Chattri memorial was constructed on the site, designed by E.C. Henriques from Bombay (Mumbai today), and unveiled in 1921 by Edward, Prince of Wales.
Chattri means ‘umbrella’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The dome and eight pillars are built from white Sicilian marble. Three large granite slabs lie over the original concrete crematory bases, the design symbolising the protection offered to the memory of the dead. One inscription by the memorial, in Hindi, Punjabi and English, reads: “In honour of these soldiers of the Indian Army whose mortal remains were committed to fire.”
Detail of painting by Douglas Fox-Pitt, ‘Indian Army Wounded In Hospital in the Dome, Brighton,’ 1919. Imperial War Museum collection Art.IWM ART 323.
By the mid-1930s the memorial had fallen into a state of disrepair, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, the land around it was requisitioned for army training. The memorial was damaged by bullet holes, troops using it for target practice. After the war, the government made repairs and in 1951 the local Royal British Legion began to organise regular pilgrimages to the site, assisting with its upkeep. In 2000 this work was to be continued by the Undivided Indian Ex-Service Association.
Now, each year on the second Sunday in June, crowds gather for the Annual Indian Memorial Service, attended by the Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, representatives of all the Armed Services, past and present. Sikh and Hindu prayers are said, wreathes are laid, the Shree Muktajeevan Swambapa Pipe band of London play, who wear traditional Scottish uniform. While the site is only accessible by a bridleway along the Downs, some distance on foot, on this day cars are allowed to cross the top of the downs and park near to the memorial.
Dozens of wreathes are laid at the annual service, from groups all over the UK.
First World War recruitment poster, Hindi language. “This soldier is defending India. He is protecting his home and family. The best way to help your family is to join the army.” Imperial War Museum collection PST 12494.
