Smethwick High Street
Image: ‘Lions of the Great War’ memorial.
Unveiled in November 2018, the war memorial ‘Lions of the Great War’ was commissioned by Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick to honour people from the Indian subcontinent who fought in the conflict. Throughout the First World War, the Punjab – homeland of the Sikhs - was the main source of recruits to the Indian army; out of 683,149 combat troops recruited in India between 1914 and 1918, 349,688 came from that province. By the end of December 1919, almost 1.5 million Indians had been recruited in combatant and non-combatant military roles.
Created by sculptor Luke Perry, the bronze statue of a Sikh soldier is placed between High Street and Tollhouse Way, part of a newly created public space near the Gurdwara. Soon after opening, it was graffitied with the words ‘sepoys no more’ and a thick black line drawn through the words ‘Great War’.
“The Sikh soldier is easily distinguished by the voluminous turban he winds about his head. He does not trim his beard, which he twists up in a roll and ties over his ears, and which, when uncurled and left to hang as nature intended it to do, falls over his breast. When he takes off his turban it is discovered that his hair has never been cut, and his long locks are coiled in a knot on top of his head, held in place by a small comb which his religion bids him wear. He is usually a tall, broad shouldered man and takes gigantic strides when he walks.”
– Saint Nihal Singh, India’s Fighters: Their Mettle, History & Services to Britain, London, 1914.
The Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick was established in 1961, the first in the United Kingdom, using an old church building, which had been purchased a few years earlier. It has grown to be the largest in the country, with a weekly congregation of 10,000 people. A few doors away, Sandwell Archives are housed in Smethwick Library, a building which was formerly the town hall.
Members of the original committee of the Gurdwara in Smethwick.
Men of the 45th Sikhs (52nd Infantry Brigade, 17th Division) marching with the Guru Granth Sahib to attend a Diwan (religious service) whilst on campaign in Mesopotamia. Photograph by Ariel Varges. Imperial War Museum collection, Q24777. American by birth, Varges was an official war photographer with the British forces in Salonika and then in Mesopotamia, following the troops as they made their way through North Persia to the eastern Caucasus.
Detail of ‘The Sikh Bomber', Mohan Singh, 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs, preparing to throw a grenade, 1915. Bronze after a silver memorial statuette by Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company Limited, 1925, National Army Museum Collection. It commemorates Third Battle of Krithia at Gallipolli on 4 June 1915, when this regiment was almost wiped out, losing 380 men out of 514 and 80 per cent of their officers. They were part of 29th Indian Infantry Brigade that landed at Gallipoli on 1 May, having been shipped from Port Said. Officers of the 14th who had served during the First World War presented the statuette to their mess as a memorial to their fallen comrades.
