The wartime sacrifice of soldiers from Undivided India was remembered at a service on the Downs in Brighton yesterday (Sunday 14 June).
Scores of people gathered for the service at the Chattri Memorial, on Patcham Down, including the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Andrew Blackman, who read the exhortation.
He was joined by the High Sheriff of East Sussex, Michael Beddingfield, for a service led by Davinder Dhillon who chairs the Chattri Memorial Group.
They were joined by the deputy mayor of Brighton and Hove, Councillor Tobias Sheard, the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Bella Sankey, and council chief executive Jess Gibbons
A number of those who attended the annual service are descendants of those from the Indian sub-continent who sacrificed their lives in the two world wars of the 20th century.
They came to the service of a country that most had never visited and some recuperated at temporary hospitals set up in Brighton and Hove during World War I.
They included the Royal Pavilion and BHASVIC (Brighton, Hove And Sussex VI Form College) which was then known as Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School.
After the service, those attended were given refreshments the American Express Community Stadium, home of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.
The stadium hosted the Chattri Exhibition, tracing the journey of soldiers from Undivided India to Brighton, along with stands from the National Army Museum, Imperial War Museum, Royal British Legion and the UK Punjab Heritage Association.
The Chattri was built to honour Hindu and Sikh soldiers who died in Brighton war hospitals during the 1914-18 conflict and were cremated on the Downs.
Their fallen Muslim comrades were also remembered during the service although their graves are at a military cemetery in Surrey.
My late father was a seaman in The Indian Navy, then in The British Merchant Navy during the 2nd World War.
“Bangladesh was part of India before gaining independence. Historically, it was part of the region of Bengal, which was divided during the Partition of British India in 1947. Following the partition, it became East Pakistan, and later, Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, becoming a sovereign nation.”