Sikhs from across the UK attended an annual remembrance event at the Chattri Memorial in Brighton on Sunday 10th June 2018 to remember the sacrifice made by soldiers who came from India and Punjab to fight in the First World War.
The service at the Chattri, on the Downs above Brighton, included a prayer and the laying of wreaths to commemorate the sacrifice made by the servicemen.
Among those who attended the annual memorial service at the Chattri were the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Peter Field, High Sheriff Major-General John Moore-Bick, Indian High Commissioner YK Sinha, the Marquess of Abergavenny Christopher Nevill, the mayor of Brighton and Hove Councillor Dee Simson, council leader Councillor Daniel Yates, council chief executive Geoff Raw, Chief Constable Giles York, Crawley Mayor Councillor Carlos Castro, Slough MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi as well as veterans, representatives of the Armed Forces and relatives of the fallen.
A delegation of representatives from the Sikh Community & Youth Service UK based in Handsworth, Birmingham including D S Dhesy (Chairman), R S Virdi and R S Randhawa also attended the service.
Gurdwaras from Barking, Seven Kings, Hounslow and many other Gurdwaras also took their congregation in coaches to pay homage to the servicemen and also provided refreshments at the memorial event.
Various British Sikhs serving in the armed forces were represented, along with the Royal British Legion, other veteran organisations and local cadet units.
The main spokesperson and event organiser was Mr D S Dhesy who is the Chair of the Chattri Memorial Group and has been working tirelessly to organise the annual memorial events at the Brighton Chattri over the past 17 years. This year was the 68th annual memorial event which was started by the Royal British Legion in 1951.
Dhesy Sabh said, “it is good to see so many Sikh Gurdwara’s have taken on the responsibility to arrange transport for their worshippers to travel and pay their respects to the brave Sikh servicemen who fought alongside British troops and laid down their lives fighting for Europe’s Freedom.”
After the Brighton Chattri memorial the delegation of Sikhs from the Sikh Community & Youth Service UK visited the Runnymede Airforce Memorial in Surrey which commemorates the airmen and women who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe who have no known Grave. Jagjit Singh – Airforce Flying Officer and Rajender Singh Sandhu – Pilot Officer are two Sikhs whose names are prominently displayed at the Runnymede Airforce Memorial.
The delegation of Sikhs from the Sikh Community & Youth Service UK also visited the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara in Slough.
