"On 6 January 1943, the Bren Gun Carrier Platoon of 5/8th Punjab was
attacked by a strong Japanese patrol near Donbaik on the Mayu Peninsula. The Platoon Commander was wounded and was forced to retire, handing
over the command to Havildar Parkash Singh. Parkash Singh noticed two
other carriers bogged down in a nullah,
and under heavy Japanese fire. He immediately rushed to the rescue of
the stricken carriers; calling on their crews to abandon the vehicles
and run for safety while he provided covering fire. When his Bren gunner
was wounded, he took control of the gun from him, and charged towards
the enemy. Driving with one hand and firing the Bren gun with the other,
he drove them out of their fixed positions. As he returned to pick the
crews of the stranded carriers, he came under heavy enemy fire, but
calmly rescued all eight men. On 19 January, the battalion carriers
again came under heavy anti-tank fire in the same area, and several of
them were destroyed including that of the Platoon Commander. The crews
of the destroyed vehicles were given up for dead, and the rest of the
carriers withdrew. But Parkash Singh wanted to see for himself if there
were any survivors among the burning wrecks. Driving down the beach
under intense enemy fire, he found the officer and his driver in their
badly damaged carrier. The men were too badly injured to be moved, so
Parkash Singh decided to tow their vehicle to safety. Despite the order
of his Platoon Commander to go back and save himself, the fearless NCO
rigged a makeshift tow chain and secured it to the damaged carrier, all
the time exposed to enemy fire, and then towed it back to safety."
From Havildar Singh's Victoria Cross citation, awarded on 11 May 1943.
May you be at peace,
Brian
Singh and his Carrier
No comments:
Post a Comment