Pardeep Khela, Manjit Virdee and Basharat Ali attended the first Remembrance Day event over the weekend jointly hosted by the British Army and the Sikh Soldier organisation. The event was held at the Army Reserve Centre in Huddersfield, which has played a major part in supporting soldiers since the First World War.

The day involved presentations by various dignitaries such as Ed Anderson (Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire), Tim Bhullar (President of the Sikh Soldier organisation) and many more. The theme of the day focused on the often forgotten contributions made by Sikh Soldiers to both World Wars. In particular, the valuable support provided by Sikh soldiers in 1914 which bolstered the British Expeditionary Force and help stabilise the Western Front.

In short, 130,000 Sikhs served in the First World War supporting campaigns in Flanders, Gallipoli, Iraq and East Africa, with almost 35,000 never returning home.

If you wish to know more about the Sikh Soldiers organisation and how they help support veterans, visit https://www.sikhsoldier.org