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#1
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British / Indian Medals.....
Just wondered,
How easy, is it even possible to trace an Indian soldiers medals? I purchased a set many years ago because unlike un named ww11 British medals, a TRAGEDY (in my opinion) they have details stamped to rear (at least the stars have) Five in total, very well mounted to a board with green cloth sewn over the back, large brooch pin. 39-45 star. Africa star. Italy star. Defence and War medal. 3886. N.K. HARI SINGH. NABNA. S.F. Did find that 'NK' is Naik which equates to Army Corporal? and 'NABNA' is Infantry? Don't know what S.F. is? Did make an effort on a records site, found a few Hari Singh's but no match... Last edited by realownlee; 06-05-21 at 01:24 AM. Reason: ejit! |
#2
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Hi
It is Nabha State Forces - one of the princely states in Punjab Not possible to trace much details of Indian recipients unless he was a Viceroy's Commissioned Officer or Kings Commissioned Officer in which case his name would be on the Army List and you could get dates of enrollment, promotion, war services etc .. As your chap is a Naik (Corporal) he wouldn't be on the list. You might try and see if he is a casualty on the cwgc website. Can you post a photo, front and back? Are all the medals named? Also, are you looking to sell? I might be interested. |
#3
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Hi, thanks for reply,
My computer reaching 'throw it at the wall stage' took pics, shall try and upload! Difficult to photo stamping on reverse of stars due to medals being neatly sewn to backing ( nothing on rims) Some stamping quite crude....poss had done in India? Nice, matching patina to stars, polish, or smoker! |
#4
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Sadly, Khyber is correct about researching Other ranks in the Indian Army: the chances are about nil. And that goes double for State Forces, as those records likely went into the trach when each state was amalgamated into India [mostly in the 1950s and 1960s].
I began collecting single I.G.S, medals in the early 1980s and those named to Indians were going for little more than the value of the silver because they were 'unresearchable'. Because of the odd nature of the Indian Army, records were kept at the regimental level, not in a central repository. On Independence, the regiments were split up between India and pakistan and, as you can imagine, preserving piles of paper from the colonial period was hardly high on most people's list. I had a chum who actually went to India to research, in the '80s and said that the archives had bird nests and mice in every room. But every hour somebody brought him a cup of tea! All that said, its lovely to see what is very cleatrly a group indicating considerable service. Thanks for sharing it and sorry I can't be more helpful or hopeful. Peter |
#5
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A little more information. The NABHA AKAL infantry were part of the state forces of the Punjabi state of Nabha [not 'Nabna]. During WW2 they were taken into the Punjab Regiment as the 14th Battalion and, in 1948, became a permanent part of that regiment when the state was absorbed into India.
The 3rd Battalion, Punjab Reg't has battle honoure for North Africa and my guess is that your Naik transferred, or was transferred, to that Battalion and that's how he saw service in North Africa. A number of the other battalions of the Punjab Reg't were captured at Hong Kong and Singapore. The last Maharajah of Nabha was a typical, IMO, product of the British Imperial system: Sandhurst educated and, in later life a vintage car collector and naturalist. Here's a potted bio: " Pratap Singh Nabh was born at Nabha, the eldest son and heir of Ripudaman Singh. At the age of eight, his father was deposed and Pratap Singh became the Maharaja. Pratap Singh began his schooling in the Anglo Indian school, Woodstock, in Musoorie. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and at Badingham College in Surrey. Military Maharaja[edit] After formally succeeding to the gadi in 1941, Pratap Singh was commissioned a Lieutenant in the British Indian Army and served in the Second World War. He was promoted to Captain in 1944, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1945 and Colonel in 1946. In 1946, he was knighted with the KCSI. Following Independence, he served as aide-de-camp to the President of India, as well as the head of the Sikh Regiment." I hope this is of some interest. Peter |
#6
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Are the War Medal and Defence Medal not named? They should be, otherwise I think they've been added on to complete the group, though they are the correct entitlement. Both WW2 war and defence medals to Nabha SF were issued named. I have records of a few in captivity.
The group, as is obvious, has been remounted with new ribbons etc but a nice one still. |
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