This is Lal Singh from the village of Narangwal in Ludhiana District, a village that sent 101 men to fight in the war.
He was a part of the 58th Vaughan's Rifles but was captured by the Germans and detained in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. It was there that he was sketched by Hermann Struck (1876-1944), a Jewish artist who had been commissioned to sketch prisoners interned in German camps. Six of his sketches published in the book 'Prisoners of War: A Hundred Lithographs by Hermann Struck' (Berlin, 1916) were of Sikhs.
Luckily for historians, Struck recorded the following crucial details about Lal Singh in a caption to accompany this portrait:
Laal Singh, Sikh, Nareng Waal, Distrikt Ludhiana, 25 Jahr, Landwirt, 58. Rifles
(Lal Singh, Sikh, Narangwal, District Ludhiana, 25 years old, landowner, 58th Rifles)
We are looking for a citizen historian to 'adopt' men like Lal Singh and research their story, to create new histories and ensure that their memory, sacrifice and contribution is not forgotten.
Sign up here.
Picture credit: We are grateful to Rob Schaefer for this image.