We were delighted to meet the grandchildren of Brigadier-General J.L.R. Gordon of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs.
Hilary Bach and Peter Hopcraft (Gordon's oldest surviving grandson) graciously donated copies of photographs from their grandfather's private collection to the UKPHA Archive.
Among the many treasures they shared was a photographic postcard showing a turban-wearing Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon leading his men through the streets of Marseille on the south coast of France. The photograph was taken shortly after the first Indian contingent arrived in Europe on 26 September 1914 in order to plug the gap in the British sector of the Western Front. An inscription presumably written by Gordon on the reverse of the postcard reads:
'15th Ludhiana Sikhs marching through MARSEILLES 26 September 1914. Col. Gordon C.O. (Commanding Officer) with Mr Barstow adjutant who is studying a map with help of a boy scout!'
Other curious items that they shared from their grandfather's private collection were copies of photographs taken during the war, a militaryservice certificate signed by Winston Churchill and a bill poster in written in Gurmukhi script on the benefits of loyalty.
Hilary and Peter have been inspired by the exhibition to dig further into the family's archives in connection with their great uncle, Captain Ronald Steuart Gordon of the 57th Wilde's Rifles. He was killed at Messines at the end of October 1914, leading his men across atrociously wet ground to counter the German attack. Hilary and Peter told us that they had seen his and several other names (many of them 'Singh') on the Menin Gate in France.
We would like to thank Hilary and Peter for making the considerable effort to visit the exhibition and sharing their fascinating story with us.
If you have a personal WW1 story to tell, get in touch and we'll feature it. Sign up to the Citizen Historian program now and find out more about your WW1 history.