Hira Singh (or Hira Singh: When India Came to Fight in Flanders) is a short novel that tells the story of a regiment of Sikh cavalry who are captured in battle in Flanders in the early days of World War One, escape from captivity and experience many adventures as they make their way back to India.
The hero of the story is a Sikh officer, Ranjoor Singh, an earlier adventure of whom is recounted in the novel The Winds of the World.
Originally published by Talbot Mundy (under the title Hira Singh's Tale) as a four-part serial in Adventure Magazine in October and November 1917, and published in book form in 1918 by Cassell (London) and Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis).
The opening statement supposedly from the New York Times, July, 1915, says this:
One hundred Indian troops of the British Army have arrived at Kabul, Afghanistan, after a four months' march from Constantinople. The men were captured in Flanders by the Germans and were sent to Turkey in the hope that, being Mohammedans, they might join the Turks. But they remained loyal to Great Britain and finally escaped, heading for Afghanistan. They now intend to join their regimental depot in India, so it is reported.
New York Times, July 1915
Here’s an extract from the book’s Preface:
I take leave to dedicate this book to Mr. Elmer Davis, through whose friendly offices I was led to track down the hero of these adventures and to find the true account of them even better than the daily paper promised.
Had Ranjoor Singh and his men been Muhammadans their accomplishment would have been sufficiently wonderful. For Sikhs to attempt what they carried through, even under such splendid leadership as Ranjoor Singh's, was to defy the very nth degree of odds.
To have tried to tell the tale otherwise than in Hira Singh's own words would have been to varnish gold. Amid the echoes of the roar of the guns in Flanders, the world is inclined to overlook India's share in it all and the stout proud loyalty of Indian hearts. May this tribute to the gallant Indian gentlemen who came to fight our battles serve to remind its readers that they who give their best, and they who take, are one.'
Talbot Mundy
ABOUT TALBOT MUNDY (THE AUTHOR)
Talbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon) (April 23, 1879 – August 5, 1940) was an English writer. Born in London, at age 16 he ran away from home and began an odyssey in India, Africa, and other parts of the Near and Far East. By age 29, he had begun using the name Talbot Mundy, and a year later arrived in the United States, starting his writing career in 1911.