His records show that he worked as a "labourer", before he enlisted in Perth on Feb 7. The Simla-born Anzac was assigned to the 44th Infantry Battalio and sailed from Fremantle on June 6, 1916, disembarking at Plymouth (in England) a month and half later on July 21.
He was then sent to the war-front in Belgium, and records show that on June 1, 1917, he was "killed in action." A telegram was sent to his father in Simla (India), informing him of the casualty. Later records note that the father, Runjore Singh, was deceased by then, and all further communication was sent to Pte Nain Singh's mother.
She was later informed that her brave son was the recipient of three medals - the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the 1914/15 Star.
Her permission was sought to bury the remains of Pte Nain Singh at a memorial in Belgium itself. A record preserved at the National Archives of Australia shows that he was buried with honour at the Strand Military Cemetery in Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium - in plot 2, Grave 10.
June 1, 2017 marked the centenary of the death of Pte Nain Singh Sailani which was commemorated at the Perth War Memorial's Kings Park. The event was organised by Sikh Association of Western Australia (SAWA) and the Indian Consulate in Perth.
Source: Indian Consulate Perth
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Mr Amit Kumar Mishra, the Indian Consul General in Perth said, "This was a very proud moment for us to attend and support this event. There are threads of history about Indians in Australia that have been forgotten for decades, and must be preserved. Pte Nain Singh Sailani's story is probably one of the first few successful migrant stories of Indians in Australia - he came here in 1895 at the age of 22, enlisted in the army some 20 years later, went to UK for training and was deployed in many theatres of war in Europe. Ultimately, he sacrificed his life in a foreign land and must be remembered for his gallantry."
"We are glad that Australian Sikh Heritage Association is working so hard to find these stories of Sikhs, especially in Western Australia. In fact this is the second commemoration we've been associated with them - the first one being at Broome, at the 75th anniversary of the death of Flying Officer Man Mohan Singh in the Japanese air raids during WWII, " said Mr Mishra.
Source: Supplied
The Perth commemoration of Pte Nain Singh Sailani was attended by at least three Members of Parliament, including Yaz Mubarakai, the first MP of Indian origin to be elected in Western Australia. Many members of the Sikh community also attended the event, with a devotional hymn "Deh Shiva bar mohe ehe" being offered as well.
Gurdarshan Singh Kailley, the President of Sikh Association of Western Australia was among those present at the ceremony, who also lay a wreath at Kings Park, in the solemn ceremony to mark the centenary yesterday.
Source: Supplied
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Mr Kailley said, "This is a remarkable story of a man born in Simla, who came to Geraldton in Western Australia in the 19th century, and went on to lay his life fighting for the country he called home."
"Stories like his, foster a sense of belonging in us - we feel proud of our Australian heritage and the contribution our ancestors have made to this land. I wish more and more stories like these are found and told. Already, school children in Western Australia are beginning to learn about this forgotten history. And now that ASHA has received a funding of $61,000 from the Defence force, we will shortly see a book that brings forth our military history in Australia," says Mr Kailley.
"So far, many untold stories of Indian history in Australia that have been uncovered - there are some heroes we know a lot about now and there are some like Pte Nain Singh Sailani who were completely forgotten until recently. In fact, his name was inscribed at the Perth War Memorial as 'N Sailani'. We saw it, but never realised this was actually 'Nain Singh Sailani' until very recently. But at the commemoration yesterday, we learnt a lot more about him from historians as well as from the RSL," adds Mr Kailley.
Source: Supplied
"Nain Singh Sailani was an incredibly fit man, and his service records show that he was never hospitalised for any ailment during his service - even though a lot of Australian soldiers fell sick in the bitter European cold on 1916 -1917".
This is borne out in research conducted by Dr Meleah Hampton as published here, courtesy Australian War Memorial Canberra.
The records also point to an "accident" that Pte Sailani was involved in. Disciplinary action was taken against him in January 1917, when he seems to have accidentally discharged his rifle and injured three fellow servicemen - Lt Guy, Sgt Marshall and Pte Brown, as recorded below
Mr Kailley says, "Yes, they spoke about that accident at the commemoration yesterday - but that was a very small part of his service and sacrifice to the nation. Since we believe that Pte Sailani was the only Indian Anzac to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force in WWI from Western Australia, we plan to hold a commemoration for him on June 1 every year."
Research by Dr Meleah Hampton on Pvt Nain Singh Sailani Source: Australian War Memorial
An except from the service record of Pte Nain Singh Sailani Source: NAA
It must be noted that the Australian War Memorial in Canberra is projecting the names of all the fallen soldiers throughout this year to mark the centenary of their supreme sacrifice. The name of Pte Nain Singh Sailani will be projected at the Australian War Memorial at the following times
- Sun 11 June, 2017 at 8:37 pm
- Sun 23 July, 2017 at 7:52 pm
- Thu 7 September, 2017 at 11:43 pm
- Thu 2 November, 2017 at 12:41 am
- Sat 6 January, 2018 at 5:06 am
Source: Supplied
Related articles, interviews and videos from SBS Punjabi
Charting Australia's historical military connections with India
