Commonwealth in WW1

The Commonwealth answered the call with volunteers from far and wide including pre-partition India, the Caribbean and Africa, all of whom make up a vibrant part of our culture today. We recognise them today as part of the global family of the Commonwealth, and they served with honour, earning the highest awards for bravery.

Hardit Singh Malik was eager to be a pilot but was turned down because he was Indian. The student from Rawalpindi served as an ambulance driver with the French Red Cross before the authorities relented. Hardit, known as The Flying Sikh of Biggin Hill, was the first Indian pilot of the war and would go on to become a distinguished diplomat.

Hardit had a special helmet made to fit over his turban. Credit: ©IWM (HU 63209)

The First World War involved many countries around the world, but did you know about the vast amount of Commonwealth countries whose citizens gave up their lives and fought with British forces? India was one of those countries and the story of Khudadad Khan is just one of many tales of bravery during WW1.

British West India Regiment troops in France, 1916. Photograph copyright Imperial War Museum

One in every six soldiers of the British Empire was from the Indian subcontinent; its contribution was the equivalent of all the forces from the then dominions of the British Empire combined (namely Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa). Of these around 400,000 (about a third of the British Indian Army) were Muslims.