9,909 Indian Army World War 01 Soldiers To Be Henceforth Remembered In Perpetuity After Historical Injustice.

London; July 2026: The names of 9,909 Indian Army servicemen that were missing from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)’s records have been added, correcting a past historical omission that meant they were never formally commemorated. For the past five years, the CWGC, the UK Punjab Heritage Association and the University of Greenwich have digitised and analysed a rare collection of documents held at Lahore Museum in Pakistan, that contain the names and service details of about 320,000 Punjabi recruits.

The British Army’s Major Daljinder Singh Virdee, who is a driving force behind Sikh recognition in defence, expressed how he felt to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) which has announced the largest single addition to its casualty records since the Second World War that will help create a more inclusive narrative of the First World War.

“To see these soldiers finally receive the recognition they deserve is genuinely moving. It doesn’t change what they did, but it does ensure their sacrifice is remembered as part of our shared military history”, Major Daljinder Singh Virdee asserted, while further adding: “It means a great deal to me personally. As a serving Sikh soldier, I’m conscious that I wear the same cap badge, uphold many of the same values and continue a tradition of service built by generations before me”.

During the First World War, more than 1.4 million men from the Indian Army served on all major battlefronts. 01 in 06 soldiers fighting for the British came from pre-partition India, with half a million from the Punjab, including Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Christian servicemen.

Yet, as CWGC’s official historian Dr George Hay discovered, 9,909 Indian Army servicemen had their ultimate sacrifice written out of history because of rulings made at the time by the British Indian Government. It was decided that the men would not receive war graves because they had died in non-operational zones within India during the First World War (WW01) and therefore, their names were never reported to the Commission.

Major Virdee hopes the CWGC announcement gives the military Sikh community a “real sense of pride”. At a time when the world is so divided, recognition, he says, really matters. “Not because it changes what these men did”, Major Virdee says, “but because it ensures their sacrifice is remembered and their place in history is secure. I also hope it inspires younger generations to learn more about their heritage and reminds us all that Britain’s military story has always been one built by people from across the Commonwealth, serving together”.

A CWGC-funded PhD student at the University of Greenwich, George Williams and 19 volunteers from around the world, many with personal ties to the Registers, examined 15,935 deaths and compared them with 74,000 existing CWGC Indian Army records. Their enormous effort was supported by computer assisted analysis, and each stage was reviewed by the CWGC and Indian Army specialists.

Gavin Rand, Professor of History at the University of Greenwich said: “This project has not only helped to redress an historical injustice, it has also enabled families and communities in Britain and across the world to connect with and better understand their shared history and heritage”.

Major Virdee has asserted that the Sikh Military Foundation, a charity that preserves and promotes Sikh military heritage, is honoured to support the Punjab Registers Project because, he says, thousands of Sikh soldiers have gone unrecognised for far too long. However, he said: “This recognition is an important milestone, but it’s also a reminder that there are still many stories waiting to be uncovered”.

The CWGC is working with governments and nations to seek their views on a physical memorial to honour these soldiers.

Team Maverick.