Current Events

Order Of Service:
Gallipoli & The Sikhs -
National Memorial Service
Part I

1914 SIKHS

The following are excerpts from
THE ORDER OF SERVICE
As referred to in yesterday's article





St Martin-in-the-Fields
[logo]

NATIONAL MEMORIAL SERVICE

[logo]
1914 SIKHS
NEVER FORGOTTEN


A SOLEMN COMMEMORATION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE SIKH REGIMENT AT THE BATTLE OF GALLIPOLI & THROUGHOUT THE GREAT WAR


[logo - First World War Centenary - Imperial War Museum]


Monday 8th June 2015
3 pm




[Painting]

The Idol of the Regiment – A Sikh Saving His Officer
Artist Lawson Wood, (1878–1957)

FOREWORD

ST Martin-in-the-Fields is sometimes described as the church with the ever-open door. It is a description which reflects not only its status as an iconic landmark in London but also its tradition of serving the multinational community to which the
capital plays host.

By virtue of its position amongst the prominent churches of London, St Martin’s has also been at the confluence of history and acts of worship. Our archives testify to the long tradition of the church as a venue to significant historic events. The memorial service for HH Prince Victor Albert Duleep Singh of Lahore, the eldest son of the last Maharajah of the Punjab, took place here in June 1918.

However it was in June 1915 that well-wishers of the Sikh regiment assembled here in solemn commemoration of its heroism at the Battle of Gallipoli: heroism that had been mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. It is therefore fitting that almost a hundred years later to the day we are assembled here to once again honour that bravery, in a joint act of commemoration.

The Sikh and Christian faiths share a recognition of the virtues of Mercy, Truth, Righteousness and Peace. In this sense they both reach beyond their faithful to a vision of a better world. It is for the vision of that world, and in commemoration of those who have died seeking it, that we are gathered today.

Revd Dr Sam Wells
Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields

I FIRST became aware of the distinguished history of The Jullundur Brigade on my appointment in 1986 as Colonel of The King’s (Liverpool and Manchester) Regiment, one of the three regiments of that gallant formation who were deployed from India in 1914 to take part in the Great War in Europe.

Much later the Jullundur Brigade Association was formed. The founder, Major General Mohinder S Chopra, recorded at that time:

“There is something unique and central in the faiths that men-in-arms professed, to have made it incumbent upon men of different religions – Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Hindu – to have lived and fought and died together.”

As President of the Jullundur Brigade Association, it has been my privilege to lead a British, Indian and Pakistan delegation to France and Belgium on the exact centenary of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the Brigade’s most distinguished WWI battle honour, and to lay wreaths at the Menin Gate and at the Indian War Memorial.

My admiration for the Sikhs has grown as I have become more closely acquainted with their martial history and their extensive contribution to British society. It was therefore an honour to be invited to act as Patron of the 1914 Sikhs commemorative programme of which this Service is a part.

It is fitting that the selfless sacrifice of the Sikhs should be acknowledged by us today and by future generations who can both learn and take inspiration from these lessons of our histories.

Today’s Memorial Service, focussing on the gallant but ultimately doomed Gallipoli expedition and the role played by Empire troops, including large numbers of Sikh soldiers, is an important part of our national reflection and commemoration.

Major General Peter Davies CB
Patron of the 1914 Sikhs





The service is conducted by Revd Dr SamWells,
Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and by Mandeep Kaur,
Sikh Chaplain to the British Armed Forces.

The service is sung by St Martin’s Voices, conducted by
Dr Andrew Earis, Director of Music, St Martin-in-the-Fields,
and Acapella Jatha.

The organ is played by Martin Ford, Assistant Organist,
Westminster Abbey. Sikh music is played by Gursevak Jatha.

*


MUSIC BEFORE THE SERVICE

Guests to take their seats and cover their heads as Gursevak Jatha play:



MOOL MANTAR

ONE God, whose name is Truth, creator of the Universe,
who is without fear, without enmity, who is the image of
timelessness, who is unborn, who is self manifested and who
can be attained by the grace of the Guru.





ORDER OF SERVICE

All stand.

Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields:

WELCOME & OPENING PRAYER

All sit.




Major General Peter Davies CB, reads:

ST JOHN 1: 1–5

IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.


All remain seated and cover their heads.



Mandeep Kaur, Sikh Chaplain to the British Armed Forces, speaks on the importance of faith to the Sikh soldier and introduces the first Shabad, sung by Acapella Jatha:

THE CALL OF WAR DRUMS

Verse of Kabir

THE call of war drums resounds in the sky mind
and finds its target
The spiritual warrior answers the call and enters
the battlefield, for now this life is the time for battle
against evils. Only he is known as the true warrior who
fights for the poor. Though he may be cut to pieces,
he does not desert the battlefield.




[To Be Continued … ]

June 16, 2015

 

read other articles in Current Events