April marks the beginning of Sikh Heritage Month in Canada. Sikhs have played a vital role in Canadian society in a variety of fields, including serving in the Canadian Armed Forces with honour and courage. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, ten Sikh soldiers served within the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War (WWI) – one of these was Private (Pte) Buckam Singh. Pte Singh’s service to Canada was mostly forgotten until his Victory Medal was found in a shop by a Canadian historian in 2008. The following is his story.
Based on information provided by the Sikh Museum website, Buckam Singh moved to British Columbia (BC) from Mahilpur (Punjab, India) in 1907 at the age of 14. He worked as a miner in BC before his eventual move to Toronto (Ontario) around 1912 – 1913, where he worked as a farm hand in Rosebank (Ontario) before being called-up for active duty. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the spring of 1915 at the age of 22.
During WWI, Pte Singh served in Flanders with the 20th Canadian Infantry Battalion. He was wounded twice in separate battles. While recovering from his wounds in a military hospital in Kitchener (Ontario) he contracted tuberculosis and passed away at just 25 years of age.
Pte Buckam Singh was a pioneer for the Canadian Sikh community and is commemorated by the Kitchener community every Remembrance Day at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pte Singh’s grave is the is the only known military grave of a Sikh soldier in Canada. For this year’s Sikh Heritage month, we remember the sacrifice of Pte Buckam Singh in service to our country.
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2Lt/Slt Raghav Sharma
