The Flying Sikh : The Story of a WW1 Fighter Pilot--Flying Officer Hardit Singh Malik.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barker, Stephen.

Contributor:

Tharoor, Shashi.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Royal Air Force.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Flying Sikh

Place of Publication:

Havertown : Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2022.

Summary:

The Flying Sikh tells the unique story of the only Sikh airman to fly with the RFC and the RAF during the First World War. It is the remarkable account of one man's struggle to enlist, against discrimination, and then his service as a fighter pilot over the battlefields of Flanders.This book represents the only detailed study of an Indian national enlisting in Britain's armed forces during the First World War. It is an account of India's role in the war; the rise of Indian nationalism and the challenges of Indians to take up the status of a commissioned officer in His Majesty's Armed Forces.Malik started his new life in Britain as a fourteen-year-old public school boy, who progressed to Balliol College, Oxford, before attempting to join the Royal Flying Corps after graduation with friends from university, but was denied a commission. Keen to participate in the war, he served with the French Red Cross in 1916 as an ambulance driver and then offered his services to the French air force. Ultimately, one of his Oxford tutors wrote on Malik's behalf to General David Henderson, the former head of the RFC, and secured Malik a cadetshipAbove all though, it is the story of a man who was a county cricketer who played for Sussex and Oxford University, an outstanding golfer and fighter pilot who fought over Passchendaele in the autumn of 1917. Being a devout Sikh, he wore a specially designed flying helmet that fitted over his turban.Malik claimed two kills until he was shot down, crashing unconscious to the ground behind Allied lines. His Sopwith Camel was riddled with over 400 bullet holes. Malik was only one of a small number of Indian nationals who served with the RAF during the war.In later life, Malik became the first Indian High Commissioner to Canada, and then served as the Indian Ambassador to France.

Contents:

Cover

Book Title

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Dramatis Personae

Notes on the Text and Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1 Rawalpindi

Chapter 2 Eastbourne

Chapter 3 Oxford

Chapter 4 Cognac

Chapter 5 Aldershot

Chapter 6 Yatesbury

Plate section

Chapter 7 Droglandt

Chapter 8 Grossa

Chapter 9 London

Chapter 11 Amritsar

Chapter 12 Conclusion

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Glossary

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-3990-8330-9

OCLC:

1390922919