Images on Homepage, thumbnail and below, third from bottom - Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh Pujji in the cockpit of one of his World War Two aircraft. Second from below - a "Hurricane" fighter aircraft belonging to the RAF.
History
WWII Distinguished Flying Cross Veteran Reminisces
A HISTORY & HONOUR News Report
Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji, aged 90, recently visited the "We Were There" exhibition in Maidstone, Kent, U.K., where it is currently on display as part of Kent County Council's Black History Season celebrations.
Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh grew up in India, where he developed a passion for flying early on, taking his first lesson at the age of 17.
Once qualified as a pilot in 1937, he started working for Shell in India. When World War Two broke out, however, he didn't need to think twice before responding to a Royal Air Force (RAF) advert in the newspaper seeking volunteer pilots:
"At the beginning it was a game to me," he recalls. "I just loved to fly."
Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh flew many dangerous missions during the war, completing two tours in Burma in support of Army forces based there. He flew Hurricanes, his favourite aircraft, and conducted regular low reconnaissance sweeps over enemy-occupied areas.
His squadron became known as the "Eyes of the Army."
On one occasion, Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh was approached at his base unit by an American commander, who stated that he had 300 troops missing in the Burmese jungle. The squadron conducted a sweep over the jungle, but were unable to spot the missing troops.
Following his return to base, Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh remembered passing a clearing and thinking that there was something different about it. As concern for the missing men rose, he made a request to conduct a solo overflight and, on circling the clearing a couple more times at a dangerously low level, he spotted some men waving for help. He returned to his unit which immediately organised the rescue of the 300 missing troops.
For his services in Burma, Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the greatest honour bestowed by Britain on its air force heroes.
He retired from the RAF in 1974.
When asked how it felt flying with the RAF, Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh replied:
"Wonderful. They were very brave, an inspiration. Every morning the Station Commander of the unit I was based at would come in to the breakfast room and ask for volunteers for the next mission and everyone would raise their hands. This raised my respect for the RAF greatly."
Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh also recalls training in London during the Blitz, and the thanks he received from the British public, who welcomed the invaluable support of volunteers from all over the Empire in Britain's time of need:
"The people of London were wonderful; I used to walk the streets in my RAF uniform and turban but received no discrimination and often received a grateful thank you from the public."
After his retirement, he continued to fly, with gliding becoming his new passion. He achieved accolades in the fields of motor racing, skydiving at the age of 70, and setting the world record for the number of hours spent gliding over the Himalayas.
He now lives in Gravesend, Kent, U.K.
The "We Were There' Exhibition tours the UK and highlights the often under-recognised contribution made to Britain's Defence over the last 250 years by men and women from Africa, Asia, the West Indies and other Commonwealth countries, who fought and served alongside the British Armed Forces during many major conflicts.
When asked for his thoughts on the "We Were There" exhibition, Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh Pujji replied:
"Wonderful, really nice. It's a good effort to let the younger generation know what we have done for the cause of freedom."
[Courtesy: Defence News]
November 20, 2008
Conversation about this article
1: Balraj Singh (London, England), November 24, 2008, 10:01 AM.
A very interesting article on an important pioneer of the Sikh community in the UK. I understand however, that Sqd Ldr Pujji now 90 years old, no longer wears the turban. I personally consider this a great shame as it was this article of his faith that endeared him to the British public. It would be revealing to know what forced him to doff it and cut his hair, as I know that many young Sikhs are perplexed.
2: Sandeep Singh Brar (Canada), November 24, 2008, 1:25 PM.
To answer your question about Sqd Ldr Pujji and his turban, in my research on Sikh aviators for SikhMuseum.com, I came across an interview in The Guardian that he gave a few years ago; it may shed some light: Even in training, Pujji insisted that he be allowed to fly with his turban, unlike many other Sikh flyers - and he is probably the only fighter pilot to have done so. "I thought I was a very religious man, I shouldn't take off my turban. The British people were so nice and accommodating. They respected that. I had a special strap made to hold my earphones. I used to carry a spare turban with me so I would have one if I got shot down." Eventually, he stopped wearing his turban, partly because it got in the way, partly because he felt different about religion.
3: Kanwal Nain Singh (Lindsay, Ontario, Canada), March 29, 2009, 9:44 PM.
I was not aware that Sq. Ldr. Pujji had shorn his hair. I recall that he kept his full Sikhi saroop, much after he retired from active flying. I had a chance to meet him and know him in the 50's, when he was serving as aerodrome officer at Palam airport, under the civil aviation department. If what one writer has commented is true, I wonder if Sq. Ldr. Pujji, in his later years, had any medical problem necessitating remaoval of his turban. I had always known him as a fully attired Sikh.