Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial

History

The Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial stands on the edge of the village of Neuve-Chapelle in northern France. It honors around 4,742 soldiers from India, including Nepal, who died fighting for the British Indian Army in World War I and have no known grave. The site was chosen because Indian troops took part in the nearby Battle of Neuve-Chapelle.

Sir Herbert Baker designed the memorial, with sculptures by Charles Wheeler. It takes the form of a circular enclosure with a tall pillar at its center. The pillar is topped by a lotus capital and features carvings of the Star of India and the Imperial Crown. One side of the enclosure holds panels listing the names of the dead, while the other side remains open. The memorial also includes carved stone tigers and two small domed chattris. At the base of the pillar is a Stone of Remembrance inscribed with the words “Their name liveth for evermore.” The main inscription appears in both English and French, and the column carries another inscription in English, Arabic, Devanagari, and Gurmukhi: “God is One, His is the Victory.”

The memorial was unveiled on 7 October 1927 by F. E. Smith, the 1st Earl of Birkenhead, who was then Secretary of State for India. He had served in France as a staff officer with the Indian Corps from 1914 to 1915 and later co-wrote an official history of the corps. Marshal Ferdinand Foch also attended and gave a speech in French. A contingent of troops from India, including Sikhs, Dogras, and Garhwalis, represented the units that had fought in France. Later additions to the memorials commemorated other Indian Army dead from both world wars. Two Victoria Cross recipients are named on the memorial: Gabar Singh Negi and William Arthur McCrae Bruce.