Chanan Singh Dhillon

Lieutenant-Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd) (Born 1920), is a famous Punjabi Indian Sikh World War II hero and veteran. He fought in World War II in the British Indian army. He was taken prisoner (POW) by the Germans in 1943. He stayed in POW camps in Italy, France and Germany. In Germany he remained confided to POW Camp XII in Limburg near Frankfurt. In addition, the International Red Cross, Geneva who was responsible for the welfare of POWs, appointed him Chief Man of confidence. He escaped many times only to be recaptured by the Germans. One example is when with the help of some of his fellow prisoners; Canadian, British and Australians they managed to tunnel out of Odine POW camp, near Naples in Italy.

When the Germans freed Mussolini, who had been arrested by Italians seeking to end Italy's participation in the war, the Italian guards became so disheartened that they became increasingly lax, he and the others used this opportunity to escape but they were soon recaptured. The Americans liberated him in 1944. First he was taken to Paris, then across the channel to London from where he was sent back to India.

After WWII he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the newly formed Indian Army. After retiring he became president of the ex-services league (Punjab and Chandigarh), in India. He has tirelessly campaigned for the full recognition of the sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of the Indian-subcontinent, African and Caribbean origin who fought in WWII for the allies and the British. This campaign was realised by the building of a large memorial in London (Memorial Gates) on August 1, 2001 when Queen Elizabeth laid the foundation of the memorial and returned to inaugurated it the next year, on November 6, 2002 on its completion.