12 · FAMILY STORIES
Prem Singh: wartime service and remembrance
Gharka
Son of Chogatta/Jagat Singh
Profile
Havildar Prem Singh served with the 1st Battalion of the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force), service number 624. He died on 8 March 1916 during the First World War and is commemorated at the Basra Memorial in Iraq, Panel 53. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his father as Jagat Singh of Ghurkah. 1
His record may correspond to Prem Singh of Gharka in the village service register. That entry records his father as Choghatta Singh and his regiment as “Infantry No 56”, with the remark: “He Won Medal in The War, Died In The War”. 2
Sources & Notes
Sources and notes (2)
[1] Commonwealth War Graves Commission, casualty record 1679024: Havildar Prem Singh, service number 624, 1st Battalion, 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force); died 8 March 1916; Basra Memorial, Panel 53.
[2] compiled Karmuwala and Gharka First World War register: register page 729, entry 7599. The name, regiment, locality and death remark support a possible identification. The register gives a dash for rank; the difference between Choghatta Singh and Jagat Singh remains unresolved. The original register page has not been checked against an image, and the medal is not named.