Umrao Singh - Later Life

Later Life

Singh was presented with his VC by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 15 October 1945. The citation reads "Havildar Umrao Singh set a supreme example of gallantry and devotion to duty."

He was promoted to Subedar Major after recovering from his wounds. He retired from the British Indian army in 1946, but rejoined the army in 1947 following independence, and served until 1965. After leaving the army a second time, he returned to farm his family's 2 acre (8,000 m²) smallholding.

He was made an honorary captain in 1970. At the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of VE Day in London in 1995, he was almost turned away from the VIP tent because his name was not on the correct list, but Brigadier Tom Longland, who had organised the event, recognised his medal and gave orders for him to be admitted. After the event, Singh complained to British Prime Minister John Major about the meagre pension of £168 per year paid to the then ten surviving Indian VC holders. The amount had remained fixed since 1960, but Major subsequently arranged for the pension to be raised to £1,300 per year. He attended the service of dedication of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Memorial in Westminster Abbey on 14 May 2003.

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in July 2005, he died, aged 85, at the Army Research and Referral hospital in New Delhi 21 November 2005. He was cremated in his native village with full military honours, attended by Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Chief Minister of Haryana), General Joginder Jaswant Singh (Army Chief), and Lt Gen Charanjit Singh (Director General of Artillery). His wife, Vimla pre-deceased him, but he was survived by two sons and a daughter.

In spite of personal hardship and receiving substantial offers, Singh refused to sell his medal during his lifetime, saying that selling the medal would "stain the honour of those who fell in battle".