Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha - History

History

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall was established in England by Sikhs who had emigrated in the fifties and early sixties. By the 1950s, a significant number of Sikhs were living in Britain, and the main congregational gathering was at Shepherd's Bush Gurdwara. To accommodate the Southall Sikhs, the Southall Sikh Cultural Society was established in 1960. This organisation held Sunday programmes at Shackleton Hall until it moved to 11 Beaconsfield Road.

The Havelock Road site was purchased in 1967. The dairy was transformed into the Gurdwara in a matter of weeks. In April 1967, the Khanda was brought to England from the Tosha Khana at Darbar Sahib Amritsar for Amrit Sanchar. From those humble beginnings, Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall emerged as the leading Gurdwara in Europe.

29 November 1997 saw Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall move to the Park Avenue site (which was originally purchased in 1984). The move was necessary to allow for the new building at Havelock Road which opened on 30 March 2003.The building of the new Gurdwara was to mark 300 year of the Establishment of the Khalsa Panth - Sikh Brotherhood of Saint Soldiers.Under the leadership & vision of Sardar Himmat Singh Sohi a plan was drawn up to make the biggest Gurdwara outside Panjab at the Havelock Road site.The Gurdwara now stands proud at Havelock Road as the biggest Gurdwara in the Western Hemisphere,its inauguration was done by HRH Prince of Wales - Prince Charles.Since then many dignitaries such as Former Prime Minister Rt Hon Tony Blair,Archbishop of Canterbury and the leaders of all the Political Parties have visited the Gurdwara.

Since then the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara purchased the a sports ground in Norwood Green which has since been developed in to the Khalsa Primary School - the school is now one of the most modern and leading schools in the area.

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