Sikh Delegation Trip to Ypres, July 2017

On the 21st of July 2017, a Sikh delegation visited the monument in Hollebeke to pay tributes and respects to Sikh soldiers who had laid down their lives during the First World War for the freedom of mankind, particularly around the Ypres Salient (Belgium). The occasion was a special one, because the delegation included prominent members of the Sikh community of Punjab, such as Dr. Davinder Singh Chhina (Member of Punjab Arts Council and Director of the Punjab Multicultural Festival). The delegation visited other sites on the former Western Front, including the Menin Gate in Ypres, Neuve Chapelle and the CWGC Bedfordshire House Cemetery, near Zillebeke. A Youtube video showing highlights of the visit is available via the website link. This photograph depicts the unveiling of the Sikh monument in Hollebeke on 3 April 1999, over a weekend which combined a celebration of the Vaisakhi and the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Khalsa.