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Sikh rodeo star hunts for hero
Hounslow ancestors
 LONDON:
A self-styled 'cowboy in a turban' has ridden into Hounslow to learn
more about his great great grandfather's proud military history.
Paramvir Singh
Chattwal, of central Hounslow, who claims to be the world's only
Sikh rodeo star after taking up the sport while living in
Texas has hung
up his spurs for now to track down information about his decorated
forefather, who he believes died in or around the borough.
Paramvir has
already spent years researching the life of Risaldar Major Sher
Singh Sirdar Bahadoor, who was an original member of the Punjab
Frontier Force, formed in 1849.
He was amazed to
discover his relative was the only Sikh chosen to represent the
regiment at Queen
Victoria's
Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1887 when he was still serving at the
ripe old age of 74. He fought for the British in the Indian Mutiny
of 1857 and in the AfghanWars, where his bravery saw him made a
Companion of the Indian Empire(CIE).
But Paramvir
believes he earned his peers' respect by escorting the Koh-i-noor
diamond, then the largest in the world, on a perilous mission across
India
to Calcutta before it became part of the British Crown Jewels in
1877.
"I couldn't
believe he'd been breaking social barriers in 1887 by mixing with
the British aristocracy and five generations later I'm doing the
same by taking up rodeo," said Paramvir.
The 34-year-old
horse breeder is determined to find out where his grandfather stayed
and get in touch with any descendants of the British leaders like
Sir Sam Browne, General F S Roberts and Sir Dighton Probyn.
Courtesy
Hounslow Chronicle
20 August, 2008
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