A BRADFORD woman has spoken about how the unveiling of the only Commonwealth War Memorial in the UK outside London was a “particularly poignant” moment.
Located at the War Memorial Gardens in Bradford city centre, the monument honours the contributions and sacrifices of troops from Commonwealth nations who fought in both World War One and World War Two.
It was unveiled on Wednesday and was a poignant occasion for Bradford Councillor Sabiya Khan.
She said: “Bradford being the first city outside of London to unveil a Commonwealth war memorial was very personal to me for Remembrance Sunday.
“It was particularly poignant because my father (Haji Habib Khan Butt) served in the Second World War.
“He served in the army in British India before it became Pakistan in 1947. He joined at an early age of 15.
“He had really good language as he had learned English. It was a useful skill to have during the war.
“He lived and worked here before he passed away in 1993. He came to help rebuild the country after the war.
“He didn’t talk a great deal about the war and the medals he earned then.
“But we recently had his medals framed. They were quite high profile.”
Cllr Khan, who was proud of her father and his service to the country, said the four medals were the War Medal, the India Service Medal, the Republic Medal and the Pakistan Medal.
The four medals are described as follows:
The War Medal (1939-1945) was a military campaign medal awarded by the UK to people from the British Commonwealth Armed Forces and Merchant Navy who had served at least 28 days full-time between September 3, 1939 and September 2, 1945.
The India Service Medal (1939–1945) was a campaign medal awarded by the Indian Empire to Indian Forces, including Reserve, State, and Women's forces, for a minimum of three years of non-operational service in India during World War II. Around 220,000 of these cupro-nickel medals were issued.
The Republic of Pakistan Medal 1956 or Tamgha-e-Jamhuria was instituted on March 16, 1957, by the President of Pakistan (Iskander Mirza) to commemorate the inauguration of the Republic of Pakistan on March 23, 1956.
The Pakistan Medal (called Tamgha-e-Pakistan) was established by King George VI in 1949 and awarded to members of the Pakistani armed forces and attached British personnel. It was awarded for service just before and after the creation of Pakistan in August 14, 1947.
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