| COLONELS OF THE REGIEMENT | | |  Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat, PVSM, VC was the first Indian Commissioned Officer to earn the Victoria Cross for valour during the Second World War. "His coolness for a period of 96 hours, and his persistence and gallantry not only in battle but throughout the long period during which the safety of the column and the speed at which it could advance were dependent on his personal efforts, were of the highest order" is how his citation reads, for action at Metemma (Abyssinia) on 31 January 1941. This eminent soldier was commissioned into the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners - a regiment which has an association with the Sikh Pioneers. |
Born on 14 October 1918 at Gorakhpur and educated at RIMC, Dehradun, Premindra Singh Bhagat joined the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned on 15 July 1939 and went to Eritrea in 1940 with 21 Field Company as a Second Lieutenant. It was there that he displayed the astounding act, described by his commanding officer as "the longest continued feat of sheer cold courage". After attending the Staff College at Camberley, he was appointed Commander Royal Engineers of 4 Indian Division. On promotion to Colonel, he became the youngest ever Commandant of the Bombay Engineers Group in February 1949. Amongst his later appointments were Chief Instructor, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; Director of Military
Intelligence at Army Headquarters; Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; Brigadier General Staff 1 Corps and Chief of Staff Eastern Command. During his illustrious career he commanded 165 Infantry Brigade, 9 Infantry Division, 11 Corps, and the Central Command, before raising the Northern Command on 17 June 1972.
As Chief of Staff Eastern Command, he assisted Lieutenant General TB Henderson Brooks in the inquiry into the 1962 debacle with China. He saved Lucknow from certain disaster during the floods of 1971, in recognition of which he was awarded the PVSM. As General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command he headed the delineation talks with Pakistan to demarcate the Line of Control after the 1971 war. Lieutenant General Prem Bhagat became the Colonel of the Regiment on 11 January 1966. Amongst his notable contributions to the Regiment was the raising of four battalions and changing the regimental accoutrements (lanyard, facing and belt buckles, the bugle on the shoulder title and the selection of flame of forest as the regimental colour).
Much admired as a man, a soldier and as a military thinker, he was a thoroughly fun loving, hard working, dedicated officer - available to all: colleagues, subordinates and superiors, without any sign or show of superiority. Judged by many as one of the most outstanding Generals that the Indian Army has produced, he retired from the army on 31 August 1974 and became the Chairman of the Damodar Valley Corporation in West Bengal. Amongst the books he authored are: "Forging the Shield: A Study of the Defence of India and South East Asia"; "The Shield and the Sword: India 1965 and After: The New Dimensions"; and "Wielding of Authority in Emerging Countries"; (the last being published posthumously). He died on 23 May 1975, a man whose service to the country could ill afford to be spared and whose loss to the regiment was deeply felt. A genuine concern for the well being of the troops he commanded, as well as their families, and an ability to be accepted, as 'one of them' was the hallmark of his personality. The march past tune, "Prem Bhagat March", serves as a constant reminder of him.
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