Pendraken Miniatures Forum

Pendraken Releases, Requests and Photos! => Requests => WW2 Requests => Topic started by: Orcs on 30 May 2012, 09:11:04 PM

Title: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Orcs on 30 May 2012, 09:11:04 PM
Can we have some Sikh infantry for the Western Desert. They would probably do for the far east too.  Its just a head change really.  Could do the same  with the late war Brits as well as they served in  Europe and Italy as well
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: kustenjaeger on 30 May 2012, 09:54:23 PM
Greetings

No Sikh units in North Western Europe in WW2.   The advantage of doing Sikh heads on Western Desert 8th Army figures would be that they could also be used for the Far East until late-ish 1943 and the summer months in Italy.  However I'm not sure if the economics would be worth it for Pendraken.  As other Indian infantry mainly wore helmets I tend to ignore the Sikh units - if Pendraken did some I'd buy enough for a BKC battalion.

Regards

Edward 
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Orcs on 31 May 2012, 04:04:33 AM
Thanks Kusten - When I said Europe I was thinking Italy not North West Europe.
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Ben Waterhouse on 31 May 2012, 05:11:59 PM
Indeed they were; my father-in-law served with them in 4th Indian Div '42 to '45. Sikhs, Rajputs, Gurkhas, etc. North Africa and Italy.

He calls it the "Shitehawk Division" ... Don't know why...

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Indian4DivBadge.JPG)
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Dazza on 01 June 2012, 07:45:37 PM
Quote from: Ben Waterhouse on 31 May 2012, 05:11:59 PM
Indeed they were; my father-in-law served with them in 4th Indian Div '42 to '45. Sikhs, Rajputs, Gurkhas, etc. North Africa and Italy.

He calls it the "Shitehawk Division" ... Don't know why...

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Indian4DivBadge.JPG)

Military badges depicting birds of prey are also sometimes referred to as sh*te-hawks. Examples include the eagle badge on the sleeves of the 4th Indian Division of the British Indian Army
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: kustenjaeger on 01 June 2012, 09:53:45 PM
Greetings

On which topic I've got the History of 4th Indian Division in paperback.  Very good.

Regards

Edward
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Ben Waterhouse on 02 June 2012, 09:57:34 AM
Quote from: kustenjaeger on 01 June 2012, 09:53:45 PM
Greetings

On which topic I've got the History of 4th Indian Division in paperback.  Very good.

Regards

Edward

Fantastic! Can you give please me the ISBN for that so I can do a search for a copy?

Thanks
Ben
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: kustenjaeger on 02 June 2012, 11:25:27 AM
Ben

The Naval & Military Press edition that I've got is 978-1-84574-993-4.  It's a facsimile so not quite as good as an original hardbound copy that I got from the library (eg loss of image on photos, no colour on maps and some are smaller etc) but good enough in my view given the content (and the price for any other version).

NM&P had it for about £16.  http://www.naval-military-press.com/fourth-indian-division.html

Regards

Edward
Title: Re: Sikhs for Western desert
Post by: Ben Waterhouse on 02 June 2012, 02:24:18 PM
Thanks Edward.