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British Empire Medal Awardee List
A total of 5 Awards are listed.
British Empire Medal : 5 |
 British Empire Medal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt | B M Kothari 10379 OR | Unit : -N.A.- | Award Date | Announced 01 Jan 45 | |
| Details : | Citation Not Available | ||||
| Reference: | |||||
| British Empire Medal | |||||
| Art 1 | Prem Ballabh Pant 3234 OR | Unit : -N.A.- | Award Date | Announced 01 Jan 45 | |
| Details : | Citation Not Available | ||||
| Reference: | |||||
| British Empire Medal | |||||
| LAC | Sitacendra Purkayasta 14825 OR | Unit : -N.A.- | Award Date 01 Oct 44 | Announced 27 Apr 45 | |
| Details : | In October 1944, an aircraft with overload petrol tank developed an internal glycol leak whilst taking off from an R.A.F. station and crashed near the end of the runway immediately bursting into flames. LAC Purkayasta, who was working in the M.T. yard, saw the aircraft crash and, taking the nearest vehicle drove to the scene of the accident. He was the first person to arrive and found the aircraft enveloped in flames with the pilot, whose clothing and parachute were on fire, lying half out of the cockpit in an unconcious condition. Disregarding the flames this airman endeavoured to drag the pilot clear but found that he was held by his tangled harness. LAC Purkaysta was then obliged to retire before the intense heat. He secured a knife from a native labourer who had arrived on the scene and with this he returned to the rescue. He cut the retaining straps of the equipment , dragged the pilot clear and proceeded to extinguis his burning clothing. Unfortunately the pilot died on the way to hospital. LAC Purkaysta displayed great gallantry and complete disregard for his own safety. | ||||
| Reference: | London Gazette 37054 dated 27 April 1945. Page 2243 (Courtesy Hugh Halliday) | ||||
| British Empire Medal | |||||
| AC 1 | Leonard John Saldhana 15228 OR | Unit : -N.A.- | Award Date 01 Nov 44 | Announced 06 Jul 45 | |
| Details : | One evening in November 1944, AC 1 Saldanha and a colleague were the first two people to arrive at the scene of an aircraft which had crashed and was burning fiercely. With complete disregard for their personal safety , these two Airmen enteretd the flames and succeeded in recuing one meber of the crew. Although by this time the fire had considerably increased and the heat was intense AC 1 Saldanha went back for the remaining passenger , but was unable to reach him. This Airman showed bravery and gallantry of a very high order in re-entering the burning aircraft and attemting a further rescue after having already sustained burns on his hands and forearms. | ||||
| Reference: | London Gazette 37165 dated 6 July 1945. Page 3513 (Courtesy Hugh Halliday) | ||||
| British Empire Medal | |||||
| Sgt | Kharbanda Jai Chandra 191 OR | Unit : 4 Squadron | Award Date 01 Feb 45 | Announced 13 Jun 46 | |
| Details : | This Indian Non-Commissioned Officer has charge of a flight of No.4 Indian Squadron. His determination and ability have had a great influence among both officers and airmen. He has imbued all ranks with a fine fighting spirit and camaraderie which have contributed largely to the high standard of morale in the squadron. In February 1945, a fire occurred in an aircraft pen which contained two Hurricanes which were loaded with bombs. One aircraft was ablaze and the danger of the bombs exploding was great. Sergeant Chandra was first on the scene and boarded the undamaged aircraft and taxied it out of the pen. By his courageous effort an aircraft was saved and a disaster averted which might have entailed heavy casualties | ||||
| Reference: | London Gazette 37598 dated 13 June 1946. Page 2809 (Courtesy Hugh Halliday and Tom Thorne) | ||||
The Awards Database presented here was made possible by the kind generosity of Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, author of Courage & Devotion to Duty : A Chronicle of IAF's Honours and Awards (1932-2008). Air Marshal Bharat Kumar had very graciously given permission to reproduce the citations from the book on this website.
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Note: All the data available here is publicly available in the Gazette of India, published by the Indian Government, or from public domain sources, press releases about Awards and Right-To-Information (RTI) Requests. Additionally data shared by veterans is added to the page with permission. No data with respect to serving officers below the rank of AVM is displayed. Information in Gazette of India and Award citations and photographs as released by the Indian Air Force are the only details displayed.