b. ? India. d. 01/10/1942 India.
DATE OF GC ACTION: 1934 Jharwan, India.
Rangit Singh (? – 1942) is believed to have been born in the Punjab District of India, though sadly his date of birth, or many details of his life are unknown. What is known is that he became a Tahsildar (Revenue Officer) in the United Provinces of India, when the incident occurred for which he received the Empire Gallantry Medal of the Civil Division (London Gazette, 28th December 1934).
George Cross
In 1934, he was in the neighbourhood of Jharwan in the Saharanpur District when he received information that a gang of 25 dacoits armed with short guns and lathis were attacking the house of a wealthy Bania. He collected four men and proceeded at once to the village and attacked the dacoits, his only weapon being a pistol. When two of his men had been wounded and his pistol had temporarily jammed, he continued to attack. Eventually, after wounding one of the dacoits, he succeeded in driving them off, and by his prompt actions was able to stop a very serious incident developing.
Following the creation of the George Cross in September 1940, he was automatically entitled to exchange his EGM for the new decoration. Sadly, he held the GC for a relatively short period of time, passing away in October 1942. It is believed he was cremated, and the whereabouts of his GC are unknown though believed to be in private ownership.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN – BELIEVED CREMATED IN INDIA.