Sepoy Kamal Ram VC 8th Punjab Regiment Sepoy Kamal Ram was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in Italy on 12th May 1944. On that day, his Company had successfully crossed the River Gari but their advance was held up by heavy fire from German machine-gun posts. In response to his Company Commander’s request for a volunteer to silence a specific machine-gun post, Sepoy Ram attacked it and successfully captured the post after killing the crew. He then proceeded to attack and capture two more machine-gun posts and in the process killed several of the enemy and forced the rest to surrender. We Were There - Photo of Sepoy Kamal Ram VC 8th Punjab Regiment
Thanks .. Probably you've noted a couple of interesting as well as some dangerous and unusual manoeuvering performed by the Allies there in the Liri Appendix to outhold Germans and advanced through the Gustav Line and Hitler's defences, before entering Rome. Anyway, recalling Sepoy/Pvt Kamal Ram, (the youngest VC recipient of India-later Major) and his 3/8 Punjabis were 'missing' at the time of the arrival of the NEWS! [then Colonel, after securing Point 63 Kamal Ram had been injoured during Bastiola offensive, recovered soon and re-joined the 3/8 Punjab]. They were somewhere in the extensive line of communication. So the Major had only a few days before King's arrival and however he had to 'present' Kamal Ram in the Ceremony. Messages had been despatched in every possible ways and directions to 'get' him, since everyone was eager to find Kamal! But it wasn't untill the evening before his 'd day'. The Major 'worked a lot' in that evening teaching his 'boy' since Kamal was unversed in the rituals! BAILEY Bridge on the Back of a Sherman : Crossing the rapid flowing Gari River (50 feet/16m wide and 30 feet/10m in deapth)/Allies in the Liri Appendix. '' .... Canadian mechanics and Indian (Bengal) sappers had succeeded in launching a Bailey bridge, born on the back of a Sherman-whose turret dismantled and thrust from the rear by another Sherman to get into 'position'. The bridge then welded on the back of the first Sherman. Slowly it moving down to the river and when water level rose upto the turret, the crew came out and one Canadian commander blew off the weldings to 'free' the bridge from the Sherman (IIRC, the British MES team was about to reach but had to cross 12 km/10m). The Bridge is still there, one may go to see the Bailey bridge, not 'too far', only 5km/3m from the town Sant' Angelo. [war time code named Plymouth, nearabout another one Oxford- a thousand yard upstream, also near to Point 63] Some old wartime photographs of the Liri Appendix : http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/Tiger3/illustrations.html
