Some stories can only begin with “once upon a time” – like this little-known tale of a Malayan man who cycled from Singapore to England, travelling close to 20,000km in 325 days through 14 countries, in hopes of joining the British army.
In 1958, filled with the ambition of seeing the peoples of the world, Pakhar Singh set out on a bicycle with a tent on his back, a few clothes in a rucksack, and $100 in his pocket. He left Singapore for his hometown, Padang Rengas in Perak, and headed north.
In Burma he was waylaid by dacoits (armed robbers); in Afghanistan, he was arrested by the immigration authorities for not having proper travel documents and was jailed for two weeks.
Discouraged but determined, he cycled, hitchhiked and walked his way towards his distant destination. Who was this tremendously driven (no pun intended) individual?
Pakhar Singh was born in Salak (North), Perak, on May 10, 1937, and studied at Clifford School in Kuala Kangsar. Even during his schooldays, he’d set his sights on joining the British army, an interest spurred on by the goods train that stopped at Padang Rengas railway station with soldiers on board.
Pakhar would go up to them and ask for biscuits and chocolates, which they would give willingly. He’d wear army boots to school, making lots of noise while walking – which would make his teachers angry and lodge complaints to his parents.
Pakhar would write to various army units, local and abroad, requesting for their badges. He collected hundreds and would look after them with great care, polishing them and keeping them in a safe place.
His father, Milka Singh, had come to Malaya in the early 1920s from Mayopatti, Punjab. He worked as an assistant station master with the Federated Malay States Railways in Salak, near Sungai Siput.
After several years he was transferred to Sungai Siput itself before being moved to Padang Rengas, where he served until his retirement.
Mika had a bullock cart, his only means of transport, and would work until late to support his wife, seven sons and two daughters. Pakhar was the fifth child after his sisters.
Pakhar’s love for the army was so great that he decided to leave school and join the British regiment in Singapore. There, he wrote to the queen, asking for a place on the England-bound troopship, and received the reply that if he wished to join the army overseas, he would have to travel at his own expense.
And so he bought a bicycle in Singapore and set out on New Year’s day in 1958. From his starting point, he laboriously made his way back to his hometown, through to Thailand and Burma, and on to India.
Accompanying him was an English friend, ex-serviceman John Robert Martindale of Southampton, who had been granted a discharge from the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards.
In Calcutta, Pakhar was forced to sell his bicycle owing to lack of funds. Martindale decided to remain there (and later returned to England by ship); while Pakhar continued his journey by walking and hitchhiking through Delhi and Lahore, up to Khyber Pass to Peshawar, across the frontier and into Kabul – where he was arrested.
After his release, he continued walking and hitchhiking into Iran. It took him a long time to cross this mountainous country and eventually arrived in Ankara, Istanbul. Then he crossed the Bosporus Strait and reached Europe.
The speed of his progress increased once he arrived in Greece. Then came Yugoslavia, Italy, Switzerland and France, before he finally arrived in Dover, England, on Nov 21, 1958, via a steamer from Boulogne in France.
‘My people will disown me’
Pakhar was interviewed at the Southampton recruitment centre, where he was told to take off his turban and be clean shaven. Dejected and frustrated, he nonetheless obeyed, telling them: “Without my beard and turban, some of my people will disown me.”
He was chosen to join the 10th Royal Hussars, which would see him first being sent to Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth, then a week later for training at Catterick,Yorkshire.
On April 4, 1959, he was posted to the C Squadron at Swinton Barracks in Münster, Germany; and later, in 1960, to Barker Barracks in Paderborn until March 1964, whereafter he returned to Tidworth.
Sometime during all this, Pakhar appeared on television and was interviewed about his sacrifice and near back-breaking journey. This story reached HRH Henry, the Duke of Gloucester, then colonel in chief of the 10th Royal Hussars, who ordered that Pakhar be allowed to “grow his beard again and wear his green turban all the time”.
Suffice to say, this made Pakhar a very happy trooper.
In August 1964 he was posted to Aden in Yemen, then again to England in August the following year. In September 1965 he returned to Germany at York Barracks, rose to the rank of sergeant, and served until 1969.
Later, he was extra-regimentally employed at the headquarters of 20th Armoured Brigade Group and also spent some time with the Army Air Corps.
In London, Pakhar met a girl from Cyprus and married her. They had two daughters. He worked until his retirement and passed away in Cyprus, aged 83, in September 2020.
The writer wishes to thank
- Bachan Singh and Saroop Singh, brothers of Pakhar Singh;
- the 10th Royal Hussars;
- HorsePower, the Museum of the King’s Royal Hussars in Winchester.
Harchand Singh Bedi is a historian, researcher and writer from Ipoh.