Warwick’s Lord Leycester to host film screening highlighting Sikh soldiers’ role in Great War as part of new partnership
By Kirstie Smith
Published 30th Apr 2025, 10:10 BST
Updated 12th May 2025, 16:29 BST
A special screening of an award-winning film on Sikh soldiers’ role in the First World War is to mark the start of a partnership highlighting the shared heritage between Warwick’s local Sikh community and one of the town’s key historic sites. Photos supplied
A special screening of an award-winning film on Sikh soldiers’ role in the First World War is to mark the start of a partnership highlighting the shared heritage between Warwick’s local Sikh community and one of the town’s key historic sites.
The Lord Leycester is hosting a private screening of The Sikh Soldier, a short film that follows a man’s journey as he fights through The Great War in the British trenches, only to survive and have to face a further hell back in India.
Organised and co-funded by the Gursewak Trust and the Sikh Heritage Association Warwick and Leamington (SHAWL), the film received a nomination for Best Short Film of the Year 2023.
The screening at the Lord Leycester, which remains an historic home for veterans known as ‘Brethren’ to this day, will mark the start of a partnership between the historic site and the local Sikh community.
The partnership, which is hoped to feature a joint exhibition at some stage, comes as nations prepare to mark VE Day on May 8.
Some 1.5 million Sikhs volunteered in the Indian Army are believed to have fought alongside the British military during the two World Wars, with 83,000 giving their lives during the conflicts.
The screening is invite-only, with guests set to include dignitaries including Baljinder Singh Rai, chairman of SHAWL and members of the Sikh community.
It will include a session on how the film was made, as well as speeches from Sikh Historian Dr Tejpal Singh Rahmill and Heidi Meyer, the Master of the Lord Leycester and a Q&A session.
Heidi Meyer will also speak on the shared history between the groups.
At the event she will say: “Here at the Lord Leycester, a place steeped in military history, this connection takes on a special meaning.
"For centuries, warriors – the Brethren have lived within these walls – men who dedicated their lives to service.
“It is likely that some of the Brethren here once fought alongside Sikh soldiers during the Indian Mutiny. They fought as brothers in arms, bound by mutual respect.
“That is why we celebrate this history today.
"It is not merely a tale of war, but of partnership, of honour, and of an enduring legacy. We pay tribute to the Sikh soldiers who fought with valour, and to the British soldiers who stood beside them.
"This history is ours to remember, to honour, and to continue and at the Lord Leycester we are committed to do our part.”
The Lord Leycester, a collection of Grade I listed buildings built in the late 1300s, is not only one of the best preserved examples of medieval architecture in England and Europe, but remains an historic home for veterans to this day, with its Brethren welcoming people and carrying out dedicated tours of the site.
In recent years the site underwent a £5million transformation funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players and in partnership with other national and local community donors.
