Page 244 - Leadership in the Indian Army

was sent to probe towards Metemma. It included a detachment of 21 Field
Company under the command of Second Lieutenant P.S. Bhagat. He was in
one of the leading bren carriers, with the recce party. The road was heavily

mined and very soon his carrier blew up. Fortunately, there were no
casualties. Then it went over another mine and this time, the sapper sitting
next to him as well as the driver were both killed. Prem got into another
carrier and continued. Whenever they encountered a minefield, he would
get down and painstakingly defuse the mines by hand. He worked for three
days straight, without rest or food. On the fourth day, they ran into an
ambush.

The third time his carrier was blown up, on 2 February 1941, Prem’s
eardrum was punctured. He continued with his task, under close enemy fire,
and refused to be relieved on the grounds that having learnt how to defuse
the mines, he was better qualified to do the job, and would be able to do it
faster than anyone else. Finally, on 3 February 1941, he was ordered by
Colonel Blood, CO 3/12 Frontier Force Rifles, to relinquish his post. With

blood oozing from his ears and utterly exhausted, he was evacuated to
safety, and then to a hospital in Khartoum. By this time he had been
working for 96 hours and had cleared 15 minefields, covering a distance of
55 miles.
In February 1941, Prem Bhagat became the first ICO to be awarded the
VC, the highest gallantry award then in existence. The coveted cross was
awarded not for an isolated act of valour, but for the longest recorded feat of

sheer courage. With characteristic modesty, Prem did not mention the award
in any of his letters to Mohini. In fact, he never talked of the incident even
when asked about it in later years. His association with the Royal Frontier
Force continued even after the regiment was redesignated as the Sikh Light
Infantry after Independence. He remained Colonel of the Regiment even
after his retirement, a rare honour.

In June 1941, after the Eritrean Campaign had ended, a victory parade
was held at Asmara. General Wavell took the salute at the parade, which
was held in the forecourt of the palace of the Duke of Aosta. During an
investiture ceremony at the parade, Wavell presented the VC ribbon to
Lieutenant P.S. Bhagat and the DSO ribbon to Second Lieutenant Cochrane.
Prem wore khakhi shorts, hose-tops, ankle puttees, a fore and aft khakhi cap
with the Sapper grenade, and the blue lanyard of the Royal Bombay