“I was lucky. Today, I would have been fired if I had changed so many times, ”Gill told TOIamid at his Chandigarh residency celebrations with his family and the regiment he raised.
From exploring the skies to sailing the high seas, his has been a unique career. It started in 1942, when it was incorporated the Royal Indian Air Force as a pilot, without the consent of his family. “I would fly Howard planes when I was stationed in Karachi,” he said.
3 generations had served in the military before Gill
So worried was his family that Lt Gen RA Savoy, a senior British Army officer the family knew, managed to be transferred to the Navy in 1943. “I went on to serve on a mine clearance ship before joining INS Teer as an officer officer during World War II. A young second lieutenant in the Navy, he attended a long-range artillery course and was qualified as an Artillery Instructor.
“Then, hoping to continue the family tradition of serving in the 1st Sikh Regiment, I joined the Army,” he said. Due to his experience as an Ordnance Instructor, Gill was posted to the Gwalior Mountain Battery, equipped with 5.4-inch howitzers, in 1951, his son, Dr. Ajay Pal Singh, told TOI. Three generations of his family had served with the Army before him: his great-grandfather Nehan Singh, his grandfather Bir Singh, and his father Harpal Singh.
Gill was then sent to the 34th Middle Regiment and later raised and commanded the 71st Middle Regiment. On Friday, it was 71 Medium that sent him a cake on behalf of the Indian Army to mark the occasion. Looking back, one of the best memories he has is from the 1965 Indian-Pakistani war. “We recovered four weapons from the enemy camp,” he said. Five years later, he retired as a sector commander Assam Rifles at Ukhrul in Manipur as a colonel. “I have been busy since I retired. Squash, hockey, tennis, ”he said.
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