UK’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) recently released a set of archive-files, out of which has emerged a remarkable story of Lieutenant Shri Krishna Chanda Welinkar. The Lieutenant was one of the very few Indian Fighter Pilots during the First World War.
The release of archive files
UK’s CWGC has released a set of never-before-published files as part of its new digitization project. The files contain thousands of letters, pictures, and other papers that have been sent from CWGC to the kin of the dead during the First World War.
Andrew Fetherston, the chief archivist for CWGC, said: “For everyone who died in the First World War there was inevitably a partner, parent or child back home who had questions. The heartbreaking letters in CWGC’s archive give us an insight into what it was like for those families trying to come to terms with their loss.“
He further added: “They are stories that show desperate searches for closure, former enemies uniting and, on many occasions, the sad realization that a missing loved one would always remain so. We are pleased to be able to make this invaluable piece of World War history accessible to a new generation and help deepen our understanding of how the First World War impacted those who were left behind.“
The remarkable story of Mr. Welinkar
Mr. Welinkar belonged to Bombay of Colonial India. After much hardship and discrimination, he became a fighter pilot. During the First World War, while patrolling over the skies above the Western Front in June 2018, he went missing. Only three years later was the news of his death revealed to the family. His grave was located in Belgium.
Despite over 1m Indians serving in #WW1, only a handful took to the skies. Lieutenant Shri Krishna Chanda Welinkar, killed in June 1918, would be one. The story of the search for his grave is revealed through the release of new #CWGCarchive material, here: https://t.co/Tj1GgaW9lA pic.twitter.com/KMM9p3BXfz
— WarGravesCommission (@CWGC) April 25, 2020
Welinkar was a well-educated man studying at Cambridge University. He had trained to become an aviator in Middlesex, and wanted to join the Royal Flying Corps. However, based on the prejudice that fellow-Indians were receiving, Welinkar also was directed towards becoming an air mechanic.
However, eventually, he was appointed in the Royal Flying Corps as an Officer. In 1918, while on a Patrol, Welinkar never returned to the base. Three years later, his grave was discovered in Belgium. He was cremated by Germans as “Oberleutnant S.C. Wumkar”.
Source: Free Press Journal
