Subadar Zaman Khan of the 129th had the honour of being singled out as an officer of the “greatest coolness and courage,” and Havildar Sobat Khan of the same battalion “showed bravery and coolness above the average,” and on the 30th October set a splendid example to his men under a heavy shell and rifle fire by rushing out from the support to the firing-line trenches and thus getting them to follow him. Individual deeds of the men are difficult to record, for as the Commanding Officer wrote at the time: “Owing to the casualties amongst the officers of Nos. 1 and 2 Companies I find it very hard to get any information regarding individuals.” After the fighting near Messines the English papers got hold of a story of how one “Ganga Singh” of the 129th had won and received the Victoria Cross. Pictures appeared showing him being carried ashore in a stretcher “somewhere in England, the first Indian to win the V.C.” Lord Kitchener wired to ask for information, but I had heard nothing of it and it was not till long after that evidence could be gathered from men who had themselves been wounded and left the battalion. Then the true story came out, and it was this: On 31st October, when the trench held by his party was overwhelmed by the enemy, Havildar Ganga (for that was his correct name), who had been a gymnastic instructor, commanded his section and fought with his bayonet, killing several Germans, and his weapon being bent or blunted, and the enemy being still in the trench, he seized a sword which he had picked up and continued to fight. In this mêlée he received five wounds which left him disabled, and it was nearly a year before he could be sent back to India. He was awarded the Indian Order of Merit, which carried with it a life pension, and the Russian Cross of St. George. Sir John French was always anxious to bestow well-earned rewards on Indian officers and men, and it was very rarely in the early stages of the war that any exception was taken to my recommendations. This was a very great help to all Commanding Officers, who felt that they could count on being supported in their selections. Later on this generosity was considerably curtailed, although Divisional and Brigade Commanders were very careful in sending in names.