Buckam Singh

Buckam Singh (December 5, 1893 – August 27, 1919)—sometimes spelled Buk Am, Bukam, or Bukkan—was an Indo-Canadian Sikh soldier who served with the Canadian Army in the First World War and early Sikh pioneer in Ontario.

While military records show that there were at least 10 Sikhs who served with Canada during WWI, little is known about them. As such, Buckam Singh's story is notable for being discovered more fully than the others, beginning with the discovery of his military grave and Victory Medal. Among the nine other soldiers, eight served in Europe, two of whom were killed in action. Upon their return to Punjab, word about Canada spread and the 14-year-old Buckam Singh left for British Columbia in 1907—though he could not bring his bride with him due to harsh immigration laws.

At the time of Singh's arrival, there was a labour shortage in British Columbia. While the Canadians did not like to give jobs to foreigners, they had no choice, and Singh became a miner just as many other Sikh labourers in Canada.

Because of the need to deploy troops to the Western Front as quickly as possible, Singh received training and was shipped out in the first of two contingents of 250 men aboard the S.S. Scandinavian 2 on August 27, 1915, arriving in England on September 5. There, Singh was transferred to the 39th Reserve Battalion to await deployment to a combat battalion. On January 21, 1916, Singh arrived in France and joined the 20th Battalion. While fighting, he was hit on the head with shrapnel on June 2, and sent to hospital until the end of the month, when he rejoined his battalion. He was again wounded at St. Eloi on July 24 and sent to a hospital run by John McCrae, and then crossed the English Channel to make his recovery in Manchester.