Dost Mohammad

By Zohaib Afzal

My paternal grandfather, Subedar Dost Mohammad, was part of the Indian Army Medical Corps during World War Two. He fought on the Indian front against the Japanese.

He told us a story that he got ambushed by Japanese soldiers while he was at his camp. He and five of his comrades lined up in front of the Japanese soldiers as one of their soldiers was injured so they didn’t want to abandon him.

The Japanese started shooting his fellows one by one. Once the fifth shot was fired, my grandad also dropped down and held his breath, faking his death. He would tell us how difficult it was for him to play dead as the Japanese soldiers stepped over all the dead bodies.

Once he woke up, he realised that another of his fellow injured soldiers was also alive. They were both shocked and relieved to see each other.

Decades later, Dost Mohammad passed away in Kashmir. He is survived by four sons and four daughters. I was very close to my grandfather and moved to the UK after he passed away.

My grandad was so brave. He was a one-man army.

As a family, we are extremely proud of his war service and how decorated he was for fighting for Great Britain.