Important note:  During WW2, India was not yet divided.  Partition occurred after the war in 1947.  People referred to as “Indian” in this article could have had ancestors in what are today Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as in present-day India. 

Ghulam Sarwar Khan Chohan was born on 6 June 1914 in pre-partition India, in the town of Adampur near Jullundar (Jalandhar) in the State of Punjab.

In 1937, Ghulam arrived in Middlesbrough to join his cousin Chirag Din Chohan, who was already living there with his English wife Florence. Ghulam had a variety of jobs until the outbreak of World War 2.  Like other young Asian men living in Britain at the time, Ghulam either volunteered or was called-up for military service.  He became a member of an all-Indian group of the Pioneer Corps – 80 Company.  Recruitment began early in 1940 in industrial and port cities around Britain, but despite great efforts by the recruiting officer, the maximum number of recruits in July 1941 totalled only 172.  It appeared that a lot of the men preferred to go into factories making war materials, because there they could earn more money.

A unit of the Indian Military Pioneer Corps at work on a bombed building in London

Stationed in and around London, the men in 80 Company Pioneer Corps did a variety of very dangerous jobs, such as transporting ammunition, and searching for survivors and salvaging material in bomb-damaged buildings.  They wore normal British Army uniforms, topped by ornate turbans – except of course when working on hazardous tasks, when they wore steel helmets.

Ghulam became a corporal in the Corps, where he made friends with a fellow corporal named Afsar Khan.  The two families remain friends today.

Corporal Ghulam Chohan (on left) with his friend Corporal Afsar Khan

At one point, members of the unit were stationed somewhere in West London, possibly Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire.  It seems they were considered a welcome addition to the neighbourhood by young ladies living in the area.  A resident in nearby West Drayton reported in 1943, “Last year we had an Indian Pioneer Battalion stationed locally, and I was surprised to see how plenty of local girls were ever hanging around the barrack gate and walking out with the men”[1]   Women in other parts of the country were equally happy to date West Indian airmen and African-American GIs during WW2, to the dismay of many British men!

After the War, Ghulam went back to India for a while to be with his family, who relocated to Pakistan after partition.  He married in Gujranwala in 1947 and then returned to Middlesbrough.

In 1949 his young wife Nafees joined him in England.  Travelling by ship, Mrs. Chohan landed in Liverpool and found herself in a totally alien world.  Used to the sun, she arrived to a cold, damp country still suffering the after-effects of the War.  Rationing was still in force for many items.

Mrs. Chohan vividly remembered her first days in Middlesbrough.  “I couldn’t get spices, or rice, or the flour to make chapattis and the only vegetables were cauliflowers, carrots, onions and potatoes, day after day.  Coal was rationed and I was so cold.  I cried a lot and asked my husband why have you brought me to this cold country?”[2]  To keep her warm and help her fit in with the local community, Mr. Chohan took her to a tailor and had an English-style trouser suit made for her.  She is wearing it in the picture opposite.  A neighbour named May Rowett, who lived across the street, befriended Mrs. Chohan, and she gradually settled into life in England.

Mr. and Mrs. Chohan were photographed with three of their children in 1953.  Another son followed in 1962.  Around the same time, Mr. Chohan joined Dorman Long, which later became part of British Steel.

Ghulam Chohan eventually became the senior furnaceman at the steelworks, and around 1980, he was featured in an article in the company’s staff magazine.  He said he had enjoyed working for the company, and his greatest ambition was to see his children well-educated.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan Chohan died in Middlesbrough in 1991.

Ghulam Chohan at work at British Steel

His middle son, Araf, joined British Airways as a steward in 1978.  In June 1982, he was involved in a very dramatic incident when the 747 Jumbo Jet he was working on suddenly lost power in all four engines after encountering the volcanic ash cloud formed after the eruption of Mount Galunggung on the island of Java.  He and the rest of the people on board were lucky to survive, thanks to the amazing skills of the flight crew and the capacity of a 747 to glide for long distances.

Araf as a steward with British Airways

Araf promoting his book Middlesbrough: A Century of Change

Araf’s lifelong hobby of collecting old postcard views of Britain has enabled him to create several books of local history.  His subjects to date have included Middlesbrough, County Durham, Darlington and Surroundings, the North York Moors, and London.

Araf pops up on TV occasionally as he enjoys taking part in quiz shows and competitions such as Bargain Hunt.  In his job with British Airways, he travelled the world.  He continues to do so in his retirement, visiting family and the many friends he made worldwide during his flying career.

Audrey Dewjee   27 July 2024

My thanks are due to Ghee Bowman, author of two great books on Indian soldiers in WW2, for his help with the research on 80 Company, Pioneer Corps.[3]

[1] ‘Directives June 1943’, 1943, Mass-Observation archives at the Keep, Sussex University, SxMOA1/3/68.

[2] Interview with Mrs. Nafees Chohan, 2008.

[3] Ghee Bowman’s books:

The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk, The History Press, 2020.
The Great Epinal Escape: Indian Prisoners of War in German Hands, The History Press, 2024.