Unveiling of a tablet in the College Hall

La Martiniere College, Lucknow shall be unveiling a tablet in the College Memorial Hall in honour of the War decorated heroes of Independent India. This shall be held on 03 September, 2015.

The date has been chosen to commemorate 50 years of the operation in the Indo-Pak War in which Squadron Leader Trevor Keelor was awarded the VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in the operations in the Chhamb Sector on 3rd September, 1965. It shall be a fitting tribute to his memory for this ceremonyto be held on this day. Sadly Trevor Keelor passed away in 2002. His widow, Mrs Patricia Keelor has accepted our invitation to attend the event and unveil the tablet.

While the contribution of alumni of La Martiniere to the armed forces is significant, the tablet shall only commemorate the three top gallantry awards presented in wartime. These include The Param Vir Chakra, The Maha Vir Chakra and The Vir Chakra.

The awardees in these categories, in chronological order of citation are:

TREVOR KEELOR: Squadron Leader General Duties (Pilot), awarded the VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in the operations in the Chhamb Sector, on 3 September, 1965.

ALFRED TYRONE COOKE: Flight Lieutenant, awarded the VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in the operations in Kalaikunda, Eastern Sector on 7 September, 1965.

DENZIL KEELOR: Squadron Leader General Duties (Pilot),awarded the VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in the operations in the Chhamb Sector, on 19 September, 1965.

HARBANS PERMINDER SINGH: Flight Lieutenant, awarded the VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in Operation Cactus Lily, in the Eastern Sector, on 5 December, 1971.

ARVIND SINGH: Lieutenant, awarded the MAHA VIR CHAKRA for gallantry in Operation Pawan during the IPKF operations in Jaffna Lagoon, Sri Lanka on 21 October, 1987.

In tracing these historical events, it is possible that inadvertent omissions have been made. For this reason, I appeal to all old boys to provide the College with inputs regarding military decorations (both in times of war and peace) for an accurate record to be maintained and for suitable honour to be exhibited for the inspiration of the generations of Martinians to follow. Please publicise this through social media.

All retired and serving officers of the forces are invited for this programme. To facilitate formal invitation, may I request you to kindly leave a message at Facebook page – La Martiniere College, Lucknow or a private message to this status update.