Gurcharan Singh Sekhon

Colonel (RET) Gurcharan Singh Sekhon (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਚਰਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੇਖੋਂ, born 1937) is a retired Singaporean army officer. Nicknamed "Father of the Engineers", he is a pioneer of the Singapore Armed Forces, credited with setting up the Singapore Combat Engineers.[2][3][4] He served as the 6th Commandant of the Singapore Command and Staff College from 1979–1981, and thereafter as the Assistant Chief of General Staff (Operations) of the Singapore Army, an appointment today held by an officer of one-star rank.[5] In July 1967, he became a graduate of Singapore's first batch of officer cadets.[6] Of that batch, he was the first to command a specialist branch, to hold this command alongside command of a battalion, to command the Singapore Command and Staff College, and to command the First Division of the Singapore Armed Forces.[2][7]

For other people with the same name, see Gurcharan Singh.
COL (RET)

Gurcharan Singh Sekhon
Native name
ਗੁਰਚਰਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੇਖੋਂ
Nickname(s)"Father of the Engineers", "The Unsmiling Colonel", "Guru"[1]
Born1937 (age 83–84)
AllegianceSingapore
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1966–1989
Rank Colonel
Commands heldAssistant Chief of General Staff (Operations)
Chief Engineer Officer
Commandant, Singapore Command and Staff College
Other workManaging the design and construction of golf courses

Early life and education

Gurcharan Singh Sekhon was born in 1937 to Gurdial Singh, a disciplinarian who owned a farm in Aljunied with cows and buffaloes, and who later became Assistant Commissioner of Police.[2] His early life was disrupted by the Japanese invasion and subsequently occupation of Singapore, and he described these experiences as formative. He attended a Japanese school, with strict and uncaring teachers who caned their students. At home, he lived with a reality of Japanese raids. Following the Surrender of Japan in 1945, he joined Saint Andrew's School, which he enjoyed and where he held multiple leadership positions, a rare occurrence for non-Christians in the school at that time.[8] Singh secured a place at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur in 1959, and went on to secure a degree in engineering. Following his graduation, he worked for a dredging company in Malaysia.[2]

Military career

Some time after he began working, his father, who by then had become Assistant Commissioner of Police in Singapore, called to ask him to enter the uniformed services. Singh was reluctant, but did not want to disappoint his father, so he returned to Singapore in March 1966 and underwent recruitment tests. He joined the Singapore Armed Forces three months later, at the age of 29.[2]

As one of the oldest recruits and the few with a university degree, he became an obvious choice as a group leader. He eventually became a platoon commander. When the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (today known as the SAFTI Military Institute) was established in 1967, a plan was included for a wing to train combat engineers. Alongside Chng Teow Hua (who would later become Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force),[2] he was selected to attend a basic engineer officer's course in Fort Belvoir, Viriginia. He left for the course having just completed his training as an officer cadet, leaving him unable to attend his own commissioning ceremony.[6] When they returned from the course, the two junior officers and their commanding officer, Major George Mitchell, conducted the first Engineer Commanders’ Course in Singapore, spanning April to August 1968. Singh remained with the combat engineers until 1984. At that point, Singh was one of three Sikh colonels in a group of seven colonels in the Singapore Armed Forces.[2]

He was later selected to attend the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from which he graduated in 1975.[6]

Retirement

Following his retirement, Singh applied his engineering knowledge to the design and construction of golf courses. He also became a member of the Singapore Sports Council, the Singapore Rugby Association, the Singapore Cricket Association and was President of the Singapore Khalsa Association.[2]

References
  1. "PIONEER - The unsmiling colonel". www.mindef.gov.sg. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  2. Singh, Malminderjit; Singh, Sarabjeet; Kaur, Harsimar; Singh, Hernaikh, eds. (2015). Singapore at 50: 50 Sikhs and their contributions. Singapore: Young Sikh Association. pp. 66–69. ISBN 9789810977481.
  3. "Speech by Col (Retd.) Lim Yeow Pheng" (PDF). National Archives of Singapore. 23 July 2016.
  4. "Speech by Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Sikh Singaporeans and Singapore Khalsa Association National Day Dinner 1996" (PDF). National Archives of Singapore. 25 August 1996. Retrieved 19 November 2020. We are honouring several of them tonight, including retired Justice Choor Singh, COL (Rtd) Gurcharan Singh, MP and lawyer Mr Davinder Singh, and this year’s Businessman of the Year, Mr Kartar Singh Thakral.
  5. "Army". www.mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. "PIONEER - The unsmiling colonel". Pioneer Magazine, Ministry of Defence (Singapore). Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. Singapore, Prime Minister's Office (2018-12-27). "PMO | PM Lee Hsien Loong at SAFTI Inaugural Commissioning Parade Golden Jubilee Dinner". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  8. Singh, Malminderjit; Singh, Sarabjeet; Kaur, Harsimar; Singh, Hernaikh, eds. (2015). Singapore at 50: 50 Sikhs and their contributions. Singapore: Young Sikh Association. pp. 66–69. ISBN 9789810977481.
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