maharaja Ranjit Singh da ik army chief Col. Alexander Gardner
Colonel Gardner (1785-1877), was born in America, the son of an emigrant Scots doctor. After a period wandering through Europe and Asia he settled in the service of Ranjit Singh as a Colonel of Artillery. He served on campaigns in Bannu against the Afghans, 1835, commanded the Jammu Artillery.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's Tomb, Lahore, Punjab; a photo by Samuel Bourne, 1860's*
Newspaper showing Headline of Bhagat singh,Rajguru ,Sukhdev Execution...
Caxton Hall was also the scene of the assassination of Michael O’Dwyer by Udham Singh on March 13 1940. Tipperary-born O’Dwyer had been the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab at the time of the infamous Amritsar massacre of 1919. Brigadier General O’Dyer, with O’Dwyer’s full connivance, ordered soldiers to open fire on a crowd of 20,000 Indian Independence supporters.
It was said that over 1,500 rounds of ammunition were used in just 15 seconds. The obvious result of which meant hundreds of protesters died in cold blood. Unfortunately for O’Dwyer, one of the victims was Udham Singh’s brother.
The day after the massacre the Brigadier received a telegram from Governor O’Dwyer which said:
“Your action correct. Lieutenant Governor approves.”
I wonder if the saying “revenge is a dish best served cold” exists in the Sikh language. It probably does, because over twenty years after the massacre, Singh pulled out a Smith and Wesson revolver at a meeting in Caxton Hall and fired six shots, two of which hit the former Punjab Governor, killing him instantly.
At his trial, Singh, not overly contrite, explained to the judge:
“I did it because I had a grudge against him, he deserved it.”
