Sepoy (later Subadar) Namdeo Jadhao VC (about 1922-1984), 1st Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 1945

Oil on canvas by Paul Drury (1903-1987), 1965.

Jadhao was awarded the Victoria Cross when, on 9 April 1945, he came to the assistance of an assault party which was under attack at the River Senio in Italy. He was the company runner when his party attempted to wade across the river. Under heavy German fire the company commander and two men were wounded, and the rest, with the exception of Jadhao, were killed. He made two trips to carry the wounded men through the deep water, up a precipitous river bank and through a minefield to safety. He then returned to destroy the three enemy machine gun posts that had killed his comrades. After silencing the first, Jadhao was wounded in the hand. Unable to use his firearm, he resorted to using grenades to eliminate the threat posed by the other enemy positions. Still under mortar fire, Jadhao then climbed on top of the bank to signal to the remaining companies that it was safe to cross the river. His bravery enabled two companies to hold the riverbank and led to the collapse of German resistance in the area. He continued to serve with the Indian Army until the 1960s.