Brookwood Cemetery

 The mysteries of Brookwood Cemetery.

Nested in the trees is the grave of Roop Sing. 

The inscription of the headstone reads

In Memory of
ROOP SING,
OF BULANA
UNDER JODHPORE RAJPUTANA
AGED 18,
HE WAS A RAJPUT
OF THE PONWAR FAMILY,
AND THOUGH YOUNG
WAS ALREADY ALL THAT A RAJPUT
OUGHT TO BE
HE CAME TO ENGLAND WITH
MAHRAJ SIR PERTAB SING, K.C.S.I.
AND DIED OF MALARIOUS FEVER
WITHIN A FORTNIGHT OF
HIS ARRIVAL
ON WEDNESDAY 11^TH MAY 1887.

 Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee was celebrated on the 20^th and 21^st of June 1887, marking the 50^th anniversary of her accession in 1837.   was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which 50 European kings and princes were invited.

On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, Queen Victoria composed a message of gratitude to her subjects, which was published in the London Gazette as well as national newspapers. The message is as follows:

"I am anxious to express to my people my warm thanks for the kind & more than kind reception I met with on going to, returning from Westminster Abbey, with all my Children & Grand Children. The enthusiastic reception I met with then as well as on all these eventful days in London as well as in Windsor on the occasion of my Jubilee has touched me most deeply. It has shown that the labour & anxiety of 50 long years – 22 of which I spent in unclouded happiness, shared & cheered by my beloved Husband, while an equal number were full of sorrows & trials, borne without his sheltering arm & wise help have been appreciated by my People. This feeling & the cause of duty towards my dear Country & subjects, who are so inseparably bound up with my life, will encourage me in my task often a very difficult & arduous one, during the remainder of my life. The wonderful order preserved on this occasion & the good behaviours of the enormous multitudes assembled merits my highest admiration. That God may protect & abundantly bless my Country is my fervent prayer."

— Queen Victoria

The first formal Golden Jubilee celebrations were held in the Indian Empire, starting in February to avoid the summer heat. Events took place throughout India on Jubilee Day, 16^th February, and were organized by the Viceroy, Lord Lytton. His efforts to associate the event with the outcomes of British administration were largely unacknowledged by local rulers. A durbar in Bombay (now Mumbai) was attended by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In addition, Queen Victoria arranged for a cavalry unit from the British Indian Army to serve as her personal escort in London and employed two Indian Muslims as waiters, including Abdul Karim. Invitations to the jubilee were sent to the leaders of the Indian Princely States, several of whom travelled to London for the occasion.

Prior to the official events of June, Pratap Singh, who served as Chief Minister for Jodhpur serving from 1878 to 1895. Pratap had been invited by his brother Jaswant Singh, to lead the Jodhpur administration.  But who was Pratap Singh?

Sir Pratap Singh (1845 - 1922)
Sydney Prior Hall
credit - Royal Collection Trust/
His Majesty King Charles III

Pratap Singh was born in October 1845, the son of Takht Singh I of Marwar, and his first wife Queen Gulab Kunwar.  Pratap was privately educated.  He received administrative training under Ram Singh II of Jaipur.

Following his father's death 1873, his eldest brother Jaswant Singh succeeded to the throne of Marwar.

Following his brother’s death 1895, Pratap served as regent for his fifteen-year-old nephew and heir to the Jodhpur throne Sardar Singh of Jodhpur until 1898, then again for his grandnephew Sumer Singh of Jodhpur from 1911 to 1918 and finally for his second grandnephew Umaid Singh from 1918 until his own death in 1922.

Pratap travelled to Europe often and was close to Queen Victoria, where he served as aide-de-camp to Edward VII from 1887 to 1910. He was especially close towards his son, the future George V of the United Kingdom.

During the 1887 Golden Jubilee, Pratap carried the congratulations of Jodhpur on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and was received by the Queen. 

It was during this trip from India, that Roop Sing, also accompanied.  Fortnight after arriving in England, Roop, died from Malarious Fever.

Woking Crematorium

However, Roop, wasn’t buried at Brookwood Cemetery, following his death, he was cremated at Woking Crematorium.  The crematorium, the first custom-built in the United Kingdom, was founded in 1878, after piece of land close to the village of St. John’s was purchased by Sir Henry Thompson, surgeon and Physician to the Queen.  The headstone at Brookwood Cemetery is a memorial to Roop.

What happened next to Pratap?

Pratap had previously commissioned in the Jodhpur Risala in 1878, where he served during the Second Afghan War, he was mentioned in dispatches.  Following the Golden Jubilee, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and served under General Ellis in 1897. The following year under the command of General William Lockhart, saw action in Tirah Campaign, where he was injured.  The same year was promoted to Honorary Colonel.  During the Boxer Rebellion commanded the Jodphur contingent and was promoted to Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.  In 1901, he accepted the post of honorary commandant of the Imperial Cadet Corps under Lord Curzon, and was promoted to the honorary rank of major-general on 9 August 1902.He attended the 1903 Delhi Durbar as an Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor, riding as part of the Viceroy's main entourage.

Pratap Singh
1914

During the First World War, Pratap, aged 70, commanded his regiments, in France and Flanders from 1914 to 1915, and in the Palestine Mandate at Haifa and Aleppo. He led the Jodhpur Lancers, a cavalry unit, in France. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1916.

Following his wartime service d a final stint as Regent of Jodhpur, Singh died at Jodhpur on 4^th of  September 1922.