INDIAN SUMMER
This autumn Brighton celebrates the 90th anniversary of India Gate marking a truly inspiring part of this cosmopolitan city's history

 

The 90th anniversary of the city's India Gate highlights unique and fascinating history.

Standing to one side of the iconic Royal Pavilion, India Gate was formally unveiled on 26 October 1921 by the Maharaja of Patiala.  The elegant structure was a gift from the people of India to thank Brighton  & Hove for the care of thousands of Indian soldiers during the Great War.  Around 17,000 wounded Indian troops were cared for in Brighton during the First World War, including more than 4,000 nursed at the Royal Pavilion when it became an Indian military hospital between 1914 and 1916.
The vast majority of wounded Indian soldiers survived, however, sadly, more than 50 died from their injuries.  The Chattri Memorial, also built in 1921 on the outskirts of the city, marks where mortally wounded Sikh and Hindu soldiers were peacefully cremated.

The remarkable story of the Royal Pavilion's time as a military hospital is told in a permanent exhibition at the palace.  The Jaipur Gate stands in the grounds of Hove Museum.  Originally the gate was made for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London in 1886.  The Maharaja of Jaipur paid for its construction.  The gate was donated to Hove Museum in 1926. 

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