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Vandalism of the new Lions of the Great War monument in Smethwick has been condemned by a leading Sikh as ‘a despicable and cowardly act’.

The statue was only unveiled last Sunday, November 4 – a week before the Day of National Remembrance services to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One at 11am on Sunday, November 11, 2018.

Sikhs made up 20 per cent of the British Indian Army, and two per cent of the Indian population at the time.

The statue can be seen on the above video.

It stands outside the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick which commissioned it to acknowledge soldiers of all faiths from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in both world wars.

(Image: Aaron Chown / PA Wire)

It is believed graffiti was daubed across the ten foot bronze statue on Thursday night.

The statue is close to the Old Talbot pub and sits on a six foot granite plinth between High Street and Tollhouse Way.

The words ‘Sepoys no more’ were added while a thick black line was drawn through the words ‘Great War’.

Sepoy was a term used in the British Indian Army for a soldier.

The graffiti has since been removed but West Midlands Police is treating the vandalism as criminal damage.

Guru Nanak Gurdwara president Jatinder Singh said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ but ‘remained resolute’.

In a statement, Mr Sing said: “There was some vandalism to the back wall overnight which is disappointing.

“The graffiti was cleaned off and the matter reported to the police.

(Image: Nick Wilkinson)

“Working with the council, we won't allow this vandalism to undermine the very strong message created by this new monument and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to its unveiling.

“What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the significance of the statue and inscriptions installed recently to commemorate the losses felt by many South Asian families who lost their dear ones during the First World War and to mark 100 years since the end of the Great War.”

GNG Smethwick was recently named alongside Stonehenge in Historic England's list of top ten places of faith and belief

It is reviewing the CCTV ready to ‘take the necessary action’ and said it would advise anyone who witnesses vandalism or any other anti-social behaviour taking place to report any incidents to police as soon as possible using 101.

(Image: Nick Wilkinson)

What was said at the unveiling

Mr Singh told the large gathering last Sunday: "We are so proud to be unveiling this memorial to honour the sacrifice of all those brave men who travelled thousands of miles to fight for a country that wasn’t their own.

"These men volunteered to serve and fought to defend the freedoms we enjoy today. The memorial will ensure that this part is never forgotten.”

“The monument makes us feel proud to be Sikh and proud to be British.”

(Image: Sandwell MBC)

What people are saying

From the Lions of the Great War Facebook page

Bally Kaur Atwal: 'How disrespectful of these ignorant people, hope they catch up with them from CCTV footage.'

Pauline Dean: 'I was in shock when I read this. Words can’t say how I feel that somebody would do this.'

Gurcharan Singh: ‘There must be a lot of CCTV. If there is no footage something funny is going on.. this was not done by no racist. Look at the language used.'

From the BirminghamLive Facebook page

Sandra Rowe: 'How disgraceful these people gave there lives for us to be were we are today.'

Nikola Trevalyan-blake: 'Totally ashamed.'

Robin Edkins: 'Sikhs fought alongside us in the wars & deserve our respect...shame on you.'