Sacrifice: Jogendra Sen was the only non-white man in his regiment . They were all young, proud, and ready to serve king and country. But among the eager group of young men who had signed up to fight in the First World War together, one face stood out from the rest. Jogendra Sen rushed to join the queue of recruits to the Leeds ‘Pals’ Battalion when it was raised in September 1914 – and became the only non-white member of the 15th West Yorkshire Regiment. Yet were it not for a chance discovery almost a century later, his life – and death – might have been lost to history. A pair of broken and bloodstained spectacles in an Indian museum have shed light on the sacrifice of a volunteer who battled prejudice and racism to serve the country he made his home. They were the same glasses that ‘Jon’, as he was called by his English comrades, had worn in a photograph taken at a training camp in Yorkshire. Cruelly, the Bengal-born student’s race had barred him from fulfilling his dream of being an officer in the British Army, even though he was highly educated and had earned a degree in electrical engineering from Leeds University. But it also won him a place in history. Because less than 20 months after that training camp photograph, Jogendra Sen was killed in action near the Somme on May 22, 1916. Academics believe that the 28-year-old private had become the first Bengali to die fighting for Britain in the war. Although many more would later serve on the Western Front in the Indian Army, at the beginning of the war, most Bengalis were banned from joining up in their own country because of racial prejudice. The catalyst that allowed the tale of Pte Sen’s spectacles to emerge publicly was Dr Santanu Das, a reader in English at King’s College London, who noticed them and some of his other belongings in a museum on a visit to Sen's home town of Chandernagore, some 22 miles north of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. One of the chaps: Private Sen, centre, and his comrades pose for a photograph at a training camp in 1914 . Poignant: Jogendra Sen's glasses and other belongings were discovered in a museum in India . A book of friendship quotes given to Private Jogendra Sen by 'Cis', believed to be Mary Cicely Newton . When the academic mentioned his discovery during a talk at Leeds University, a local researcher recalled seeing Sen’s name on its war memorial. From this, Leeds researchers painstakingly pieced together one man’s war. Sen had worked as an engineer while continuing with his studies. A photograph of a woman found in his personal effects, inscribed ‘Yours with love, Cis’, was found to be of Mary Cicely Newton, who had links with the Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds where, it transpired, Sen sang in the choir. But although Sen was deeply involved in his local community, he faced discrimination even as he offered his life for the war effort. In an interview in 1988, his fellow soldier Arthur Dalby recalled: ‘He was the best-educated man in the battalion and he spoke about seven languages, but he was never allowed to be even a lance corporal because in those days they would never let a coloured fellow be over a white man, not in England.’ Private Jogendra Sen (pictured wearing glasses) with his comrades on deck during the voyage across the Mediterranean from Egypt to Marseille, en route to the Western Front in March, 1916 . Jogendra Sen is pictured far right with members of D Company. The photo is thought to have been taken at Colsterdale Camp in North Yorkshire shortly after they signed up in 1914 . Dr Das commented: ‘I was absolutely stunned when I saw the pair of glasses. ‘It’s one of the most poignant artefacts I’ve seen – a material token of the fragility of life at the front. 'More than a million Indian soldiers and non-combatants served in different theatres of the First World War, but what is so unusual about Jogendra Sen is that he was not part of the Indian army but of the Leeds Pals Battalion. ‘I sometimes wonder what his experiences would have been as the only non-white person in the battalion at that time.’ A photograph of a woman found in his personal effects, inscribed ‘Yours with love, Cis’, was found to be of Mary Cicely Newton, who had links with the Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds where Sen sang in the choir . Private Jogendra Sen (fourth from the right in the third row back) with Number 16 Platoon (D Company) of the 16th West Yorkshire Regiment in about 1915 . It cannot have been easy – but what has become clear is that Sen won the hearts and respect of his white comrades. Shortly after his death, his commander wrote: ‘His loss is felt very much throughout the whole of the company. ‘He always showed himself to be a keen and upright soldier, and myself and the officers of this company thought a great deal of him.’ •  A BBC Inside Out film tracing Jogendra Sen’s story is broadcast tonight on BBC One (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire only) at 7.30pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.
Jogendra Sen was only non-white member of 15th West Yorkshire regiment . Joined queue of recruits to the Leeds ‘Pals’ Battalion in September 1914 . Pair of glasses found at Indian museum were worn by 'Jon' in a photo . Bloodstained spectacles have shed light on the sacrifice of the volunteer . Bengal-born student killed in action 20 months after photo was taken . The 28-year-old private lost his life fighting near Somme on May 22, 1916 . Experts think he was the first Bengali to die fighting for Britain in the war .