Place Name
Named after Major-General Sir Henry Havelock (5 April, 1795 – 24 November, 1857) who recaptured Cawnpore during the Indian Mutiny of 1857 which threatened to end British rule. Sir Henry, a member of the 78th Highlanders, won national acclaim and was awarded a knighthood for his actions. He died of dysentery later that year having held off a renewed siege after recapturing Lucknow. In 2018 Sikh campaigners called for the street to be renamed, saying his men were responsible for killing thousands of Indian soldiers. They proposed calling it Gurdwara Road – gurdwara means temple in Punjabi. Amarjit Singh Dhillon, secretary of the Sikh temple on the street, said: “Havelock was bad, there is no doubt about it. He killed so many innocent people who were protesting against the British Raj. But we are living in a multicultural society so we would consult the whole of Southall, Christians and not just Sikhs, if there were further calls for change, before going to the council. We have heard some call for change but I personally don’t believe the name needs changing.” Two years later Ealing Council officially approved a proposal that part of Havelock Road between King Street and Merrick Road which includes the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall, London’s largest gurdwara, a place of worship and assembly for the Sikh communities, should be renamed Guru Nanak Road. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
