Diljit (Dil) Singh Bahra

I was born in Maji-Mazuri, Kenya, a small settlement close to the Equator where one could almost walk between hemispheres in minutes.

 I grew up in Nakuru and developed an early passion for sport, representing my schools in cricket, hockey, badminton and cross-country running, and playing club hockey for Nakuru Rangers under the guidance of Kenyan international Harvinder Singh Marwa.

I moved to the United Kingdom in 1967 and joined the British Army the following year.

While serving with the Royal Engineers in Germany and Cyprus, I played hockey, cricket and long-distance running at squadron, garrison and Army levels, and earned my Army Hockey Umpires Association badge in 1974.

During the 1974 Emergency in Cyprus, I was attached to the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles - an experience that gave me the privilege of both playing and umpiring hockey with the regiment.

In 1975, I left the Armed Services and joined the Metropolitan Police in London, where I served for 32 years. 

Alongside my policing career, hockey remained a constant passion. I was involved in the sport as a player, coach, team manager, umpire, liaison officer and administrator, and was awarded Metropolitan Police Athletic Association Colours in 1992.

In 1981, I founded the British Police Hockey Team and served as coach and manager for 15 years. I qualified as a Hockey Association Level 2 coach and later officiated as an umpire with the Surrey and Kent Hockey Umpires Associations.

My work expanded nationally and internationally, including serving on the organising committee for the 1986 London World Cup and acting as a Technical Officer and Media Officer for major tournaments under the English Hockey Association, European Hockey Federation and International Hockey Federation (FIH).

In recognition of my service to the game, I received The Hockey Association National Award of Merit in 1995.

My involvement in hockey now spans more than six decades, and today I am best known as a hockey historian and heritage researcher. Over the past 25 years, I have specialised in documenting the contribution of Sikh Olympians worldwide and preserving the history of Kenyan hockey, particularly its Olympic legacy.

My work combines archival research with first-hand oral history. I have interviewed and worked closely with former Olympians across several generations, including Berlin 1936 gold medallist Joe Gallibardy, and developed a long-standing professional association with India's triple Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Sr., assisting with historical research, recording personal accounts and helping verify and correct international records.

I also had the privilege of a close association with Avtar "Tari" Singh Sohal, Kenya's legendary four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic captain, working with him to document and preserve the story of Kenya's golden era of hockey. Through this work, I have been able to safeguard important first-hand testimonies and primary sources from hockey's early generations.

I have been liaising and collaborating since 2009 with Dr Bill Mallon, one of the world's leading authorities on Olympic history and Founder and Past President of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH).

In 2006, I was invited to New Delhi to serve on a distinguished international judging panel - alongside Olympic medallists, senior journalists and the former Chief Justice of India - to select the greatest Sikh hockey players of all time, in recognition of my work compiling the definitive history of Sikh Olympians.

I have also been invited to present at international forums of former players, including the Kenya Hockey Olympians Conference, where I delivered the complete history of Kenya's Olympic hockey journey.

I was a founding Trustee of The Hockey Museum, helping campaign for and establish the UK's national hockey heritage centre, and was later invited to become a Life Member in recognition of my contribution to hockey history and heritage.

I have been a member of the international Hockey Writers' Club since 1981, serving as Honorary Secretary for over a decade and now as Vice President.

My hockey work has taken me around the world covering Olympic Games, World Cups and major international tournaments across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas, building a strong global network within the sport.

I was proud to volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic Games and to contribute to several international media and historical projects connected with the Olympic movement.

In February 2020, I was honoured with Honorary Life Membership of the Sikh Union Club Nairobi - one of East Africa's most historic and successful sporting institutions, which has produced numerous Olympians and celebrates its centenary in May 2026

Today, I continue to research, document and share hockey's rich heritage through my specialist websites, Sikhs in Hockey and Hockey on Stamps, ensuring that the players, communities and stories that shaped the game are recorded and remembered for future generations.

Honours & Recognition