{{short description|Soldier of the First World War}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Use Indian English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox military person |name= Mir Dast Afridi |image= Jemadar Mir Dast, V.C., I.O.M. (c. 1908–1919, Gallaher's cigarette card).jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= Dast depicted on a Gallaher's cigarette card ({{circa}} 1915–1919) |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|1874|12|3|df=y}} |birth_place= Tirah, British India (present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) |death_date= {{death date and age|1945|1|19|1874|12|3|df=y}} |death_place= Tehsil, Peshawar, British India |burial_place= Warsak Road Cemetery, Shagi Hindkyan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |allegiance= |branch= British Indian Army |service_years= 1894–1917 |rank= Subedar |unit= 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force) |commands= |battles= North-West Frontier<br/>First World War |awards= Victoria Cross<ref name=Brighton/><br/>Indian Order of Merit, 2nd Class<ref name=Winthrop/><br/>Order of British India, 2nd Class<br/>Cross of St. George, 3rd Class (Russia)<ref name=Winthrop/><ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/> |relations= Mir Mast Afridi (brother) |other_work= }} '''Mir Dast''', '''Mir Dost''' or '''Mir Dost Afridi''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|VC|IOM|OBI}} (3 December 1874 – 19 January 1945) was a British Indian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for action during the First World War, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Mir Dast returned to British India as a handicapped and injured soldier and received a hero's welcome.<ref name=Brighton>{{cite web|url=https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discovery/history-stories/mir-dast-the-man-behind-the-plaque/|url-status=dead|title=Mir Dast - the man behind the plaque|website=Brightonmuseums.org.uk website|archive-date=16 April 2024|access-date=13 January 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416162941/https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/web/20240416162941/https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discovery/history-stories/mir-dast-the-man-behind-the-plaque/}}</ref>
==Early life== Mir Dast (some sources spell his name as Mir Dost) was a Pashtun from the Afridi tribe and was born on 3 December 1874 to a Muslim family in the Maidan valley, Tirah, British India, in what is now Pakistan.<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline>{{cite web|url=https://victoriacrossonline.co.uk/mir-dast-vc/|title=Mir Dast profile|website=victoriacrossonline.co.uk website|url-status=dead|date=1 March 2024|archive-date=1 March 2024|access-date=8 January 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301212320/https://victoriacrossonline.co.uk/mir-dast-vc/}}</ref><ref name=Dawn>{{cite news|url-status=dead|date=17 November 2021|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1658556|title=A unique tale in world history (tale of two brothers Mir Mast and Mir Dast during First World War)|newspaper=Dawn newspaper|archive-date=17 November 2021|access-date=10 January 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117213051/https://www.dawn.com/news/1658556}}</ref> Mir Dast enlisted in the British Indian Army in December 1894. He served in the North-West Frontier and Waziristan prior to the First World War, and for the Mohmand Expedition he received the Indian Order of Merit, 3rd Class on 26 June 1908. He was promoted to the rank of jemadar (warrant officer) in March 1909.<ref name=Winthrop>{{cite web|url=http://haynese.winthrop.edu/india/medals/VC/1MDost.html|url-status=dead|date=6 May 1998|archive-date=15 June 2002|access-date=8 January 2026|title=Jemadar Mir Dost, I.O.M; Bahadur (profile)|website=haynese.winthrop.edu website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020615174441/http://haynese.winthrop.edu/india/medals/VC/1MDost.html}}</ref>
His younger brother was Mir Mast Afridi who was promoted to a jemadar rank before the outbreak of the First World War while he was in service with the 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force) of the British Indian Army and would later defect to German lines on 4 March 1915.<ref name=Dawn/> Mir Mast was reportedly offended by the British being at war with the Muslim Ottoman Empire. It is widely believed that he deserted due to his Islamic beliefs and did not want to fight against the fellow Muslims in the German–Ottoman alliance.<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/><ref name=TNI/>
==Victoria Cross award== [[File:At Royal Pavilion, Brighton, Mir Dast received his medal from King George V - 1915.jpg|thumb| Mir Dast received his medal from King George V at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.]] [[File:Subedar Mir Dast 1874-1945 VC IOM OBI 55th Coke's Rifles.jpg|thumb|Blue plaque in Brighton, England]] During the First World War, Dast was a jemadar (warrant officer) in the 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force), British Indian Army, attached to the 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force) when he performed the service for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second Battle of Ypres near the Belgium-France border area.<ref name=TNI/><ref name=Dawn/>
On 26 April 1915 at Ypres, Belgium, Jemadar Mir Dast led his platoon with great gallantry during a German counter-attack, and afterwards collected various parties of the regiment (when no officers were left) and kept them under his command. He also displayed remarkable courage that day in helping to carry eight British and Indian Officers into safety, while exposed to very heavy fire and chlorine gas attacks which left Dast wounded and in severe pain.<ref name=TNI/><ref name=Dawn/>
The citation read:
"For most conspicuous bravery and great ability at Ypres on 26th April, 1915, when he led his platoon with great gallantry during the attack, and afterwards collected various parties of the regiment (when no British) Officers were left) and kept them under his command until the retirement was ordered. Jemadar Mir Dast, subsequently on this day, displayed remarkable courage in helping to carry eight British and Indian Officers into safety whilst exposed to very heavy fire".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29210|page=6269|date=29 June 1915}}</ref>
Dast was subsequently sent for treatment in the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, where he received his medal from King George V who pinned it on his chest himself on 25 August 1915.<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=TNI>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/37550-a-tale-of-two-crosses|archive-date=25 January 2016|access-date=7 January 2026|title=A tale of two crosses (Victoria Cross and Iron Cross awarded to two brothers Mir Dast Afridi and Mir Mast Afridi for World War I)|date=28 April 2015|newspaper=The News International newspaper|url-status=dead|author=Shakil Durrani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125070147/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/37550-a-tale-of-two-crosses}}</ref><ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/> His was the fourth Victoria Cross awarded to an Indian since Indians had become eligible for the award in 1912.<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/>
===Other awards=== * Before this on 26 June 1908, he was awarded the Indian Order of Merit, (3rd Class).<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/> * Cross of St. George, (3rd Class) (Russia) on 25 August 1915.<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/>
==Later life and legacy== Dast retired from active service in 1917 with the rank of subedar. He died on 19 January 1945 at Shagi Hindkyan Village, Tehsil, Peshawar, and was buried at Warsak Road Cemetery, Shagi Hindkyan (now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan).<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/><ref name=Brighton/>
A monument stands at the Memorial Gates at Hyde Park Corner in London to commemorate the Victoria Cross awards of Indian heritage, including Mir Dast's award.<ref name=VictoriaCrossOnline/>
A blue plaque was erected in May 2016 in honour of Mir Dast next to the Indian Gate at Royal Pavilion Gardens in Brighton, England.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20020615174441/http://haynese.winthrop.edu/india/medals/VC/1MDost.html Mir Dost] *[https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/96985 ODNB entry by David Omissi]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Afridi, Mir Dost}} Category:1874 births Category:1945 deaths Category:British Indian Army officers Category:Indian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Category:People from Khyber District Category:Recipients of the Cross of St. George Category:Recipients of the Indian Order of Merit