Muhammad Hussain: I ran away from home to enlist at 16

Muhammad Hussain's father refused to let him join the army. Ignoring his father's advice, he ran away from his home in Rawalpindi, part of pre-Partition India, to enlist.

After training, Sergeant Hussain was sent to Italy, serving as a machine gunner at Monte Cassino, one of the war’s most brutal battles. By the end of the war, Muhammad’s unit had advanced as far as Austria, where they were told of the victory in Europe.

Muhammad was one of thousands from pre-Partition India who joined the British Indian Army and would serve with the British Eighth Army across the North Africa and Italy campaigns. He joined a family tradition - his brother was serving with an artillery division in Burma and his great uncle had served in World War One.

We Were There aims to collect as many first-hand accounts as possible by 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, to preserve veterans' accounts for future generations.

The BBC is currently working on the project with a number of partners including the Normandy Memorial Trust and Royal British Legion. Some of the stories collected may be shared with our partners and used on BBC News platforms.

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