 The eldest of ten children born to Sardar Battan Singh and Sardarni Swaran Kaur, first generation Kenyan Asian migrants from the Punjab region of India, he was educated at a boarding school in Nairobi.His first work experience was as a spanner boy in his father's garage, and he gained further experience as a mechanic in other organisations before becoming the Royal East African Automobile Association's first patrolman in 1958.The first Sikh driver ever to win an international rally, and also the first man to win the Safari Rally three times, he was fondly known as the "Flying Sikh" for his exploits behind the wheel.