Sacrifice never forgotten Tribute to 14 Indian soldiers who all died in Scotland
Marking 80 years since their arrival, the intriguing story of the Indian soldiers posted to the Highlands is to be told and commemorated in Kingussie
IN a corner of Kingussie New Cemetery, not far from the A9 and the busy road to Inverness, a row of simple Second World War graves is inclined ever so slightly out of line with its neighbours.
The details inscribed on each headstone tell a familiar story of men cut down in the prime of their life by the tragedy of war. The oldest in the small group was 38, the youngest just 21.
The positioning of the stones is intentional: deliberately angled so the deceased, all of them Muslim, would forever face Mecca.
The Royal Indian Army Service Corps is chiselled on each headstone while the names – Muhummed, Khan, Ali and Khushi among them – hint at men sent far from home and who would, tragically, never leave.
For years, the remarkable story of how hundreds of mainly Muslim soldiers from pre-partition India were posted to the Strathspey and Badenoch area at the height of the Second World War was overshadowed by events elsewhere. It was left to the locals – touched by this exotic influx of men with their unusual makeshift mosque tents and turbans – to keep their memory alive.
Now, to mark 80 years since their arrival in the Highlands, their intriguing story is to be told and commemorated.
Later this month, a memorial plaque will be unveiled at the cemetery in touching tribute to the men from Force K6, known as the Indian Contingent, who served and died in the area.
It will coincide with a powerful multimedia performance in nearby Newtownmore, close to one of the Indian soldiers’ camps.
The multi-cultural event will include music, poetry, images, Indian food, and storytelling with contributions from researchers and writers who have unpicked the story of Force K6 and the men who had to be left behind.
Force K6 was an animal transport corps with the Royal Indian Army which served mainly in the troubled north-west frontier of pre-partition India – later to become part of Pakistan.
Dunkirk evacuees
FORCE K6, with its 2,000 mules trained as pack carriers or to pull carts, was called upon to support the Allies. The men arrived in France in 1939, but in the blitzkrieg one company was captured, while the others were evacuated from Dunkirk and other ports.
Once based in England and Wales, it was decided the soldiers’ expertise in challenging mountain and winter environments could be put to vital use.
“Churchill had a plot to invade Norway and to come at the Germans from that direction,” said Merryn Glover, artistic director and project lead of The Force K6 – Indian Contingent Story, which will feature as part of the Badenoch Heritage Festival.
The Indian soldiers were an expert unit. In France, their mules had played a role in transporting the Allies and providing transport for carrying guns and equipment. Once in Britain, the decision was taken to involve them in mountain training.”
The British 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was based in the Badenoch area for mountain warfare training. Before long, the Indian Contingent were pouring off trains at Dalwhinnie station in their hundreds, carrying supplies of Indian food, flocks of sheep, their mules, and mountains of oats and hay for animal feed.
Tented camps were established at spots across the region and the sight of Force K6 soldiers became common in places like Aviemore, Kincraig, Dalwhinnie,
Ballater, Nairn and Fochabers.
The scale of their arrival in the Cairngorms was huge: six companies of at least 320 men and 300 horses each instantly trebled the population of Aviemore and posed challenges when it came to sourcing Indian food for the troops and feed for their animals.
Tragic deaths
THE men took part in a range of joint training exercises, route marches and training in navigation, weapons training at local rifle ranges, anti-aircraft and gas protection measures – with the horses fitted with gas masks. However, their stay was relatively brief: the last of the Indian Contingent left the area in late 1944 amid demand for their expertise from the Burma Campaign. But not all made the onwards journey. Fourteen Force K6 men died in Scotland, nine from natural causes including six who died from TB.
One, Muhammad Sadiq, aged 29, came to a particularly brutal end, shot dead by a fellow soldier with a grudge who went on to serve 10 years in prison for his deed.
Another who had joined a gruelling trek up Gleann Einich in wild gales, rain, sleet and mist was overcome in the conditions and unable to keep up with his comrades. Khan Muhammed, 32, was left on the hill in a state of collapse, where his body was later recovered.
An inquiry later found the men had not been properly fed and their clothing was inadequate for the gruelling conditions. One soldier died when the lorry he was driving overturned. Another lost his life in a railway accident.
Nine were interred in Kingussie New Cemetery: Ali Bahadur, 38, Bari Sher, 37, Dadan Khan, 22, Fazl Ali, 25, Khan Muhammad, 32, Khushi Muhamm, 35, Muhammad, 29, Muhammad Sadiq, 29, and Mushtaq Ahmad, 21.
Far from home and loved ones, their graves were tended for over 70 years by local woman Isobel Harling, an act of love in return for the care given by strangers to her brother’s war grave in Belgium. Now in her nineties, her devotion to the fallen soldiers was
They must have made a huge impact in the area while they were here. They were well-regarded in the communities, they shared their food and their stories
recognised in 2020 when she received the British Empire Medal and inspired the commemoration events at Kingussie New Cemetery, which include input from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Royal British Legion.
Cemetery service
THE first UK memorial to the soldiers and officers of Force K6 will be unveiled at the cemetery on Tuesday, September 20, followed by the festival event.
“The men were buried according to Islamic tradition,” said Merryn Glover.
“The stones are angled differently to the others in the cemetery so when they were laid in the grave, their faces turned to Mecca.
“They must have made a huge impact in the area while they were here. They were well-regarded in the communities, they shared their food and their stories, attended local dances and helped on farms.”
The Force K6 – Indian Contingent Story has been organised by the Storylands Sessions of Badenoch Heritage in partnership with Colourful Heritage, an organisation that celebrates South Asian contributions to Scotland.