A-Z Of Great Scots
This month, learn the story of soldier and honorary Scotsman Abdul Ghani
IN May 1941, official war artist Henry Lamb spotted some Indian soldiers in Salisbury. Struck by a burning desire to paint them, he followed them to Hereford, where the men were based, and set to work on two portraits.
His painting of Mahomed Akbar Khan is in storage at the Imperial War Museum and the other, simply entitled
Driver Abdul Ghani, now hangs in Glasgow’s
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Very little is known about the man in the picture, but as a driver in Force K6 – the mule transport companies of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps – he spent time in Scotland during the Second World War.
Ghani belonged to the 29th Company, and he and his fellow soldiers of Force K6 were Muslims from the area of what was northwest India and is now Pakistan. They became known as “the Indian Contingent”.
Abdul had been awarded a Frontier Medal in 1938 – Henry Lamb wrote in a letter that, “to his chagrin this was eclipsed in the picture by his bandoliers”.
Much of Abdul’s story has been lost, but it’s safe to assume he joined the rest of the 29th Company in Scotland where they were sent in 1942 to prepare for an invasion of Norway. The climate and landscape were the ideal training ground.
The men of K6 were strewn across north east Scotland, with camps in Aviemore, Ballater and Fochabers, to name but a few. These communities welcomed the soldiers with tea dances, and many local people tasted Indian food for the first time, as the troops shared delicacies. The fun and frolics were in stark contrast to the realities of Force K6’s training exercises, however.
“He trained in Scotland for an invasion of Norway
While based in Scotland, 13 soldiers died – conditions were harsh, and two companies, including Abdul’s, stayed all winter. Many of the men succumbed to diseases or died in accidents on the mountains.
Driver Abdul Ghani is not among the names of those who died, so it is hoped that he returned home after the war and saw Pakistan become an independent country in 1947.
Did he know that his portrait went on to hang in a Glasgow museum? We might never know – but next time you visit, pay your respects to one of the unsung heroes of the Second World War.