Royal Indian Army Service Corps Force K6
The Force K6 Memorial was unveiled on 20th September 2022 pays tribute to the 13 Muslim and 1 Hindu soldiers who died in Scotland from the Royal Indian Army Service Corps Force K6 – Animal Transport Company.
The soldiers mainly came from pre-partition India from what is now Pakistan. Nine of their graves are located in Commonwealth War Graves at Kingussie Cemetery
These graves were tended for 70 years by Kingussie resident Isobel Harling, BEM whose brother, John Duncan MacPherson, died after being shot down over Leuven, Belgium during the Second World War.
The memorial was majority funded by Highland Council, with a donation from the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society. It is made from imported Indian stone mixed with locally sourced Cairngorm granite, engraved and adorned with gold leaf. The project leader was Major Heather Taylor, HQ Army Scotland and HQ 51st Infantry Brigade.
Force K6 – Remembering their journey
Colourful Heritage, founded in 2010, was the first charitable initiative in Scotland aiming to preserve and celebrate the contributions of the early South Asian and Muslim communities and migrants to Scotland.
On 15th November 2018, Colourful Heritage and Lt Col Adrian Williams, 51st Infantry Brigade, British Army organised a multi faith memorial service commemorating the British Indian Army soldiers of Force K6 at Kingussie Cemetery which is the largest concentration of Force K6 graves in Scotland.
Colourful Heritage continue to create an online repository of oral stories in addition to a dedicated archive. One of their aims is to find surviving Force K6 veterans and any of their relatives, by spreading the word and reaching out to as many people as possible. All the grave stones have the same inscriptions, in Arabic.
“Ho Val Ghaffoor – He, the Forgiving One” and from the Quran “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon – Indeed we belong to Him (God) and Indeed we return to Him.”
Further reading
- https://www.colourfulheritage.com/british-indo-pak-army/
- The Indian Contingent – The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk – Ghee Bowman
- https://www.forcek6.org.uk/ the-book Chris Kempton
- ‘A Corner of Pakistan in Scotland’ – Hamish Johnston
The names of the 14 men from Force K6 who died in Scotland were added to the Indian Army Rolls of Honour book at the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle in 2023. The book is accessible to the public, allowing anyone to pay tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives. https://www.snwm.org/roll-sea
