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One-off performance tells the story of ‘The Indian Contingent’ in the Cairngorms

indian contingent cairngorm
Soldiers from the Force K6 in Scotland. Picture supplied by Mervin Glover.

The story of Force K6, later re-named The Indian Contingent, will be told through a multi-media performance in Newtonmore this September.

Force K6 were a detachment of the Indian Army briefly stationed around the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland during the Second World War.

From June 1942, they had several camps in Badenoch and Strathspey, where they joined winter warfare training in the unforgiving mountains.

The soldiers were also popular among local communities assisting in everyday life as farmhands, cooking for children and sharing their stories.

Many returned to India in 1944, however, 14 men died in the Highlands, with nine being interred at Kingussie New Cemetery.

‘Ensure their memory lives on’

Their graves there have been tended for over 70 years by a local lady, Isobel Harling, whose own brother lies in a war grave in Belgium.

In 2020 she was awarded a British Empire Medal for her service.

The one-off performance is organised by the Storylands Sessions of Badenoch Heritage in partnership with Colourful Heritage.

Entitled, The Force K6 – Indian Contingent Story will feature as part of the Badenoch Heritage Festival 2022.

It will take the audience through the soldiers’ journey using storytelling, images, music and poetry, right at the location where they camped 80 years before.

Lieut. Thomas Hexley, left, marching with the Indian Contingent. Picture supplied by Mervin Glover.

Colin Hexley, son of Lt Col. T.W.P. Hexley, who served with Force K6 in India and Europe, said: “The more I read and research the history of my father and Force K6, the more I realise how little we know about the men who served and how easily they could be forgotten.

“We have a responsibility to ensure their memory lives on.”

The event will take place at the Newtonmore Village Hall on Tuesday, September 20 at 7.30pm.

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