Curriculum of Excellence

Second Level

Unit 2

The British Indian Army World War II

When you go home tell them of us and sayFor your tomorrow we gave our today

Kohima Epitaph

Background

• 1st September 1939 - The start of World War II• The two sides were known as:

• 1 . The Allies – The British Empire, France, Russia, China and United States

• 2 . The Axis – Germany, Italy and Japan

• 8th May 1945 World War II ended • 70-85 million people had been killed worldwide due to the war

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British Indian Army

• The British Indian Army was the largest volunteer force during World War II.

• At that time pre-Partition India included both Pakistan and Bangladesh and its army was known as

• The British Indian Army.

• Without resorting to conscription, the British were able to recruit • 2 .5 million Indians.

• The British Indian Army fought the three major Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).

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Who were Force K6?

• A group of servicemen who were part of the British Indian Army• When the British Army went to France at the beginning of the

war, it was a totally mechanized force, which was revolutionary for its time

• As soon as they got into the field, they realized they were having a problem moving supplies and equipment over rough ground

• The call went out to the British Empire for animal transport companies with horses and mules

• A force was assembled from India for this purpose , this was Force K6

• All the men of Force K6 were Muslim

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Life as a Force K6 soldier

• Journey to Europe • 8th December 1939: Force K6 leave Bombay in India for Europe . • 26th December 1939: Arrive at the French Mediterranean port of

Marseilles . • May 1940: Forced to withdraw from France due to German

Invasion . Unfortunately their animals had to be left behind . • Spent a lot of time in England training with British Infantry

regiment .

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Force K6 in Scotland

• 9th June 1942: Some of the men moved to Scotland • Stayed in outdoor camps near Aviemore during Summer • Daily routine

• Ablution (wash before prayer)• Meals• Drills• Marches to stay fit • Inspections• Feeding, grooming, exercising of horses• Weapon training

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Force K6 in Scotland continued • During Winter months

• the men were moved from outdoor camps into buildings • September 1942 – only 9 days described as ‘fine’ in the war diaries. The other

days the weather was quite bad • On 24th September 1942 it was snowing • Conditions in the winter buildings was very harsh • The men always felt cold and damp • Some of the buildings lacked adequate water supply

• Social Life • The soldiers relationship with the local community was good • October 1942: the men at Lairg attended a cattle fair • At Nairn and Ballater, the men had the opportunity to visit the local cinema • They received letters weekly from India from their families

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The Legacy of Force K6 in Scotland

• Possibly Edinburgh’s first Mosque: A leave centre established for Force K6 at 13 Wester Coates Terrace, Edinburgh . This incorporated a prayer room on the side of the building

• Force K6 Graves: 13 men are buried in four cemeteries across Scotland. 9 are buried in Kingussie

• A Local Hero: British Legion member Mrs Isobel Harling has been looking after the graves since the war . She says “I like to think that it brings their families comfort knowing that even though their loved ones are so far away from home, they are still being looked after”

• Lasting Relic: In the gallery of Glasgow’s Kelvinside Museum, you can see a portrait of Force K6 Driver Abdul Ghani posing with an ammunition bandolier over his shoulder .

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Lorna Milligan, age 12, remembers Force K6

• Well, in Golspie there were a lot of the Indian Army being trained in the countryside round about and they were bil leted in the old part of our school . And the cookhouse was there and the Indians were always making great big pots of curry and it was really smelly curry . They were making chapatis on the stoves and they would say to us, ‘You like chapati? You like chapati?’ And that’s, I remember that, you know . They would give us chapatis . Very kind people .

• They were Sikhs (note-they were actually Muslims) and they had the turbans, you know, and they tied their turbans onto the rail ings of the school (after washing them) - miles of turbans drying afterwards - but they were lovely . I mean, I was only what, I would have been about your age, about 12 . But it’s very clear in my mind, very clear . It was nice . They had mules and sheep and all these things, you know, but that was the cookhouse .

• And then they had the army itself . They were training up in the hil ls, training their army off icers . It was good . It was quite a funny feeling . Golspie was such a quiet l ittle vil lage and suddenly all these different people were arriving...... and there was an RAF station just outside Golspie, and there was the Indians and there was all these different people all arriving in this l ittle quiet vi l lage, which made a vast difference to our l ives during the war, you know .

• But it was all happy . Everybody . There was no problems . No nastiness or f ighting or nothing l ike that . You wouldn’t think there was a war . It was different but you wouldn’t actually think it was l ike a war, you know, as such . No, it was happy memories .

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Naik Gian Singh– Victoria Cross Recipient

• Awarded for his bravery in Burma on 2nd March 1945

• He observed the enemy some 20 yards ahead, he rushed to the enemy foxholes alone whilst firing his Tommy Gun . He was met by a hail of fire and was wounded in the arm. In spite of this he continued his advance alone while hurling grenades.

• By this time a troop of tanks moved up in support of Gian Singh however they came under fire from a cleverly concealed enemy anti-tank gun . Naik Gian Singh quickly saw the danger to the tanks and ignoring the risk to himself and in spite of his wounds, again rushed forward. He killed the crew and captured the anti-tank gun single-handed .

Examples of Bravery

This picture is very special. It shows Naik Gian Singh, a Sikh who won the Victoria Cross in Burma in 1945 (World War II) pictured with Khudadad Khan,

the first Indian and Muslim to win a Victoria Cross in 1914 (World War I) at Buckingham Palace in 1956.

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Examples of Kindness

Isobel Harling

• For more than 70 years, in Kingussie, Isobel Harling has looked after the graves of the 9 Indian servicemen

• Mrs Harling first started visiting the graves in her early 20s

• When the local gravedigger noticed her tending the graves, he told her not to bring any of her own equipment because she could use his while she was there

• With help from the gravedigger, she has spent years cutting the grass, placing flowers on the graves and keeping the cemetery tidy

• Mrs Harling has never met the families of the men buried at Kingussie but she hopes the families know the graves are being cared for in the Highlands

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“They came over from home and they gave their lives for us . It’s

only right that we should remember them”

Words of Isobel Harling

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Britain's 1st Muslim War HeroineNoor Inayat Khan

• Noor Inayat Khan of Indian descent was known as the ‘Spy Princess’

• In World War II she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and later was recruited as a spy

• In 1943 Noor was the first female wireless operator sent from Britain to German-occupied France, to assist the French Resistance

• Betrayed to the Germans, she was executed at Dachau concentration camp in 1944 by the Gestapo

• After the war she was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1949 .

Noor Inayat Khan was Britain’s firstMuslim war heroine.

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In numbersIndia’s Contribution to World War II

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British Indian Army - Force K6 in pictures

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