Unveiling of tribute to Second World War Indian soldiers to take place in Autumn
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Plans for the unveiling of a permanent new memorial to Force K6 in Kingussie have been deferred.
It was hoped that the tribute to the men of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps (RIASC) would have been officially launched on May 22.
But the officer leading the project, Major Heather Lawrie, told the Strathy: “Unfortunately, we have to put it back due to supply issues with the granite slab being delayed.”
The memorial service has now been pencilled in for September 20.
A slab of black granite will be engraved and gold leafed, and all the fine details of the inscription are now being finalised.
The memorial will be sited in Kingussie Community Development Company’s revitalised Gynack Gardens, although formal artists’ drawings have not yet been available.
Major Lawrie confirmed that the orientation of the memorial in the gardens was ‘almost perfect’, and the Kingussie Primary School, ‘right over the road’, would be involved in the service. She said: “The young people of Kingussie will be a part of the memorial for years to come.”
The memorial will stand as a testament to the sacrifice made by more than 60 personnel in the UK and across Europe, including the men laid to rest in ‘The Indian Graves’ at Kingussie Cemetery.
Tribute will also be set in stone to local legionnaire Isobel Harling BEM who attended to the Kingussie graves for seven decades, keeping them kempt and cared for.
