Finding Force K6: Recent Episodes
Colourful Heritage
Force K6 were an all Muslim Punjabi regiment mainly from the Pakistan side of pre-partition India that escaped from Dunkirk during World War 2 and arrived in Britain eventually making their way to Scotland.
Colourful Heritage are looking for any surviving Force K6 veterans, families of Force K6 soldiers and items belonging to these soldiers such as letters, swords, uniforms, etc.. If you can help identify any surviving Force K6 veterans or their families please contact Raja Manzoor Ali via WhatsApp at 0092 332 264 1306 or Saima Hanif at 0044 7840 526 235. You may also choose to email us at info@colourfulheritage.com. For more information, visit our website, www.colourfulheritage.com.
Colourful Heritage is the largest South Asian Heritage focussed, community-led, charitable initiative in Scotland. In 2010, Colourful Heritage started as an informal conversation with a group of friends over a cup of tea. They decided that many of the early generations of South Asian elders were passing away so they wanted to try and capture their stories because there was an archival silence. This podcast is in celebration of our 10-year anniversary.
"We've all got a responsibility as a society to come together in peace and demonstrate that peace, otherwise, it can be forgotten. Isn't that the best kind of memorial?"Geraldine Craig, the granddaughter of Isobel Harling, carries on her interview, reminding us of the impact of universal humanitarian values exhibited by Isobel, such as being selfless, committed, and caring for others, no matter who they are. The act of epitomising these values and instilling them in today's youth is the question of this week's episode.
Isobel Harling, nicknamed "wee Mac" by intelligence officers,served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War 2. She has selflessly taken care of the graves of the Force K6 soldiers (known then as the pony boys) for over 70 years! In 2020 she was awarded the British Empire Medal in recognition of her efforts.
In this episode, we sit down with Isobel's granddaughter, Geraldine Craig, to hear her story about her grandmother's acceptance of others, embracing diversity and her interactions with the soldiers and her trips to the highlands in motorbikes and ambulances.
In this episode, Dr Ghee Bowman gets into the details of the soldiers of the 22nd company who were captured by the Germans during WW2 and held as prisoners of war for nearly 5 years! Encouraged by Subhas Chandra Bose, many of these prisoners ended up joining the German army.
What happened to the soldiers once they left Scotland? Do any of the Force K6 soldiers' families know of their efforts? Are there any surving veterans?
Learn more about our Punjabi Muslim soldiers' memories from our conversation with historian Dr Ghee Bowman.
Hamish Johnston is the author of 'A Corner of Pakistan in Scotland'. In continuation of our interview with Hamish, we step into some of the activities that the pre-partition Indian contingent had participated in, such as the cattle fair in 1942 at Lairg and competitive sports events with the British Infantry Regiments. Hamish also highlights how the British Army catered to the religious and cultural needs of the Indian contingent.
Hamish Johnston is the author of 'A Corner of Pakistan in Scotland'. In this episode, Hamish paints us a vivid picture of the daily lives of the Force K6 soldiers, the deaths of these soldiers, as well as their struggles with the harsh and extreme weathers of Scotland. In our journey with the Punjabi Muslim soldiers, Hamish recounts the details of a trial for the murder of Corporal Sadiq in Inverness, Scotland.
Ghee Bowman has been researching Force K6 for over 5 years and has been in archives both in India and in Pakistan. He has recently completed his PhD and is the author of a book about Force K6 called ‘The Indian Contingent – The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk’ . In this episode, we dive into the daily routines of the Force K6 soldiers and the struggles they faced adapting to the unfamiliar environments of France, Britain and Scotland. As we dig deeper into the historical context of World War 2, Dr Ghee Bowman gives his insight into the paucity of historical recognition of the efforts of our Pakistani soldiers.
Who were Force K6? What is Colourful Heritage? Dr Saqib Razzaq, the project manager for Colourful Heritage, gives her insight into how and why Colourful Heritage was founded, and a brief history of the Punjabi Muslim soldiers of Force K6 and their quest to find any information and artefacts from their relatives or any surviving Force K6 veterans in Pakistan.