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Project leaders have expressed their delight with cash injections for five community initiatives in the area.
They will share in over £120,000 worth of funding from the Scottish Government in what was described as investment the area is ‘crying out for’ by Highland Council convener and local member Councillor Bill Lobban.
The Place-Based Investment Programme (PBIP) gave Highland Council more than £1.9 million of ring-fenced money region-wide for 2021/22 that is to be ‘shaped by the needs and aspirations of local communities’.
Members of the council’s area committee agreed the local winning bids at their latest meeting held online.
The largest award approved was £50,000 for Kingussie Shinty Club for Market Stance Pitch’s floodlighting and fencing.
That was followed by £23,900 for the Grantown Initiative’s Burnfield Public Convenience Project to go towards the £44,900 costs of refurbishing the local toilets which will also include motorhome waste disposal facilities.
ARC sought £20,706 for the Kingussie K6 Memorial Project for a permanent memorial in Gynack Gardens to the 60 soldiers and officer of Force K6 who died during World War II across in Britain and Europe.
Members agreed that £15,000 should go towards the Grantown Initiative’s £80,000 project to regenerate Dulaig Play Park and instal new play equipment and £10,000 for the Boat of Garten Community Company’s Woodland Wheels Pump Track floodlights.
Major Heather Lawrie, of The Royal Corps of Signals, is local facilitator of the Force K6 memorial project in Kingussie.
She said: “It’s very good news since this is the culmination of a truly collaborative effort between a huge range of key stakeholders, military, faith, cultural and local community.
“We will see Kingussie become the global focal point for all who want to learn more about and pay their respects to a remarkable force of men who gave their lives for the cause of world freedom.
“Ideally by the spring,a beautiful two-metre high memorial in local stone, engraved in gold by a local craftsman will stand to the memory of all those involved with Force K6 – not just the men buried at Kingussie Ceremony but all the brave servicemen who perished for the cause, including those who died in the prison of war camps.”
Kingussie Shinty Club president Russell Jones, said: “We have exciting plans to construct sports fencing and floodlighting at the Market Stance Playing Field this summer.
“This funding takes us a long way towards our vision of creating a high quality sports facility at the Market Stance. The much-needed new facility will be available to the entire community for a range of sports and activities.
“It is a number of years since the Playing Field was in use and it is an exciting prospect that it will be upgraded and used again this year to its full potential “
Bill Sadler, chair of The Grantown Society: “This is great news for the Dulaig group and recognises both the need and the fantastic work the group have done so far.
“For the toilet bid, it is really good to see progress and initial funding, although disappointing that the full refurbishment programme cannot be carried out yet.”
Who were the Force K6?
The call went out to the Indian empire, then joint Indian and Pakistan subcontinents, for animal troop companies to rush to France to help the Allies in their desperate plight.
Force K6 Mule Transport Corps initially arrived in Marseilles in December 1939, only to be evacuated out of Dunkirk with the rest of the British Army in the nick of time.
Initially staying in Brecon Beacon in Wales, the men finally moved to Scotland, which now hosts the largest concentration of World War II Muslim soldiers’ graves from Force K6 in the UK, jointly with Wales.
There are 13 graves spread out in four cemeteries, with Kingussie cemetery housing nine of them, young soldiers who died whilst training in the Cairngorms.
Though far from home, these heroes from the Punjab region and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, in present day Pakistan, are honoured by those who know of they and their comrades’ sacrifice all around the world.
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