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Exotic strangers

As a child during the war, we were sheltered from the horrors of the blitz in the coastal holiday resort of Nairn. Towards the end of the war, we had German and Italian prisoners of war billeted in the town, in what were previously hotels. They seemed to be able to work locally helping out on farms.

We had other strangers in our midst. The local agricultural society’s show ground was occupied by a large number of Indian troops. These were a mounted regiment, and they had many horses. I believe they trained in the surrounding district.

Highly sociable

The most memorable thing about these — to us exotic — troops was their hospitality. Every so often they would organise an At Home and provide a feast of curries, rice, chapatis and naan bread, all cooked in the open air.

We were allowed to look at their wonderful horses too. After the meal a display of horsemanship would be put on, including pig-sticking.

Other entertainments

Occasionally, the Indian troops would put on a show in the local cinema on a Sunday night, when there would be singers, magicians and acrobats. I well recall that they always included the song 'I'll walk beside you', only they pronounced it 'I'll valk beside you'.

This rendition was in honour of Major Alan Murray, usually in the audience, the composer of this song, who was also billeted in Nairn. He organised ENSA parties that travelled nightly from the town to the surrounding airfields and barracks. Some names that I recall from the ENSA or Entertainments National Services Association billetees were Anne Shelton, Will Fyffe, Matheson Lang and so on.

Excellent ambassadors

It would interesting to find out what became of the Indian troops. They always wore headgear in the shape of turbans, so perhaps they were Sikhs. They were excellent ambassadors for their country.

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