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Woman buried near war graves she tended for 70 yearsA woman has been buried opposite the war graves she had tended in a Highland cemetery for 70 years.
Isobel Harling, from Kingussie, died on 30 November. She was 100 years old. On Tuesday, she was buried near the graves of nine Muslim soldiers killed in training during World War Two that she had looked after since her 20s.
Dr Saqib Razzaq, of archive project Colourful Heritage, said Mrs Harling was an extraordinary woman. Mrs Harling served with the Women's Royal Naval Service during the war. She lost a brother in the conflict when his aircraft was shot down over Leuven in Belgium. Her own loss influenced her dedication to the graves of the soldiers in Kingussie Cemetery.
The soldiers served in Force K6, a transport corps who rode mules and delivered supplies to front-lines. It was part of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps and the nine men were from a mountainous region that is now part of Pakistan. The youngest of the nine men was Mushtaq Ahmad, who was only 21-years-old when he died on 19 October 1942. The oldest in the group was Ali Bahadur, who died aged 38.
For many years, Mrs Harling tended the graves herself. Later, with help from a local gravedigger, she spent years cutting the grass, placing flowers on the graves and keeping the cemetery tidy. Her volunteer work with Royal British Legion Scotland also helped raise thousands of pounds for the care of every war grave and war memorial in her home area of Badenoch and Strathspey.
In December 2019, she was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM).
(Image: MOD) Isobel Harling died on St Andrew's Day
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