Honour for woman who tended WW2 graves for 70 years

Isobel Harling, pictured right with her daughter Gaynol, has tended to the graves for more than 70 years

A woman who has tended to the graves of Indian soldiers killed while training in the Highlands in World War Two has been honoured in her home village.

Isobel Harling, 97, has looked after the graves in Kingussie, in the Cairngorms, for more than 70 years.

A service was held on Saturday to celebrate her awarding of the British Empire Medal (BEM).

She was recommended for the medal because of her dedication to the war graves and also charitable work.

• 'Nobody seemed to care' about WW2 graves

The Army in Scotland and Royal British Legion Scotland have helped to organise the small service, taking place at the war memorial in Kingussie. Mrs Harling attended with her daughter Gaynol.

Social distancing was adhered to and the event was live streamed so family and friends living in other parts of the UK and also New Zealand and Norway could watch.

Nine Indian soldiers are buried in a cemetery in Kingussie

Mrs Harling, who served with the Women's Royal Naval Service during the war, began tending to the nine graves when she was in her 20s.

The soldiers served in Force K6, a Muslim transport corps who rode mules and delivered supplies to front-lines. They died while in the Highlands for training.

The youngest of the nine men was Mushtaq Ahmad, who was only 21-years-old when he was killed in action on 19 October 1942. The oldest in the group was Ali Bahadur, who died aged 38.

Isobel Harling received the BEM for her volunteer work

Mrs Harling, from Kingussie, lost a brother in the war when he his aircraft was shot down over Leuven in Belgium. Her own loss influenced her dedication to the graves of the Indian soldiers.

For many years, Mrs Harling tended the graves herself.

Mrs Harling served with the Women's Royal Naval Service during World War Two

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 has also seen her help raise thousands of pounds for the care of every war grave and war memorial in her home area of Badenoch and Strathspey.

Mrs Harling's BEM was announced in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in December.