Transcript:

Soldiers from afar

A story by Willie Sinclair about the soldiers from overseas

“Well, the army used to come down here and train. Oh aye, soldiers come all down that road. Down past

Edith’s and there used to be mules coming over the hill there. They were foreign folk. They came over the

hill and they camped out just down from Edith’s. Oh, maybe about 20 mules and there was folk on

horseback and all that – foreign. Not Gurkhas but something like Gurkhas.

“Like Gurkhas? What – like the Nepalese guys?

Aye – kind of dark men, they were.

“What were they doing?”

They were training at time of war and they come right over the top of the hill there and through the village

and went away up Strathdon, right over there.

“And that was all training?”

Aye. And then they went away to over them foreign countries. It wasn’t Malaya but one of those foreign

countries. They went away over there. Burma, I think it was.

And sometimes they come this way – up the way – the captain – just down from Edith’s and they were right

there at night – they went in there with the horses and that.

“And did they ever speak to you?”

Never spoke, no no. No.

“Just kept themselves to themselves?”

We heard they were there and I went down to see the horses and mules and that.

“Had the horses and mules travelled from overseas as well?”

Oh, I think they took the mules with them, oh aye. Must have taken them all with them.