What’s On: The Indian Army in the New Forest exhibition, New Forest Heritage Centre
THE contributions made by soldiers of the Indian Army during the First World War are celebrated in an exhibition at the New Forest Heritage Centre.
Red Pepper and Black Pepper – The Indian Army in the New Forest (1914-1916), tells the largely forgotten story of the part the soldiers played in the First World War.
India – and what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh – was by far the largest contributor of men and materials from the Empire. Indian soldiers fought with great courage and valour – winning nine Victoria Crosses on the Western Front alone and achieving notable battlefield successes.
The exhibition tells a story of mutual warmth and friendship between the troops and the local population. Notably, considerable efforts were made to meet the soldiers' cultural and religious needs. The enduring gratitude and affection can be seen in the Forest, with roads still named after Indian towns and a commemoration at a memorial in Barton held every year.
But the exhibition also explores tougher narratives,: 55 wounded soldiers did not survive their wounds, and their names have never been properly listed nor remembered fully until now.
While all Indian soldiers were volunteers, their reasons for fighting a war that wasn’t their own were complex. Their letters home were censored, and some soldiers referred in code to the British as ‘Red Peppers’ and themselves as ‘Black Peppers’.
Most of the material in the exhibition has been researched and assembled by local historian Nick Saunders, with the support of Arts Council England and Culture in Common. Indian designer Devanshi Rungta has designed the displays.
On 25th July Indian journalist and author of For King and Another Country, Shrabani Basu, will be giving a talk entitled Turbans in the Trenches at the Community Centre in Lyndhurst at 6pm.
Red Pepper and Black Pepper – The Indian Army in the New Forest (1914-1916) will be at The New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst from 12th July to 9th August.
