Horseshoe find lucky for Wester Ross man!
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A WESTER Ross man's hobby has helped uncover clues to a mystery dating back to the Second World War.
Whilst metal detecting on his family’s croft, Donald Matheson of Inverasdale unearthed a series of curved pieces of metal.
One by one he has pieced them together – and realised that they are in fact tiny horseshoes.
Thinking they possibly belonged to Shetland ponies as they were so small, he took them to a local retired blacksmith who instantly referred to them as belonging to the "wartime Indian mules".
When he was younger, Donald had heard stories of an Indian soldier’s camp being in the Loch Ewe area during the war – but no one seemed to be able to establish the truth. So, with his exciting metal find, he is beginning to piece the story together with the help of those in the area who lived through the war.
Donald explained: "It is beginning to emerge that there was an Indian soldier’s camp up above Inverasdale, and they used mules for transporting supplies across the rough ground.
"Some locals remember that the soldiers wore turbans and came to the local houses in Inverasdale asking for eggs and for live chicken. Apparently they were not allowed to eat meat unless they killed it themselves, according to their religion."
Donald is working with the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum project around Loch Ewe and is preparing details of his horseshoe find for an exhibition during ‘World War II and the Arctic Convoys Week’.
The week of events runs from May 7–12 May and he'll be organising an exhibition in Gairloch Library, one of the five taking place over the week around the Loch Ewe area.
The week of events in Wester Ross ranges from a guided walk to the wreck site of an American Liberty Ship the SS William H Welch near the mouth of Loch Ewe, a film night with very rare wartime footage, a 1940s' dance, a WWII families reunion, tea parties, and talks on specific Arctic Convoy PQ17 and PQ18.
The highlight is keynote speaker Dr Mark Baldwin, a world expert on code breaking, making it even more exciting as he will be bringing an Enigma machine with him, and holding ‘hands on sessions.
The full list of events can be found on www.russianarcticconvoymuseum.co.uk – many of the events are entry by donation.
