Commemoration
The majority of Tura's fallen Garo Labourers are commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website. Of the 55 names recorded on the Tura war memorial, I have found further CWGC information for 53 of the men. Of these however, the CWGC records incorrect (or at least different) spellings for 33 of the labourers; a factor which has made finding the men in CWGC records quite difficult. In all cases, the CWGC records the Garo men's first and second names as their surnames. Finding further details for the missing two men, and photographing the last resting places of those who died, is now the next step in this research.
The men of the 69th Garo Labour Company returned to Tura to a rousing reception on 16th July 1918 and after the war had ended, the townsfolk erected a permanent memorial to remember those who had not returned. The war memorial stands in a slightly elevated position at Babupura, Tura and wreaths are laid there every 16th July, Garo Labour Corps day.
The photograph above, courtesy of Peter Bartlett, shows the wreath-laying ceremony in 1935 and as recently as 2007, The Shillong Times carried a report of the 88th anniversary celebrations of the men's return. On that occasion, Chief Guest and State Election Commissioner Mr I K Sangma recalled the history of the Garo Labour Corps and the hardships the men had to endure, noting that, "The loyalty, discipline and sacrifice shown to us and to the world by our forefathers should be emulated by today’s generation if we are to bring better and progressive society".