Nehru invited young people "to organise a new consciousness in the Commonwealth through cultural and intellectual activities as well as common adventure."
Nehru's death in 1964 led to the cancellation of the project, but at the invitation of the Government of India, an expedition of 204 young people set out from London on 30 July 1965.
In India, the five contingents from Cardiff, London, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh visited different regions - then known as Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Rajasthan, and Lucknow.
The young participants, mostly students, had been trained by the Royal Air Force to be competent drivers, navigators, and radio operators.
In the days before 'gap years' and cheap travel, the journey gave those who took part an unusual combination of responsibility, enjoyment, challenge and reward.
[5] The model has been followed subsequently at regular intervals, for a total of 14 expeditions, overland across the Asian Highway, within India itself, and into Africa, with Zambia serving as a base.
Eighty people out of the original participants came to the event and shared their memories, photographs keepsakes found in innumerable lofts.
[13][12] These included A fourth expedition was planned for July 1970 for 525 participants to travel to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore as well as India and Pakistan.
[14] However, due to financial constraints this was scaled back and smaller trips of 21 participants went to each location to develop an itinerary for Comex 5.