‘It was very moving’: Operation Freshman victims remembered at Skitten ceremony
A rededication ceremony at the Skitten airfield memorial was hailed as “a really fitting tribute” to the 41 men who lost their lives in Operation Freshman more than 80 years ago.
Saturday’s event marked the culmination of a project to refurbish the monument honouring those who took part in the daring but ill-fated mission to Norway aimed at destroying the Nazis’ attempts to develop an atomic bomb.
On a sunny, breezy afternoon, a crowd of more than 100 gathered at the memorial alongside the B876 Wick/Castletown road. Among them were relatives of eight of the men who set off from Skitten on the night of November 19, 1942, and never returned.
One woman had travelled from her home in Greece for the occasion.
The Wick, Canisbay and Latheron branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland arranged for the repair and refurbishment of the memorial, with donations from some of the families. Some corrections were made to names that featured on the original plaque.
The airborne assault on Nazi-occupied Norway involved sending sabotage troops to attack a hydroelectric plant at Vemork, with support from a Norwegian resistance group. The plant produced Europe’s only supply of deuterium oxide, or heavy water, a key component in atomic research.
Two Halifax bombers, both towing Horsa gliders containing commando-trained Royal Engineers, took off from Skitten but the mission failed and only one bomber crew made it back. Of the 41 who lost their lives, 23 were murdered by the Gestapo.
Saturday’s ceremony featured a two-minute silence before Pipe Corporal Gordon Tait, of Wick RBLS Pipe Band, played the lament Flowers of the Forest.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, Lord Thurso, laid a wreath on behalf of the lieutenancy and gave a speech in which he described Operation Freshman as an “extraordinary endeavour”. He told how Wick had been “one of the most important parts of the country in World War II”.
Lord Thurso also highlighted the key role played by the late Anderson Murray, an RAF veteran and later a Wick councillor, in getting the memorial installed.
Wreaths were also laid by Isabel Zeiss and Phil Falconer, both of whom lost uncles in the mission.
A short service was conducted by the Rev John Nugent. Pipe band members also played A Scottish Soldier (Green Hills of Tyrol) and The Battle’s O’er.
A group of eight local air cadets attended.
Lunch was laid on afterwards at Mackays Hotel in Wick, where Norway-based military historian Bruce Tocher gave an illustrated talk about his detailed research into Operation Freshman. He is writing a book on the subject.
Phil Thomas travelled from West Sussex to attend the rededication ceremony. Her mother’s brother, Driver Vernon Belfield, was on glider “B” and was among a group of 14 who were shot by a firing squad.
She said: “I thought it was very impressive and very moving. Everyone has gone to a lot of trouble to make it happen and it was definitely worth coming for.
“It has also helped me to find out more about how important Wick was during the Second World War. I had no idea of the significance of it.
“We always knew about my uncle. From a very early age we knew he’d been on a special operation, but it wasn’t until Bruce contacted the family that we realised the significance of it all.
“Now I know more than clearly my grandparents or mother knew. I’m not sure that my mother would have wanted to know everything, quite honestly.
“I think it’s just amazing how the local people have made sure the memorial is accurate and has been revamped. It’s such a lovely thing to be able to go and see.”
Isabel Zeiss made the journey from her home in the Peloponnese region of Greece. She laid a wreath on behalf of the Glider Pilot Regiment.
Her uncle, Sgt Peter Doig, was a pilot in glider “A” and was killed when it made a crash landing on snow-covered mountains.
Mrs Zeiss, who is originally from Glasgow, described the ceremony as “excellent”.
She said: “I think the family didn’t know exactly what had happened until quite a lot later. But we always talked about him, everybody knew about him. It was always Uncle Peter.
“Bruce has done so much work, it’s unreal. Every time you listen to him talking he comes up with more detail.”
Phil Falconer and his wife Linda made the journey from St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire. Mr Falconer’s uncle, Flight Sergeant Jim Falconer, was killed when Halifax “B” crashed.
Mr Falconer laid a wreath on behalf of his uncle and all others who were lost.
“It was moving, just to see so many folk there,” he said. “When the pipes started it was brilliant.
“It’s good for the lads that were on that operation to be remembered.”
Mr Falconer added: “Bruce is so passionate about it and he knows everything – he knows all the names, the ages, all the family members.”
Originally from Forfar, Dr Tocher is a geologist who was a university lecturer and worked in the oil and gas industry. He moved to Norway in 1995.
“I thought it was a really fitting tribute,” he said. “We were so lucky with the weather, it could not have been better, and we had a really nice crowd. Eight of the families were represented, and we had the young cadets as well.
“It just gives everyone a feeling that the sacrifice wasn't forgotten. That's really the main thing. These were young men and they died in their prime. They deserve to be remembered.”
Dr Tocher expects to complete his book this year. “I’m still finding out new things,” he said. “The project will still go on, even when the book is finished.”
Dr Tocher praised the work of Alistair Jack as the driving force behind the Caithness At War heritage trail. Mr Jack, chief officer at Caithness Voluntary Group, was among those attending the event on Saturday.
“Alistair is absolutely fantastic,” Dr Tocher said. “I’m in communication with him quite a lot and I'm hoping to contribute some of the information I have to the Caithness At War website.”
After Operation Freshman, follow-up attacks by the Norwegian resistance, backed by Britain’s Special Operations Executive, did succeed. These inspired the 1965 Hollywood action movie The Heroes of Telemark.
