RAF pilot says Caithness trail ‘will inform next generation of wartime sacrifices’
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A Royal Air Force pilot has praised Caithness At War for raising awareness of the sacrifices that were made during the conflict of 1939 to 1945.
Flight Lieutenant Calum Falconer, of 6 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth, was speaking on Saturday at Wick John O’Groats Airport during the launch of the World War II heritage trail created by Sinclair’s Bay Trust and Wick Development Trust.
Forty-six information boards have been installed in the town and around Sinclair’s Bay, explaining the county’s vital role in guarding against the threat of invasion from across the North Sea.
Phase two of the project will focus on the creation of a Caithness Allied Air Forces Memorial at the airport entrance, commemorating 544 aircrew and service personnel who lost their lives while operating from the county’s three RAF stations, along with a Spitfire replica.
Flt Lt Falconer, a Typhoon pilot, said: “As the time between the war and now grows ever longer, there are fewer people alive that can remember it. So certainly seeing the schools and everybody here to remember their legacy and continue it, and inform the next generation of the sacrifices that they made, is very important.
“In the Royal Air Force we are often on operations, we’re overseas, and we see ourselves I suppose as the inheritors of their legacy. Although we could never assume to match up to the great sacrifices that they made, it certainly guides us in everything that we do and we try to keep their memory alive in our activities, our deeds and our words every day.
“So it’s great for me to be up here, a fantastic way to spend a Saturday, and it’s for a good reason.”
Lord Thurso, Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, gave a speech about his own family’s involvement in World War II before cutting a red ribbon to declare the trail open.
A large gathering of invited guests and other members of the public looked on at the outdoor ceremony near the airport entrance, where several of the Caithness At War panels are located. Wreaths were laid by Lord Thurso, Flt Lt Falconer and Commander Ian Walker, who heads the small Royal Navy presence at Vulcan, and a one-minute silence was observed.
Crosses of remembrance were placed by pupils from the three primary schools in the Wick and Sinclair’s Bay area – Keiss, Newton Park and Noss. Pupils had also taken part in a colouring-in competition and their entries were on display in the airport building.
Standard-bearers from the Wick, Canisbay and Latheron branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland attended.
Pipe tunes were played by Pipe Major Leslie Campbell and Pipe Corporal Gordon Tait, of Wick RBLS Pipe Band. They began with A Scottish Soldier, then the lament Flowers of the Forest. As they led the dignitaries over to the airport terminal, the pipers played Farewell to the Creeks and Leaving Port Askaig.
Lord Thurso said later: “In the Second World War, people aged 18, 19, 20, early twenties, fought gallantly and made the ultimate sacrifice. Those that survived were my parents, and all of us who are in our seventies… it’s our parents.
“I grew up with my mother telling me stories of what happened at Wick. In fact she lost her first husband in the war. And because of the closeness of the First World War to the Second World War, our grandparents were involved in both.
“We are so lucky, as the generation that has not had to go to war. We hope that continues, but we are approaching maybe a pre-war period as opposed to a post-war period and therefore to remember what war means, in terms of sacrifice, and to commemorate it and remember it and understand it, I think is incredibly important.
“It’s that personal connection that makes the Caithness At War trail so special for me.”
Related story:
Heritage trail launch is ‘just the first step’ for Caithness At War project
Alistair Jack, Caithness Voluntary Group’s senior development officer, is supporting the two development trusts on the project. Funding has come from the Caithness Beatrice Community Fund.
A website has been created at www.caithnessatwar.com
Thirty information panels have been erected in and around Wick, with a further 16 in the Sinclair’s Bay area. Each panel describes a different aspect of the war from a Caithness perspective and is illustrated with archive photos.
Some have QR codes which lead to the website where additional information and videos can be found.
An app will generate an augmented reality (AR) experience at eight of the Sinclair’s Bay sites.
