Service at Skitten airfield memorial remembers victims of Operation Freshman 80 years on

Members of the Royal British Legion Scotland gathered at the Skitten airfield memorial on Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of an ill-fated wartime mission.

Operation Freshman was designed to stop Nazi Germany's attempts at developing at atomic bomb in 1942.

The aim of the daring operation was to halt the Germans’ atomic weapons programme by destroying a vital heavy-water plant in occupied Norway.

But 41 men who flew from the Caithness airfield lost their lives – 23 of them executed by the Gestapo.

On Saturday, Willie Watt, the Vice-Lieutenant of Caithness, was among those paying tribute to the victims at a special service at the roadside memorial at Skitten. The service was led by Rev Leslie O'Neill, before those attending headed to the Legion premises at Mackenzie House in Coach Road, Wick, for refreshments and to view a display of photos and information relating to the operation.

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• Operation Freshman victims to be remembered on 80th anniversary of ill-fated mission

Pictures: Robert Macdonald/Northern Studios

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