Spitfire pilot mystery explored in new Gunn magazine
A wartime mystery involving an airman who took part in the Great Escape is examined in the new-look magazine for members of Clan Gunn.
The Gunn Herald is published three times a year by the Caithness-based Clan Gunn Society, and its newly appointed editor Adrian Robinson has overhauled the title to give it a contemporary design.
In the latest issue, out tomorrow, the main feature is the story of Flt Lt Alastair Gunn who was a participant in the Great Escape in 1944.
In March 1942, Gunn – a reconnaissance Spitfire pilot – flew an ill-fated mission from RAF Wick to the coast of Norway. He was shot down by the Luftwaffe and was eventually sent to Stalag Luft III.
A mystery surrounding his story, featured in the Gunn Herald article, surrounds a photograph returned to Gunn’s family from the prisoner of war camp by the Red Cross. The photo, of a young woman, is simply signed "Penny" and nobody knows who she was.
"Perhaps she was a local Wick sweetheart? We do not know," Adrian said.
Membership of the Clan Gunn Society is open to anyone with the surname Gunn or any of the clan’s numerous septs – including Wilson, Robson, Henderson and Mason.
Adrian said: “While the primary purpose of the Gunn Herald is to inform members of the society’s activities, one of the joyous things that we’re able to do is to highlight and share the history and heritage of Caithness and the stories of people of our homeland, especially Gunns, with our worldwide diaspora.”
The magazine is read around the world in both print and digital format with members across the United States, Canada and Australia and also in Zimbabwe. "All have a keen interest in the Gunns and Caithness heritage," Adrian said.
The current Chief of Clan Gunn is Iain Gunn of Gunn, who received his investiture as clan chief from the Lord Lyon King of Arms in 2016. This investiture ended a 230-year period during which Clan Gunn lacked a recognised chief.
Digital membership of the Clan Gunn Society costs £5 and is available at www.clangunnsociety.org
The first Clan Gunn Society was founded in Thurso in 1821. The society was reconstituted in 1960 to “promote a spirit of kinship amongst members of the clan throughout the world”.