Staxigoe talk will look at Operation Freshman war crimes trials
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An illustrated talk in Caithness later this month will shed light on the quest for justice for the men who were executed in the aftermath of Operation Freshman more than 80 years ago.
It is a follow-up to a presentation given by military historian Bruce Tocher earlier this year about the ill-fated wartime mission designed to wreck Nazi Germany's attempts to develop an atomic bomb.
He is returning to the county to give a talk at Staxigoe village hall on Saturday, November 18, starting at 7pm.
Dr Tocher is a leading authority on Operation Freshman, the airborne assault launched from RAF Skitten to occupied Norway in 1942. In April this year he told an audience of more than 80 in Reiss hall about his research into the daring bid to send sabotage troops to attack a heavy-water plant at Vemork with support from a Norwegian resistance group.
The Reiss event was organised by Sinclair’s Bay Trust as part of the Caithness At War project, the aim of which is to establish a heritage trail highlighting the importance of the area in guarding against a potential Nazi invasion.
Dr Tocher's second talk, also organised by Sinclair’s Bay Trust, will focus on the investigations and war crimes trials that were carried out in relation to Operation Freshman. There is no admission fee but donations will be welcomed for Caithness At War.
Two Halifax bombers, both towing Horsa gliders containing commando-trained Royal Engineers, took off from Skitten, a satellite of RAF Wick, in November 1942, but the mission failed disastrously and only one bomber crew made it back. Forty-one men lost their lives – 23 of them executed by the Gestapo.
Alistair Jack, east Caithness development trust support officer at Caithness Voluntary Group, explained: "At the end of the war, the fate of the Freshman soldiers and airmen was discovered by special teams set up to investigate potential war crimes in Norway, and a number of Germans were brought to justice. Of these, two were executed and the remainder given long prison sentences.
"The shocking story of what happened, and how the perpetrators were brought to justice, will be revealed by Dr Tocher in the second of his presentations on Operation Freshman."
A wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Skitten airfield memorial in November last year to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Freshman. Local members of the Royal British Legion Scotland and others gathered to honour the men who lost their lives in the operation and the resistance fighters who tried to help them.
