Honour for military man Alan
Medal for Crieff-based vet
One of the few remaining veterans to serve during the Second World War was presented with a medal in Perthshire at the weekend.
Royal British Legion Scotland Crieff branch president Peter McFarlane and chairman Tom McKiddie had the honour of bestowing the 75th Anniversary Victory Medal to Alan Meakin at his home in Crieff.
The presentation was made on behalf of Legion Scotland, PoppyScotland and the Scottish Government and was accompanied by a letter of gratitude from the Scottish Government’s veterans minister, Graeme Dey MSP.
Mr Meakin (97), a native of Dundee, was called up at the age of 19 and served with the 10th Battalion Highland Light Infantry, 15th (Scottish) Division from Normandy in August 1944 to the outskirts of Hamburg at the end of the war in Europe.
He completed his service with the battalion in Lubeck, a major port city on the Baltic Sea, until September 1945, by which time the battalion was responsible for a section of the frontier between West and East Germany.
The 15th (Scottish) Division was the first allied formation to enter the Dutch city of Tilburg in the autumn of 1944 and a monument stands there recording the gratitude of the people of Tilburg to the Scottish troops for liberating the city.
After leaving the army Mr Meakin returned to university in St Andrews, where he took a degree in classics.
He came to Crieff in 1956, to take up a position at Morrison’s Academy, where he was head of the classics department.
Mr Meakin said: “I am delighted to receive this medallion.
“I am very proud to have served alongside some very good men and am pleased that, 75 years on, our contribution has been recognised in this way.”
Mr McKiddie told the our sister title, the Strathearn Herald: “It was a great privilege for me and good for the branch to present the medal.
“We still think of what happened during the two wars.
“And especially in this time we should remember. The pandemic shows what it could have been like during the war with rationing and lockdown and the fear of what was going to happen.
“We must remember not only those who came back but the men and women who didn’t come back. They made the greatest sacrifice.
“There are not many veterans left now. Mr Meakin is the only Second World War veteran left in Crieff.
“It was nice to meet him and speak to him. He was very laid back and amenable and it was good to talk to him.”