The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Norwegian plaque pays tribute to a trio of Tayside war heroes
Doomed mission aimed to destroy Hitler’s nuclear arms programme
A ceremony has been held in Norway to commemorate the tragic deaths of three Taysiders and dozens of other Brits who took part in a disastrous mission to halt Hitler’s nuclear arms programme.
On November 19 1942, dozens of officers set off from Britain in two aircraft-glider combinations on Operation Freshman, an expedition to destroy the Nazi leader’s plans to develop nuclear weapons at the Norsk Hydro industrial complex at Vermok, Norway.
A total of 41 perished – including a sapper from Brechin, an officer from Perthshire and a sergeant from Edzell – after the gliders and tug planes they were travelling in crashed.
Sapper Robert Norman, 22, came from Brechin, 20-year-old Sergeant James Falconer from Edzell and 20-year-old commanding officer, Lieutenant David Methven, from Fortingall, in Perthshire, although his family were originally from Dundee.
Some died on impact but others were executed or tortured before being killed by the Gestapo who found them. Of the four aircraft on the mission, only one tug plane returned to Britain intact.
This month, to mark 75 years since the little-known disaster, a ceremony was held near the crash site on a mountainside in Fyljesdalen, Norway.
Almost 50 men, women and children, including veterans of the Norwegian armed forces, attended the unveiling of a new plaque.
Brechin-born Bruce Tocher, who now lives in Norway, attended the event and said it was a very “moving” tribute.
The keen historian said: “Both my wife Joyce and I attended what turned out to be a very moving ceremony and we were amazed at the attendance and interest shown for events which occurred 75 years ago.
“It was originally the publication of Ion Drew’s book Silent Heroes which brought home to me the personal side of the soldiers and airman involved – in particular that there was a strong connection to my home turf of Angus.
“It was a fitting tribute.”
Mr Tocher said he knew nothing about the operation until he visited the Commonwealth Graves in Eiganes Cemetery in Stavanger several years ago.
He added: “After that, my wife and I made a point of visiting the different sites connected to the operation, including the crash sites of the Horsa gliders and Halifax bomber and the execution site at Slettebo.
“I was glad we were able to be at the commemoration and to experience firsthand how the Norwegian people have not forgotten the ultimate sacrifice of those young men back in November 1942.”