Mystery over whether Hitler was in the Highlands
WE HAD an intriguing headline a few weeks ago which read: ‘Did Hitler visit Argyll?'
It was above a typically erudite feature by Iain Thornber, in which he described the persistent rumours – to this day – that the Nazi leader visited the island Inch Kenneth and was attending, incognito, a wedding in Tobermory in 1938.
Iain wrote: ‘I have heard these tales from so many different sources that I am beginning to wonder if somewhere among rumour and speculation they may contain a grain of truth.
‘If Hitler set foot on Inch Kenneth, it can only have been to visit Unity, the daughter of David and Sydney Mitford (Lord and Lady Redesdale), who bought the island in 1938. The Mitford family were followers of the fascist movement and among Hitler’s greatest admirers in the UK.’
Iain went on to write: ‘Less well-known perhaps is the number of high-ranking German officers and their friends who travelled with ease between Germany and Scotland to enjoy fishing and stalking prior to the war. Arthur Nall-Cain, the second Lord Brocket, bought the 62,000-acre Knoydart estate in the 1930s where he entertained members of the Anglo-German Fellowship. So close was he to the German cause that he was invited to Hitler’s 50th birthday party.’
Now, on the back of that splendid Morvern Lines article, Iain has emailed me to say: ‘I have had a lot of comment about the Hitler piece and two correspondents who, independent of each other, told me that Hitler had visited Knoydart in 1933, coming ashore from a yacht to stay with the Brockets. It’s all very intriguing!’ Does anyone have any more information?