Caithness at War – historical Wick trail to include replica Spitfire
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Plans are in the pipeline to create a special World War II memorial trail around Wick that will include the replica of a Spitfire aircraft.
Wick Development Trust (WDT) says it is delighted to be working in collaboration with Sinclair’s Bay Trust to create the “Caithness at War” World War Two trail around Wick to tell the story of the events of the period and the sacrifices made by the local population and service personnel stationed in Wick.
As with Sinclair’s Bay, Wick played a strategically important role during the war and was so important to the war effort that it was turned into a "formidable fortress" to protect it should the Nazis have launched an invasion by sea or air.
Wick was ringed with no fewer than 34 machine gun pillboxes, ranging from small two-man Pickett-Hamilton retractable forts to much larger Type 24, Type 26 and Type 27 pillboxes.
Wick was also surrounded by six Bofors light anti-aircraft guns, two 3.7-inch heavy anti-aircraft guns, and at least six light anti-aircraft machine gun posts armed with either Bren or Lewis guns.
A pair of six inch ex-naval guns stationed at the Coastal Artillery Battery at Broadhaven protected the approaches to Wick Harbour, and these were supported by a pair of 90cm searchlights housed in CASL (coastal artillery search light) emplacements which could shine a beam of light up to five miles over Wick Bay, and would highlight any Kriegsmarine surface vessels or surfaced U-boats trying to approach the coast.
RAF Wick played a pivotal role in protecting the convoys bringing vital war materials and supplies to Britain, as well as protecting the Arctic convoys heading to Russia later in the war. As a Coastal Command Sector Station, aircraft from RAF Wick flew multiple daily patrols and missions over Norway, the North Sea and North Atlantic, achieving considerable success against Axis targets.
One of the most famous missions flown out of RAF Wick was by Pilot Officer Michael Suckling RAF, who managed to find and photograph the battleship Bismarck, which led to its sinking six days later by the Royal Navy. This photograph became one of the most famous reconnaissance photographs of the war, and was dubbed by Winston Churchill as “the picture that sank the Bismarck”.
To highlight these facts, it is planned to erect 23 educational information panels at various sites (subject to landowner and planning permissions) which will tell the story of what happened in Wick during the war.
Aircraft stationed at RAF Wick flew thousands of sorties throughout the war but this came at a price, with the loss of 379 aircrew to enemy action.
The second phase of the Wick trail will be to erect a memorial in the form of a full scale replica of a Supermarine Spitfire PRIV of No 1 PRU Squadron RAF (Photo Reconnaissance Unit) at the entrance to Wick John O’ Groats Airport, along with a panel listing all 379 of the aircrew that were lost from the base.
The aircraft that has been chosen to be replicated is Spitfire AA810 which flew out of RAF Wick during the war, but was shot down over Trondheim on May 5, 1942 whilst on a reconnaissance mission to find the sister ship to the Bismarck – the Tirpitz.
The pilot, Flying Officer Alastair Gunn (known as Sandy) bailed out but was captured by the Germans and sent to Stalag Luft III POW Camp, which was the site of the famous “Great Escape”.
Sandy was involved in the digging of the famous "Tom, Dick and Harry" tunnels and was one of the 76 prisoners that escaped on the evening of March 24, 1944.
Unfortunately, Sandy was recaptured a few days later, and on April 6, 1944 was driven out into the countryside and executed by the Gestapo along with six of his fellow officers. Fifty officers in total were executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler.
In 2018 the wreckage of Spitfire AA810 was found and recovered from a peat bog in Norway, and shipped back to Britain, where it is currently undergoing restoration to flying condition by Spitfire AA810 Restoration Ltd. It is planned to have the Spitfire airworthy by 2024, at which point it will make regular visits up to its former home base at Wick.
The intention is to purchase the replica from a not-for-profit company called Spitfire Replica’s Ltd that makes full scale models. This company donates all of its profits back to the restoration of Spitfires AA810 and P8331.
Alistair Jack, development trust officer with Caithness Voluntary Group, is supporting both Sinclair’s Bay Trust and Wick Development Trust on this project. He said: “This is a really exciting development of the Caithness At War project as there is so much wartime history associated with Wick, and the continuation of the trail from Sinclair’s Bay will be the start of what we hope will become an amazing project for the county.
"We often focus on the sacrifices made by the young men of Caithness, a lot of whom served in the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy, and it is so important that we remember the part they played in the war. However, as a county, we seem to have forgotten about, or were not aware of the heavy price paid by the aircrews operating out of RAF Wick."
Mr Jack added: Sections of the Wick trail will focus heavily on the operations at RAF Wick, and the inclusion of the Spitfire memorial is a truly amazing but fitting tribute to the 379 men who lost their lives.
"Whilst tragic, the whole story about AA810 and Sandy Gunn truly captures the imagination, and we have created a short video that tells the story."
There is a community consultation to gain support for the project and Mr Jack encourages people to fill in a short online survey which can be found at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3G3S9QK
He says there were 700 responses within two days of launching the survey which showed a "99.5 per cent positive response". A national crowdfunding campaign has also been launched to raise the £60,000 required to purchase and erect the Spitfire memorial which can be found at: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/raf-wick-gate-guardian
"Anyone donating to the cause will also be helping to fund the restoration of [Sandy Gunn's] aircraft.
"It is hoped that a full scale replica of AA810 will soon stand guard at the entrance to Wick John O’ Groats Airport, along with a memorial panel to Sandy Gunn and the 379 Aircrew."
Jonathan Miller, chair of WDT, said the trust is committed to delivering both phases of the project:
- Phase 1 – the erection of 22 information panels for the Wick trail.
- Phase 2 – the erection of the Supermarine Spitfire replica as a gate guardian and memorial.
He added: "We’d also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Highlands and Islands Airports Limited and Wick airport station manager Douglas Cook for fully supporting the trust with these projects. While currently in its infancy, this project has the potential to become an international tourist attraction which will be a great asset for the county in terms of education, heritage and commercial potential."
