Thanks for that. Yep I'll take a look...ill have to get to alnwick castle so in also as they have a room dedicated to the Fusilliers
Having visited St Valery and its beautiful small harbour which some might say is one of a picturesque fishing village,it is hard to visualise the embarkation of troops from here in other than small boats. Large ships could not enter the harbour and embarkation could only be achieved by the use of tenders.Unfortunately the 51st Highland Division was entrapped here and there was little in the end they could achieve other than by surrendering.....some did escape and made their way to the South of France and returned to Britain by the route of escaping from Vichy internment camps if captured...then entering Spain via the Pyrenees. Some excellent accounts are recorded of endeavour to get to Gib and home.
My father was in the Gordon Highlanders and was captured here Somewhere I have a number of photos from I think Stalag Ixc He escaped a number of times and was recaptured and was good friends with a Norfolk man from around Lakenheath called Chris Bailey if memory serves me correctly He too worked down the salt mines for a period
Recommended reading for those keen to learn from voices that endured St Valery and the years of incarceration that followed... Stewart Mitchell's recent publication,"St Valery and it's Aftermath" relates the stories of those Gordons caught up in these events. All profits go to the Gordons Museum in Aberdeen, who will also willingly sell you a copy. The Gordon Highlanders Museum – Books and Publications St Valery and Its Aftermath
