Iain Hutton always knew that his beloved uncle Robert had been incarcerated in a prison camp for most of the Second World War.
But he had little idea of the privations which the Newburgh-based farmer endured after being captured by the Germans at St Valery-en-Caux in France.
It was one of the biggest reverses of the conflict for the Gordon Highlanders, around 1,500 of whom were attached to the 51st (Highland) Division, which was forced to surrender on June 12 1940 after an evacuation attempt was unsuccessful.
Iain has visited the Gordon Highlander Museum in Aberdeen and talked to historian Stewart Mitchell about what happened during the hostilities.
And now, he has decided to honour the man, who died in 2006, by travelling around 2,500 miles on his motorbike to salute Private Hutton’s memory.
He told the Press and Journal about his plans to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the hundreds of troops from the north east who lost either their lives or their freedom.
Iain said: “I knew that my uncle Robert had been in the war from a young age, although I knew very little as he didn’t talk about it, so my parents didn’t talk about it either.
“Then one day, he mentioned he had been in a PoW camp near Gdansk in Poland and had been forced to work on a farm during his almost five years as a PoW.
“I also remember him saying he would have liked to have visited the farm because the owners had been pretty good to him. He never made that journey. But it stuck with me.
“I lived and worked in America until two years ago and my cousin Joyce and I did some research into Robert’s life. And that led to me contacting Stewart Mitchell.
“He told me where Robert had enlisted, where he trained, when he was deployed to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, and what happened after the Gordon Highlanders, as part of the 51st Highlanders, were captured at St Valery.
“And I heard the details of the march through France, Belgium and Holland, the disgusting conditions on coal barges which took them to Germany and the even worse conditions when they were packed into cattle carts on trains all the way to Poland.
“The seed was sown. I had to retrace his steps, and what better way than a motorcycle!”
A last goodbye to fallen comrades
Iain, 64, admitted that it has been a battle to get fit for this gruelling trip after he spent six months last year recovering from serious illness.
But he has devised a hectic schedule in Europe and described the target of riding from Saint Valery to Malbork – where Stalag XXB was situated – as “the perfect motivation.”
While in France, he will attend ceremonies at various town halls and cemeteries in the area and has contacted Major (Retd) Grenville Irvine-Fortescue of the Gordon Highlanders Association and will be joining him at some of the commemorations.
Thereafter, he is continuing his personal journey of discovery about his late uncle.
It’s going to be a poignant trip for Iain
Iain said: “I will ride through many of the French villages where thousands of 51st Highlanders were marched, arriving in Aalst in Belgium.
“Then I will ride north to Dordrecht in Holland, east towards Dortmund and ending the day in Hanover. I will continue with, time permitting, a small detour to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and on into Poland with an overnight stop around Poznan.
“While in Malbork, I have a meeting at the town museum that has an exhibition on Stalag XXB and whose director is going to take me to the site. I will also ride north to the Sztutowo area where I believe my uncle was forced to work on a farm.
“My uncle was part of the forced march in brutal, bitter conditions in January 1945 where all PoWs were marched west by their captors to escape the advancing Red Army.
“The route is not documented that well for obvious reasons and many didn’t make it.
There will be a lot of emotions
“In total, the trip will end up being around 2,500 miles and about eight days of riding.
“It’s going to be some adventure and I’m sure it will involve a heck of a lot of emotions.”
Volunteer historian Stewart said: “After the surrender [of more than 10,000 troops] they were force marched up to 25 miles a day, through France, Belgium and Holland.
“They were given little food and taken in overcrowded cattle waggons for hundreds of miles to Poland when, again, they had no food and no toilet facilities.
“In the PoW camps, they had to work. Some did so in coal mines or quarries, but Robert Hutton worked on a farm. This was lucky as it was what he did in his civilian life, so the work was familiar, but the winters were much more severe.
“It is really important that we commemorate the men like Robert Hutton who served in The Second World War.
“At VE Day or Armistice Sunday, prisoners of war are rarely given the recognition they deserve but many of these men endured terrible hardship under the Nazi regime.
“They were young men and, arguably, lost the best years of their lives.”
Conversation