A new book has been released which chronicles the story of one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Gordon Highlanders regiment.
In the midst of conflict in France during the Second World War, the Scottish soldiers became trapped at St Valery-en-Caux and 1,500 men were subsequently forced into five years of captivity.
The results were felt across the north-east with almost everybody knowing someone who was imprisoned.
And now, their story has been told by Stewart Mitchell in his new volume, St Valery and its Aftermath.
The book narrates how the regiment became trapped by Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division and was defeated in battle on the Somme before being cut off from the British Expeditionary Force.
As a result of fog, the Royal Navy was unable to evacuate them at Dunkirk and the surviving soldiers became prisoners of war.
Mr Mitchell has been a researcher at the Gordon Highlanders Museum for 11 years and has used unparalleled access to the archives to tell the story of those who faced years in captivity.
He also spoke to living relatives of soldiers to provide a human side to the story.
The book was launched at the museum yesterday and more than 200 family members were in attendance.
Mr Mitchell said: “Almost all the people there were children or grandchildren of people who were in France in 1940.
“I had worked with a lot of them to tell the story of the Gordon Highlanders, so it was quite moving.”
The Gordon Highlanders Museum is under threat of closure unless £300,000 can be raised in the next three years.
Mr Mitchell was happy to raise money on the day to help the cause.
He said: “We sold a total of 282 books in total and £8 from each went to the museum so that’s almost £2500 we managed to raise.
“I had written an earlier book about Gordon Highlanders who were captured in Singapore and so decided to do one about those captured in France.
“Everybody knows about battles and people who died, but nobody knows about prisoners of war.”
The book is on sale for £25 and can be purchased at the museum.
