SAT - Allover - Chris Morphet
Monday 9 December 2024
 2.7°C   SW Light Breeze
SCT - £3000 innovation grant
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Arts / Shetlander’s story of Nazi capture and Red Cross assistance highlighted in new book

Author Jonathan Wills and his granddaughter Cleo Gifford with the new book at the Shetland Library launch event.

THE WORK of the Red Cross in safeguarding prisoners of war was commemorated at the Shetland Library on Thursday evening at the launch of Dr Jonathan Wills’ new book. 

Uncle Davie’s Red Cross Blanket tells the story of the writer’s Scalloway-born uncle, Private Davie Slater of the Gordon Highlanders, who was among those taken prisoner by the Nazi General Erwin Rommel at St Valéry, France, in June 1940.

Slater and 18 other young Shetland soldiers were with the 51st Highland Division, fighting a rearguard action to protect Allied troops trying to escape from western French ports in the days after the Dunkirk evacuation.

After a gruelling three-week march through France and Belgium, the 10,000 prisoners were shipped up the Rhine on coal barges into Germany and then sent in cattle trucks to various camps.

Slater ended up at Stalag XXA in Toruń, in Poland, where he worked on farms for four-and-a-half years until January 1945, when the guards marched their prisoners back to Germany through the snow, with the vengeful Soviet Red Army on their heels.

Somehow Slater and his boyhood friends John W. J. Smith of Scalloway and Duncan Houston of Veensgarth, Tingwall, made it back to British Army lines a few days after the German surrender in May 1945.

The 320-page book, illustrated with photographs and maps, is based on over 200 letters and postcards that Slater sent home from Stalag XXA.

It also includes letters from his father, Jack Slater, and sister Nina at Myrtle Cottage, Scalloway; Red Cross reports held in the National Archives at Kew; and regimental records of the Gordon Highlanders, including the 5th Battalion’s war diary from January to May 1940.

In his library talk, Dr Wills described the regular inspections of the prison camps by the Swiss Red Cross under the Geneva Convention, which undoubtedly prevented conditions becoming even worse than they were.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

He noted that without the Red Cross food parcels sent to the camps many more prisoners would have died.

“Sadly, the Red Cross is still having to do such work in today’s conflicts,” he said, “so I think it’s important to remind younger folk that unless we know our history we may end up repeating it.”

A Red Cross collection tin at the entrance raised £117 to help the organisation’s continuing good works.

Uncle Davie’s Red Cross Blanket is published independently by Jonathan Wills, trading as Bressabooks, priced at £20 (paperback) and £25 (hardcover).

You can order your copy here.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.