Elaine Stewart

On VE Day, Captain Harry Richardson of the RAF, from Ochiltree in Ayrshire, was half a world away. VE Day did not mean the end of all conflict. The war with Japan continued, and despite extensive service in Europe, Captain Richardson was still on active duty in India as a bomber pilot. While the country celebrated, Captain Richardson and many others fought on to keep the peace. He flew 62 bombing missions over Germany, Europe, Burma and Malaysia until 1947, when Japan surrendered. Leaving the RAF as a flight lieutenant, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the war Star, the Air Crew Europe medal, the Burma Star and the Defence medal. This year, Captain Richardson celebrated his 107th birthday and will travel to London for the VE Day commemorations. Not all veterans reach 107, so it is also important to pay tribute to those who have fallen. This week I will visit “Untold Stories”, an exhibition at Girvan library, where Richard and Loran Conaghan of the Girvan and District Great War Project present local stories from the war, aiming to inspire our younger generation. One story is of Corporal Norman Nicholson Campbell. He joined the Pioneer Corps, leaving behind his wife Mary and four-year-old son Malcolm. In Dunkirk, 1940, Norman was taken as a prisoner of war to Stalag VIIIB in Lamsdorf, Poland. By August 1940, his wife had passed away from cancer, and eight months later, his son died. Corporal Campbell died of a cardiac arrest in 1943, two years before VE Day, and was laid to rest in Krakow in 1948. This story is a stark reminder of the sacrifices made by so many and their loved ones during the war. As we celebrate VE Day 80 years on, it is right to remember everyone who made that possible. We thank them.