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My father Peter Mcfarlane died recently aged 85.He lived in Scone, Perthshire in Scotland until he joined up. My son Chris wrote a tribute to his Grandad that he read at the funeral.
This seemed a good place to leave a copy as it may be of interest to others.

Wednesday 13th April, 2005
Tribute, by Chris Scudamore (Grandson)

Background

I am Chris Scudamore, Grandson of Peter, and I would like to take a few moments to pay tribute to Grandad… focusing particularly on his service in WW2.

I have always been interested in Grandads war history and despite his many years of understatement, and in fact silence, there are enough facts to tell a story that has lessons for us all.

War History

Grandad enlisted to the Territorial Army before the war on 3rd May 1939

War was declared on Germany by Great Britain and France on September 3rd 1939

At this point he was called up to the main army as part of the Royal Army Service Corps. His number T/82627.

Details of his initial service are sketchy but we know he was captured at or around the time of Dunkirk in June 1940 on a beach in Normandy, as the allies retreated from France. This was before the Americans had joined the war. The famous allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day came much later, towards the end of the war in June 1944.

A story he did tell to Grant, about being captured, was that he and a few comrades had managed to board a rowing boat and row out to sea, only to be thwarted by the tide and limited rowing ability… They were promptly washed back to the beach and captured by the German Army. In fact, as part of researching this speech there are a number of stories told by people of enough boats, but a lack of rowing skills to get off the beaches.

He was held as a POW in Germany initially, before being marched to Poland (we think some 800 miles) with the rest of the POWs he was held with. He was held at Stalag VI/A, one of the first of many POW camps to be built in Poland. Germany realised there was not enough space for the ever growing number of POWs at home, so started building camps and marching prisoners to them once constructed…freeing space in the German POW camps.

On this march Grandad himself has told stories of comrades shot by the side of the road as they failed to keep up. Facts get sketchy but it appears that Peter’s mother received a war pension as Peter had gone MIA on this march. In fact, due to blistered feet he had been left at a convent en route…. left to join his fellow POWs at Stalag VI at a later date. It would appear that he himself was lucky not to have been left for dead at the roadside.

Grandad went on to celebrate his 21st Birthday in camp on October 8th 1940. His postal service skills were used as he worked in the camp mail room. He later told mum that they did their bit for the war effort by misdirecting mail intended for German officers... risking their lives in the process.

It was not until the end of hostilities in late 1945, approximately 5 years later, that Grandad was liberated by the Scots Guards and Americans and able to return home.

Key Points

What impresses me most about Grandads war experiences is that:

At 20 years old Grandad was committed to the cause and willing to sign up before war was actually declared, a certain fearlessness and selflessness if you like. This continued in the POW camps by disrupting communications to the German officers.

Secondly, that despite obvious harsh conditions during the marches and living in the camps he was tough enough to survive it. Certainly, without that toughness and strength of spirit, he wouldn’t have survived to meet our granny after the war, and I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale.

So what does that mean for us, the current generation of McFarlane’s and for future generations? For me two key lessons…

Certainly our generation should, most of all, be thankful for the opportunities Grandad and his peers have provided us with, by fighting for our country over 50 years ago.

But most importantly for me is that as McFarlane’s, during any times that we think are hard; we should look to foster some of Grandads ‘McFarlane’ strength of spirit.

It then becomes our responsibility to ensure that Grandads legacy and these lessons are remembered for many generations to come.

Thank you.

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