Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Russian commemorations in Dundee and Perthshire

The ceremony for the Russian airmen who were based at Errol Airfield
The ceremony for the Russian airmen who were based at Errol Airfield

As the people of Russia took time to remember the sacrifices made by their country during World War Two,  poignant ceremonies were held in Perthshire and Dundee.

Monday was the 71st anniversary of V Day in Russia and the role played by Russian airmen who trained at Errol airfield was marked by an international gathering.

Local people who remembered the exotic band who came to the small village in 1942/43 joined with staff from the Russian consulate in Edinburgh and local politicians to lay wreaths at the airfield.

 

The presence of 60 Russian pilots, navigators and engineers in the Carse of Gowrie was recalled by Consul General Andrey A. Pritsepov who said: “The hero pilots of Moscow Special Assignment Airgroup took part in many missions which would be considered impossible in modern times.

“During the war those were truly legendary sorties because of the self-sacrifice and bravery of these Soviet aces.

“That is why we are so keen to pay tribute to the Soviet pilots who came to Scotland and to their British hosts and by doing so to pay respect to everyone who fought for our freedom.”

The Russians were  trained in the use of Albemarles, British-built aeroplanes, and although under the watchful eyes of KGB officers, managed to make friends with their British counterparts and even visit local haunts like the Palais in Dundee and The Salutation Hotel in Perth.

A memorial was established at Errol to remember all the Russians and the crew of an Albemarle from the airfield who were killed after crashing near Fearnan in Highland Perthshire.

Trees have been planted and local aviation enthusiast Bradley Borland, 72, said: “Now, as the history of the Russian airmen in Scotland is being fully unfolded, they have got their own memorial ‘corner’ here where their heroic fightings on the Eastern Front are commemorated and where they are to be remembered from now on.

“These birch trees, Russia’s national symbol, which we planted here will grow with time and I hope that this annual ‘lest we forget’ forget ceremony, will be a good reminder for younger generations present here today.”

A flypast  of the ceremony was made by aircraft from the Scottish Aero Club at Scone.

Earlier in the day the Russian delegation attended another event at the Dundee International Submarine Memorial in the city quay.

Held annually at the memorial, it honours more than 20 million Russian citizens who lost their lives between 1941 and 1945 and in particular, the crew of the Soviet submarine B1 which was lost with all hands while on passage from Dundee’s wartime submarine base to join the Soviet Northern Fleet.