Veterans mark Remembrance Sunday on their doorsteps

Bomber Command veteran Alastair Lamb, 95, observes a two-minute silence at 11am on Remembrance Sunday from his doorstep at his home in Stirling (Jane Barlow/PA)

Among those across Scotland observing the two-minute silence on their doorsteps was Second World War veteran Alastair Lamb.

A rear gunner in the RAF Bomber Command, the 95-year-old is now the last surviving member of his crew and said he thinks about those he served with “all the time”.

He stood on the steps of his home in Stirling to mark the silence at 11am on Remembrance Sunday, wearing his medals and holding a bunch of poppies.

Remembrance Sunday 2020 — Mr Lamb checks his watch ahead of 11am (Jane Barlow/PA)

Speaking of his wartime experiences, he said: “It’s a thing I only ever feel lucky enough to have played a part in, lucky enough to come through and I sometimes feel a bit sad about people that didn’t come through it.”

Mr Lamb said he has been very careful to try and avoid contracting the coronavirus but feels it is a “great pity” public remembrance services could not be held as normal this year due to the pandemic.

“It’s a terrible shame. You’ve just got to go with it – there’s nothing more that you can do,” he said.

“I think about the folk I served with all the time. You’re always thinking about them.

“We were young and stupid – 17, 18, 19 years of age. It’s a great comradeship. You don’t get it anywhere else.”

During the final days of the war he took part in Operation Manna, involving flying at under 500ft to drop supplies of tinned food to starving people in the Netherlands after their food supplies were cut off by the Nazis.

Crowds wave as RAF aircraft drop supplies from above (Crown Copyright/PA)

The former warrant officer was honoured with a medal by the Dutch Government for his role in the operation.

“I think about Operation Manna quite often,” Mr Lamb said.

“There’s none of my crew left now. We did three Manna trips. It was a great thing to have done.”

Remembrance Sunday — Veteran Charlie MacVicar at the Royal British Legion Remembrance Garden in Grangemouth (Jane Barlow/PA)

Elsewhere, veteran Charlie MacVicar, who served for 23 years with Royal Scots (Edinburgh Unit), paid his respects at the Royal British Legion Remembrance Garden in Grangemouth.

During the Second World War the site of the garden was Grangemouth Airport, using for training Spitfire pilots.

Mr MacVicar laid a wreath and placed a cross marked Royal Scots in the garden.