Rev James Currall: ‘One of the VE Day 80 events that partiularly caught my eye was the Liberation Convoy’
Food for Thought by Rev James Currall
Last weekend I took some visitors on the train from Golspie to Wick, always a lovely journey no matter what the weather is doing.
In Wick we explored the harbour and the area round about it in Old Pultney and then visited the rather wonderful Heritage Museum.
In reflecting on the day, the importance of the fishing industry and its changing fortunes in shaping the environment and culture of the east coast of Sutherland looms large.
The courage of the men and women involved in fishing and processing the catch is perhaps a lesson to us all.
This week in communities across our area and throughout the UK, there are events to mark 80 years since Victory in Europe Day, and the news has been full of uplifting and heartwarming stories of specific events.
One event - the Liberation Convoy - particularly caught my eye.
During the war the covert ‘Shetland Bus’ operation used civilian fishing boats to deliver important cargos and personnel from Shetland to hidden coves and fishing ports 200 miles away in Norway.
Again, the people involved in this important work showed tremendous bravery, because the weather was dreadful, the boats small and the crossing perilous. In addition, the prospect of being caught by the Nazi occupiers in Norway did not bear thinking about.
To commemorate VE Day 80, six of the historic ships that formed part of the Shetland Bus convoys set sail again from Bergen in Norway to Lerwick.
Dubbed the “Liberation Convoy” the boats arrived in Lerwick on Tuesday in time for the VE Day commemorations, and will also visit Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
On 8th May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said: “My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny. … Did anyone want to give in? Were we downhearted? The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle. ... Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle-a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy. … I rejoice we can all take a night off today and another day tomorrow. ... and after that we must begin the task of rebuilding our hearth and homes, doing our utmost to make this country a land in which all have a chance, in which all have a duty, and we must turn ourselves to fulfil our duty to our own countrymen, and to our gallant allies.”
He was saluting the great courage and unity of the whole nation, both those who fought and those who supported them back home and kept everything going, and that is at least part of what we have been and continue to celebrate this week.
But of course there are many brutal wars still going on in our world today. So as we mark the courage of all those who fought for the freedoms that we now enjoy and celebrate the victory, it’s worth reflecting that peace begins in each of our hearts.
In his essay, “The Root of War is Fear”, the Trappist monk Thomas Merton explored our tendency for division.
He argues that one of the ways we deal with our faults and weaknesses is by exaggerating the faults and weaknesses of others.
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Now that’s something to reflect on as we come together to celebrate in unity.
Rev James Currall has recently retired as Episcopal Priest in charge of congregations in Sutherland and Easter Ross.
