Researcher hoping to honour the memory of Cpl Cairncross

In the Commonwealth Grave section in Eiganes Cemetery in Stavanger, there is also a memorial to the four soldiers killed by the Gestapo, including Cpl Cairncross of Hawick.

Dr Bruce Tocher is looking into a failed attempt by specially-trained Royal Engineers to destroy a heavy water-producing facility near Vemork, Norway, which was crucial to the Nazis’ efforts to develop a nuclear bomb.

Among the 34 men who died was Corporal James Dobson Cairncross, from Hawick, who was 22.

Before enlisting, James – son of Green’s shop assistant Robert and hosiery seamer Elizabeth who lived at 14 Teviot Crescent – played for Hawick Linden rugby XV. He was employed as a joiner with Messrs Beattie, and was well-known in local Boys’ Brigade circles, being a staff-sergeant in 3rd Hawick. He was the holder of the King’s Badge, a high Boys’ Brigade award.

Unveiling of new commemoration plaque on the 75th anniversary of the glider crash in Fyljesdalen. Corporal Cairncross was badly injured here, on November 19, 1942.

Cpl Cairncross was third in command of a top-secret mission named Operation Freshman which saw two Halifax bombers take off from RAF Skitten, near Wick, each towing a Horsa glider.

Bruce, based in Norway, takes up the story.

He said: “Tragically, due to failures in the navigation and guidance systems, and extreme weather, the aircraft failed to identify the landing zones and were forced to turn back.

“During the return, extreme icing of the tow cables resulted in both gliders becoming detached from their tow-planes and they crashed in the mountains of south-east Norway. In addition, one of the Halifax bombers also crashed, instantly killing all seven crew members. “Of the 34 men on board the gliders, a number were killed on impact, while others were executed by firing squad shortly after their surrender at Slettebø, near Egersund.

The former Gestapo Police cells where Corporal Cairncross was killed.

“In addition, four badly-injured soldiers, including Corporal James Dobson Cairncross, were interrogated and murdered by the Gestapo in Stavanger around November 23-24. Their bodies were then dumped at sea off the coast of Norway.

“Four other surviving soldiers from the glider which crashed at Fyljesdalen were transported to a concentration camp near Oslo, Norway, where they were interrogated and eventually executed on January, 19, 1943.

“At the end of the war, the remains of most of the soldiers were reinterred at the Commonwealth grave section in Eiganes Cemetery in Stavanger, where a remembrance ceremony is held every year to honour their sacrifice.

“There is also a memorial to the four soldiers killed by the Gestapo.”

The Cairncross gravestone in Hawick cemetery. James Dobson Cairncross was born April 12, 1920, at 13 Loan, Hawick. His parents were Robert Cairncross, Green’s shop assistant, and Elizabeth Cairncross M.S. Laidlaw hosiery seamer, who were married on January 30, 1920, in Hawick.

The Vemork facility was subsequently sabotaged by British-trained Norwegian special force soldiers in Operation Gunnerside – the action immortalised in the Hollywood film, ‘The Heroes of Telemark’, starring Kirk Douglas.

Bruce said: “In 2011, Ion Drew published Silent Heroes, which focused more on the personal lives of the individual servicemen and their families.

“At the time of publication, details of only some of the men were available and efforts are now being made to address this gap as part of a project to update Silent Heroes. In particular, the project is looking for information –such as photographs, letters, or surviving family – on Corporal James Dobson Cairncross.”

If anyone has any information on James, please email [email protected] and we’ll put you in touch with Dr Tocher.