Grangemouth soldier was killed in raid to stop Hitler getting the bomb

Yet in 1942 the Nazis were working hard to achieve exactly that aim, and their “heavy water” plant at the Norsk Hydro industrial complex near Vemork, Norway, was key to success.

They had to be stopped at any cost - if Hitler had been first to develop the ultimate weapon of mass destruction the world would have faced what Churchill memorably described as “a new Dark Age”.

It was in this context - embarked on a mission like no other - that young Lance Corporal Alexander Campbell from Grangemouth, a specially trained demolition sapper in the Royal Engineers, became part of Operation Freshman.

Two Halifax bombers, each towing a Horsa Glider - each containing 15 Royal Engineers - took off from RAF Skitten near Wick on the evening of November 19, 1942.

Dr Bruce Tocher, an oil industry professional and geologist, is dedicated to finding out everything he can about those involved, in order that they can be more fully recognised for their role in what happened next.

He explains: “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 onboard”.

The result was complete disaster.

Of the 34 men in the gliders some were killed on impact while the rest were marooned in the depths of a Norwegian winter hundreds of miles from their escape route across the Swedish border.

They were not equipped for the terrain, and the Norwegian resistance network could not accommodate such numbers - and the Nazis would inevitably have exacted savage revenge on local civilians if they had tried.

Out of options, they elected to surrender, and German troops arrived from a base 15km away to take them into custody.

However unlike, for example, Allied fliers shot down and captured in a bombing raid, none would see out the war in a prisoner of war camp.

Dr Tocher explains: “Hitler had ordered that all saboteurs - which was how these men were to be seen - were to be executed,

“Four badly-injured soldiers were interrogated and murdered by the Gestapo in Stavanger, and their bodies were dumped off the coast”.

The rest were executed by firing squad at the German camp at Slettebø- and their resting place might have remained unknown had not a Norwegian patriot been able to observe the Germans burying the soldiers in an unmarked grave and informed the authorities after the war.

Dr Tocher adds: “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”.

Among those murdered by the Nazis was the 24-year-old from Grangemouth.

He was the son of local couple Alexander and Catherine Elizabeth Campbell.

Fortunately for the sake of civilisation Hitler never did manage to develop the bomb - his last-gasp V2 rockets caused appalling carnage but were not in the same league as a nuclear weapon, and were dealt with effectively.

Where Operation Freshman had failed, Operation Gunnerside was a resounding, decisive success.

As told in the famous movie The Heroes of Telemark a group of British-trained Norwegian commandos - completely at home with the weather - outwitted the Nazis, demolished the heavy water plant, and made their escape without a casualty.

It may have been the greatest commando raid in history.

However Dr Tocher is determined to do everything possible to find more about the men (who were from a variety of Allied countries) killed on impact or murdered in that earlier, failed attempt.

He said: “Ultimately the Operation Freshman project is trying to trace any surviving relatives or people who have stories or anecdotes concerning the servicemen who participated in the raid, and who may have photographs, letters or other documentary information relating to the servicemen.

“The idea is to tell the story of these incredibly courageous young men through their lives, and lives of their families, rather than more conventional histories which focus primarily on the events themselves.”

Inevitably Grangemouth’s historic connection with the RAF, and its heritage centre, make the story of Alexander Campbell’s death particularly emotive.

Yet detail - including a photograph - is missing.

Anybody who can help Dr Tocher find out more, whether from family relatives, letters or other memorabilia, is asked to get in touch - which they can do via the Falkirk Herald.