Hamish ‘honoured and very proud’ to receive France’s highest accolade
MORE information has come to light about Hamish Craig, who grew up in Lochgair and was recently awarded France’s highest accolade, The Legion of Honour.
Mr Craig served in the UK’s Auxiliary Units: lethally trained, highly secret units who would wage irregular warfare in the British Resistance if the Nazis invaded, as they had planned in Operation Sea Lion in 1940.
He was parachuted into France on his own to work with the French Resistance, or Maquis, ahead of the D-Day landings at Normandy.
Mr Craig was sworn to silence about his work with the French Resistance for 50 years. His daughter, Ruth Craig, said: ‘Hamish was bound by an oath of secrecy for 50 years, so this was part of his life that was never talked about.’
During a recent twoday visit to New Zealand, the Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, met and personally thanked Mr Craig for his courage and contribution to the liberation of France and congratulated him on his Legion of Honour award.
Mr Craig was also congratulated by the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key and by the President of New Caledonia and the President of French Polynesia. Also present was Phyllis (Pippa) Latour Doyle, the only person alive who, like Mr Craig, was parachuted alone into occupied France to work with the Maquisards.
Before the war, Mr Craig spent most of his early years at Carrick Farm near Lochgair and attended school in Lochgilphead. He lived in Argyll for some years after the war - at Carrick, Cladich and Lochgair before moving to Devon. In the late 1950s he travelled with his young family to Otago in the South Island of New Zealand, where he farmed sheep and played the church organ for many years.
He retired to the Hibiscus Coast, near Auckland. He was married to Connie, who died in 2001, for more than 50 years. He has three children, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Ms Craig said her father was ‘honoured and very proud’ to receive the award. ‘It is wonderful to have his contribution acknowledged in such a special way,’ she said. ‘At the time he, like so many others, felt he was just doing what was required of him and he never for one minute expected to be honoured for it.’
Old friends can contact Hamish on hamishwgp@gmail. com