Politician backs campaign to commemorate Lanarkshire heroes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A campaign to commemorate the brave pilots and navigators of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) during the Second World War has been backed.The PRU was formed on September 24, 1939, and throughout the Second World War it operated highly dangerous, clandestine photographic reconnaissance operations over all theatres of operation and captured more than 26 million images of enemy operations and installations during the war.Two Lanarkshire men – Flying Officer Alastair Maclay from Hamilton and Pilot Officer Alexander Dick from Carluke – undertook missions as part of the PRU.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Due to the nature of their operations – they flew solo, unarmed and unarmoured – the death rate was nearly 50 per cent.

However, despite having one of the lowest survival rates of the war – life expectancy in the PRU was around two and a half months – there is no national memorial.Now Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley is backing the campaign by the Spitfire AA810 Project to establish a memorial to the pilots and navigators of the PRU.The MP said: “I am delighted to support this fantastic campaign to commemorate those who served in the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.“This includes Alastair Maclay and Alexander Dick from my constituency, who both served admirably under