Plane races food to Army in snow-bound camp

Plane races food to Army in snow-bound camp

Account of troops in Scotland marooned without supplies and bomber loaded with 700 pound of bread drops supplies. Further supplies were dropped over a few days.

One newspaper cutting

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[Underlined] Sunday Chronicle and Sunday Referee [/underlined]
Plane races food to Army in snow-bound camp
Cut off 4 days by huge drifts
Meat is landed by parachute
THEY GOT THEIR RATIONS BY AIR
[Photograph]
Airmen loaded into the ‘plane the food that saved the boys.
“Sunday Chronicle” Special Correspondent
SOMEWHERE IN SCOTLAND, Saturday.
FOUR HUNDRED officers and men of the Royal Army Service Corps unit in South-west Scotland were marooned without supplies for four days during the “Great Freeze” last month, it was revealed today.
With huge snowdrifts – as high as telegraph poles- surrounding their camp, and cutting off road and rail contact for 40 miles around, they found themselves with just enough bread and meat for one more day.
Through their one remaining telephone line the commanding officer managed to get an SOS through to headquarters. Immediately a giant bomber was loaded with 700lbof bread and took off for the camp. The panels in the bomb-aimer’s compartment were removed so that the food could be dropped. After 35 minutes the pilot reached the marooned camp, and the entire unit turned out to watch the machine circle six times, dropping the bread by parachute.
Bad weather prevented meat supplies, which were now exhausted, being dropped on the following day.
A smaller plane managed to get through to drop yeast, so that people living nearby could make bread.
Next day the bomber returned and dropped 1,000lb of meat and a further supply of bread.
The bomber pilot stated that the snow was so deep around the camp that roads were hidden.