A father is heading to the Czech Republic to mark the story of his family’s devastating loss of two boys – 60 years apart.
William Simpson’s uncle Walter Simpson died in WWII when he was aged 19; and William’s son, Angus, succumbed to cancer aged just two.
One was the uncle he never knew. The other, the little boy taken from him by a rare disease he was born with
Now Mr Simpson will make a pilgrimage to Hranice, where his uncle’s plane crashed, to raise funds for Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG).
Mr Simpson, from Linlithgow, and his friend Andrew Balfour are travelling to the Czech Republic on Monday (June 26) in a special tartan car, given to them by sponsor Dicksons of Inverness.
After they return the car will be auctioned and all funds raised will go to CCLG.
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Mr Simpson said: “My oldest friend Andy Balfour ,who will be my co-pilot and navigator. This is an essential role as, since being diagnosed with ME/CFS in 2019, I would be unable to complete such an undertaking without assistance.
“Walter Simpson joined the RAF aged just 17 in 1943 as an Air Gunner and after training he joined Bomber Command. Sadly, his plane was lost on a mission out of Scampton Airfield in March 1945 and crashed near Hranice in what was Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic or Czechia. All on board were killed.
“Walter was my uncle and my dad’s eldest brother. My Dad and I visited the Commonwealth Cemetery together in Prague in 2002. Although I never knew Walter, he has always been a strong presence in my life and the lives of the wider family. He is a symbol of bravery and unimaginable sacrifice, repeated so many times around this country and all over the world.”
“In 2005 I became a dad. We welcomed a beautiful son called Angus Adam Simpson into our family. But our lives were soon broken apart by his cancer diagnosis, with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
“Angus was as brave and strong as any soldier whilst fighting for his life, never wavering, always amazing and smiling right up to his last moments here with us in 2007.”
(L-R) Fraser Bryce, William Simpson and Andy Balfour.
Mr Simpson said it had been a long-held ambition of his to travel to some of the historic sites associated with WWII in Europe, culminating at the plane’s crash site in Hranice.
“I have arranged to collect a piece of the plane’s wreckage (verified by local sources) and return it to the Bomber Command Memorial Spire in Lincoln to be interred there in memory of Walter and so many young lives cut tragically short.
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“It seemed a fitting tribute to him and his comrades. I decided that whilst honouring the loss of this part of my family, I could fundraise for research into Children’s Cancers for CCLG and honour the enormous loss of the other warrior in our family, Angus.
“Two boys, two generations apart: one family. We carry this loss and cherish the memories.”
Fraser Bryce, managing director of Dicksons of Inverness, said: “This is such a tragic, yet heart-warming, story and we were delighted to assist William and Andy on their pilgrimage and to donate the car for this wonderful charity.”
Mr Simpson has set up a Just Giving page to raise funds for CCLG. Angus’s Door is run by the charity and details can be accessed via justgiving.com.
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