Gunner Albert Figg
The Duke of Edinburgh has sent his personal best wishes to a Kent charity that staged the Scottish premiere of its unique film about one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War this week.
Just days after being given the title on his 59 th birthday by his elder brother King Charles III, Prince Edward sent a message of support to The Hill 112 Memorial Foundation ahead of the premiere at the Dominion Cinema in Edinburgh on Monday (20 March).
The note, sent from Bagshot Park in Surrey, said: “Please pass on my thanks and best wishes to everyone attending the Scottish Premiere. I trust that the film and the memories recalled will convey the significance of the battle for Hill 112 as well as the reasons why it is so important to remember what happened there. We owe it to succeeding generations, especially relatives of those who fought and those who died and to the local communities for whom the events of July 1944 mean so much.”
Film-maker and foundation trustee Peter Williams commented: “We were delighted to receive the good wishes of the incoming Duke of Edinburgh in what must have been one of his first actions since taking on the role. It is humbling to have been honoured in this way.”
The film, The Battle for Hill 112 – A Canterbury Tale received its world premiere in Canterbury last year and has been well received.
It tells the tale of the Allies’ long and bloody battle to secure Hill 112 against Nazi Panzers as they pushed southwards through France after landing on the Normandy coast on 6 June, 1944.
Peter Williams’ feature-length documentary also tells the story of Gunner Albert Figg, the inspiration behind the Memorial that stands proudly on the hill. The Foundation was set up by Albert’s daughter Annette, the charity’s chair.
She said she was “absolutely delighted” that Prince Edward had sent such an inspiring note to the charity as it was preparing to show the film in Edinburgh. The premiere was a charity gala event attended by the Lord Provost to honour the troops, many of them Scots, who died on Hill 112.