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THE sound of bagpipes playing Taps, the bugle call of the US
military, echoed across the Mearns landscape yesterday as
the Stars and Stripes was lowered for the last time at the US
Navy base at RAF Edzell. The ceremony at the Cold War spying base marked the end of nearly 40 years of harmony between the Americans and the villagers of Edzell, in the Howe of the Mearns. Although 2,000 service men and women had once been based there, only seven US Navy personnel were at Edzell yesterday to mark its closure. They will fly home today, the last US Navy personnel to serve on Scottish soil. Charged with the honour of lowering the Stars and Stripes was Lt Sean McLaren, the son of a Scots exile and a native of Jacksonville in Florida. Lt McLaren, who requested a move to Edzell 18 months ago, said: "It was a very emotional moment when the flags were lowered for the last time. "Everyone is sorry to be leaving. Edzell was the sort of posting where you were immediately made to feel at home and had no real sense that you were in a foreign country." The final lament was played in front of an invited audience of 80 villagers by the base's public works officer, Lt Tom George. The serviceman took up the bagpipes when he was posted to Edzell a year ago. "Taps is usually sounded on a bugle to mark the close of the day at our military bases, but I guess this must have been the first time it has ever been played on the bagpipes." Lt Commander Sharon Chamness said many of the friendships made during the 37 years of American guardianship of the base would endure. Countless US servicemen have married local girls and some have returned to live in Scotland after completing their military service. The base's last wedding was held a fortnight ago when petty officer Adam Caudell, 24, from Kentucky, married Dundee nurse Tracey Smart, 24. "We have a lot to thank RAF Edzell for because it brought us together," Tracey said. "It will always be special to us. Though the miles and years separate us, I know that our friendships will continue forever." Those sentiments were echoed by the local minister, the Rev John Forbes. "There has always been a very warm relationship between the base and the village," he said. "Many communities around here have benefited from the generosity of the Americans in terms of charity work and supplying local needs." The main concern for the village and the surrounding area now was now to find ways of "filling the very large hole" left in the economy of the area, he added. "Only ten or 15 years ago there were almost 2,000 people at Edzell. And it wasn't just the village which benefited. It was towns like Brechin and Montrose and communities all over the area. It is a huge economic gap to fill." RAF Edzell, established in 1913 as a flying school for the RAF, was taken over as a base by the US Navy in 1960. It became a vital part of NATO's spy network, tracking the movement of Soviet submarines. The secret communications equipment was removed from Edzell last year when the 500acre base was put up for sale by the Ministry of Defence. So what is to be done with an ex-Cold War spy base? Possible uses include transforming it into a centre of sports excellence, a prison, or an industrial estate. More than 20 expressions of interest have been received. |
This site is created
by Roger Shambaugh and Dale Trzebiatowski for the hope to regain the good
times at RAF Edzell and get people back in touch.
