A man has told of his surprise at finding Second World War documents from a Scot who fought in the conflict hidden in a desk 18 years after he died.<\/p>\n
Martin Reid bought the desk at auction four years ago, but only discovered the folder of documents recently when he was moving furniture and discovered them behind a drawer that had been stuck.<\/p>\n
It contained photographs, letters and maps relating to the British Army\u2019s involvement in the campaign known as the Liberation of Italy between 1943 and 1945.<\/p>\n
(Image: Church of Scotland\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Do you know Glasgow war hero nurse who helped amputate man’s foot in Blitz?<\/a><\/p>\n Martin discovered that the papers belonged to the late Ian Rodger, from\u00a0Glasgow, who served with 2 Squadron of the 6th Armoured Division Signal Regiment, a unit of the British Army, and fought in Italy and Tunisia.<\/p>\n It is now hoped Ian’s son can be traced so the documents can be passed on to him.<\/p>\n Martin, from Lanark in South Lanarkshire<\/a>, said: \u201cI had to move the desk to make way for a bed and took out the drawers to make it easier to lift.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom left drawer was stuck, so I reached in behind to see what the obstruction was and pulled out this green paper file folder, which was wedged in at the back.<\/p>\n \u201cInside were lots of photographs, letters, maps and invitations all relating to the Second World War \u2013 leafing through them was really exciting and intriguing.<\/p>\n \u201cTo say I was surprised was an understatement because I bought the desk nearly four years earlier, and after studying the contents, I worked out that they belonged to a man called Ian Rodger from\u00a0Glasgow, who I presume used to own the desk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe papers and photographs are fascinating and provide a really important insight into the British Army\u2019s involvement in the Italian campaign against Adolf Hitler\u2019s Germany and the important role they played in defeating fascism and bringing the war to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n Ian Rodger\u00a0(Image: Scottish Opera\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n