A personable truck with a fascinating past is coming to the islands this summer, and his drivers promise he will be a huge hit with adults and children alike.

Bertie is the last remaining Second World War Austin 8 NAAFI van, now in retirement at the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum (RACM) at Aultbea, having spent his working life keeping service personnel fuelled with tea and cake on British airfields.

The NAAFI – Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes – was created in 1920 to provide comforts and recreation to service personnel. During the Second World War, NAAFI vans large and small would have been common in busy service areas, providing hot drinks and baking on the run.

Bertie’s mission now is to tell people more about the home front, rationing, air raid precautions and other aspects of daily life under difficult and dangerous conditions.

Travelling the roads of the highlands and islands is hard for such an old van, so vintage car enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that a recent Crowdfunding campaign was successful in getting Bertie his own trailer.

Thanks to that, he'll be travelling to Lewis in August, visiting Kinloch Historical Society at Balallan on Wednesday 23 August, Comunn Eachdraidh Nis on Thursday 24 and Lews Castle Grounds on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 August.

Bertie’s minders said: “Bertie is a one-of-a-kind wartime Austin 8 NAAFI van, still in full working order, and a big hit with kids and grown-ups alike. He has some great displays on the WW2 Home Front.”

Although the visit will be fun for everyone, there’s a serious purpose, too, as the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum are trying to build their archive of veteran stories, anecdotes and artefacts.

They said: “Bertie and the team will be very keen to hear from anyone on the island with connections to the Arctic Convoys, so if you had a relative who took part in this dangerous campaign please do make yourselves known to us and share any stories you can.”

The pictures show Bertie outside his home museum at Aultbea, and open for business during a visit to a residential home recently (RACM).