Category: Memories

The following poem was posted by Morag Russell on ‘Orkney Reevlers,’
a Facebook forum for all interested in the Orcadian dialect,
and is reproduced here with her permission.

Morag says the poem was…..”Written by Minnie Russell for her sister Doll’s golden waddeen. There’s no many fokk left that wis there. I wis a babe in airms and Isobel o Testaquoy wid hiv been a young lass. Ian, the peedie boy that’s mentioned, wis Ian Flaws that ran The Shalder fae Tingwall tae Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre for many a year. The waddeen wis in November 1945 at Hawn in Wyre and the golden waddeen in Rousay, in 1995, at the Pier Restaurant, I think.”

DOLL AND ARCHER’S WADDEEN

Hid’s fifty year ago the day that Doll and Archer wed!
Ah’m sure they think, as they look back, ‘My hoo the years hiv sped.
Hid seems like hid wis yesterday, wir waddeen day at Hawn,
When the music and the danceen both geed on until the dawn’.

The weemin baked for days afore, bannocks, scones and buns,
You couldna go tae Presto’s then and buy id aal at wance.
They meed the menfolk get tae wark and they sweepid oot the barn
And tidied up the yard and cleaned the flaggiestones o sharn.

Everybody ate their fill, the cog was gaun aroond.
Jock o’ Testaquoy began tae play, my whit a lovely soond!
He wis sittan in the the loft tae laeve more room for eightsome reels,
The three-step first and soon they were aal keekan ap their heels.

But oh disaster struck right in the middle o The Lancers.
Jock fell doon and banged his croon and pulverised the dancers!
They pickid him ap and brushed him doon and shoved him ap again,
The music stert, the dancers birled and aal wis right as rain.

But oh dear me, in a peedie while, disaster struck once more
And this time the bleem can be laid right at peedie Ian’s door.
Weel he wis cheust a peedie chap that should hiv been in bed.
Bit he wis fair enjoyan himsel, my whit a time he hid!

He gaed tae the steeble whaur some men wis lukkan at the mare.
‘That mare’s in foal’, he heard een say and, beuy, that meed him stare!
He ran roond tae the hoose at wance and rushed in through the door.
A lock o fokk wis sittan there, mibbee their feet wis sore.

‘The mare’s gaun tae foal’, he shouted, ‘you’ll better come queek, I doot,’
And right awey Bob o’ Trumland banged for his feet and oot.
He ran across the yard makkan straight for the steeble door
But the midden dyke wis in his road and he fell ower id wi a roar!

My whit a hummlan sight he wis when they got him oot o there.
They teuk him tae the kitchen and set him on a chair.
They scrubbed him doon as best they could withoot pittan him in a bath.
The weemin flyted on him but aal he could deu wis laugh!

Hid wis an eventful waddeen day and noo we’re githered here
Tae wish them both the very best for anither many a year
And we’re sure wir gaan tae hiv a really splendid night.
But Ah’ll warran there’s no steeble here and no a mare in sight!

Below are comments made by folk below the poem on Orkney Reevlers:-

Barbara Johnston: Winderful, Morag.

Billy Skea: That’s brilliant.

Isobel Dolak: Great, Morag. It reminds me of my folks celebrating their silver wedding in the barn at Langskaill. I wis just a peedie lass that should have been in bed. Some of my uncles and aunts from sooth had come up for it, and I had to sleep in an armchair!

Jake Spence: Live and learn! I never kent Doll and Minnie were sisters but if i mind right Marylyn used tae come tae Nisthouse sometimes like for the Harvest Home? Had many a visit tae Doll and Archer when we gaed tae see Willie o’ Oo, Duncan played wae peedie cars on the carpet as the squares made grand roads and i always mind Archer had a great show of vegetables.

Edna Margaret Sinclair: Just lovely Morag x

Inga Williamson: Whit an evocative poym, Morag, pents a vivid pictur o owld Orkney life wae that typical isles mirth thrown in. Gaes a right good sense o yer mam too – clearly a wife of gret intelligence and substance!!

Karin Flaws: What a lovely poem. I mind I used to love going across to visit Doll and Archer when I was peedie. Ian flaws was my granddad.

Jake Spence: Used to enjoy a blether wae Ian. I would hop on at Tingwall have a pint or two at the cafe then back and i mind wan night doing a couple of trips tae Gairsay wae sand lorries.

Ruth Gibson: Magic Morag, I’ll bet there are no many folk left noo that can mind barn weddings. I have a snap o Jim’s mam and dad and all the young eens fae their wedding wakan round the loch in Wester. They did this til all the owld folk ate, then they ate afore the dancing. They were wed in the barn at Furse in 1932. The only barn wedding I mind clearly wis Evelyn and Roderick Marwick’s, and I wis only peedie.

Morag Russell: Ruth I wid love tae see that photo. Me fither spokk aboot that waddeen many a time and said hid wis a grand affair. He telt aboot wakkan roond the the Wester loch wi the bride and groom and a fiddler playan – he did say whar the fiddler wis bit I canna mind on the neem. He wid hiv been a boy o 12 or 13 and he had spied the waddeen teebles wi this grand bright reed fruit on them, ca’ed tomatoes. He wis desperate tae get back for a taste as he’d nivver seen such a thing afore. He said he wis never so disappointed in his life and spat them oot. A’ his life long he nivver developed a taste for tomatoes!

Phyllis Muir: I’m sure my folks would have been chuffed that Minnie’s poem about their wedding is being shared this way. Their golden wedding was a big do in the Rousay school hall, they also managed to celebrate their diamond wedding and that was in the Pier Restaurant.

Morag Russell: I’m using this wi’ Isobel Irvine‘s permission. I did wonder hoo they decorated the barns tae makk them lukk festive. I mind mither sayan hoo fokk eused girnels, etc, as teebles and a the isle’s weemin contributed cloths and sheets tae cover them.

‘I doot “Isobel o’ Testaquoy” wis more than a young lass! I’m 88 noo! But that’s reminded me o something that happened when I wis a peedie lass! and it wis also at a wedding in a barn. Every hoose contributed curtains, bedspreads etc to cover the stone walls and me Mum had given them the loan of the bedspread off my bed. It had a frayed corner that I used to hold in me hand while I sucked my thumb! At some point I spotted it! I shouted “Me toosly corner!! and luckily it was low enough for me so sit with the toosly corner in me hand, thumb in mooth…Happy!’

---

Alexander Munro – 1841-1916

Ground Officer to Lieutenant-General Frederick William Traill-Burroughs, Rousay 

Compiled by W. Nicol Manson and forwarded to Rousay Remembered by
Janis Munro, Stromness, Alexander’s great grand-daughter.

Alexander Munro was born in Lyth, in the Parish of Bower, Caithness on the 19th of April 1841, to Angus, (born Kildonan, Sutherland, 1809) and Janet Munro, nee McDonald, (born Reay, Sutherland, 1813). Angus and Janet had married in Bower in 1834. The 1851 Scotland Census has Angus and Janet and their family of five daughters at Blackpark in the District of Lyth and Alterwall in the parish of Bower, Angus a tenant farmer of 6 acres. Alexander Munro, aged 9 years old, a cowherd is at a neighbouring farm at Lyth, tenanted by Alexander Dunnet.

The census for 1861 shows Angus his wife and one daughter at Alterwall, Bower, and Angus’s occupation given as shoemaker. Alexander Munro, when aged 19, was a ploughman at Lynegar Farm, Watten, where Alexander Murrison was the Farm Manager. It was from here that Alexander Munro was to begin a long-lasting association with the Murrison family, George Murrison, the Lynegar Farm Manager’s brother in particular.

Alexander Murrison’s son, Robert became gamekeeper to Lieut.-General Burroughs on his estate on Rousay, showing up on the 1881 census with his wife and son at Trumland. Alexander Murrison’s brother George, was Farm Manager at nearby Blackpark Farm, Alterwall, Bower and was destined to become Factor to Lieut.-General Burroughs on his Rousay estate in the mid 1870’s, taking Alexander Munro with him. George and Alexander Murrison were the sons of Arthur Murrison and Margaret Wallace who were both born and married in Cruden, Aberdeenshire; they had a family of 12 children. In 1852, son George married Margaret Miller from Papa Westray, Orkney, with whom he had a daughter, Ann, born in 1854. In the 1861 census for Westray, Margaret Murrison aged 43 has reverted back to using her maiden surname of Miller and is a Dairymaid working at Brough, Westray. Her daughter Ann was at school, 8 years old. The 1871 Scotland census shows 18 year old Ann Murrison at Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. The 1861 census shows George Murrison, a visitor at the farm of Quoy Hill, Kirkwall and St. Ola, belonging to Forbes Henderson, a farmer born at Tyrie, Aberdeenshire. That same year George Murrison’s brother, John Murrison aged 50, is a farmer at Upper Berry Hill St. Ola, living there with his wife and two sons.

In 1861, now employed as a Farm Overseer to Sir John Sinclair of Dunbeath at Barrock Mains in Bower, George Murrison aged 40, met and married his second wife, Mary Johnston, aged 33 from Thurso, on the 6th of June at Barrock House. Mary was a domestic servant working at Barrock House, Bower.

The 1865 Valuation Roll has Angus Munro, one of 13 tenants on the Farm of Alterwall in the Parish of Bower, paying a rent of £3 5s to the Proprietor, Sir John Sinclair of Dunbeath. Alexander Steven, whose daughter Christina his son Alexander was to later marry in 1876, was a neighbouring tenant farmer at Alterwall Farm. By the 1871 census, Angus (62) and Janet Munro (53) are in the Hamlet of Alterwall, Bower with daughter Ann (27) and son Alexander (29). There are also three grandchildren in the household as well as Janet’s sister Christina (52) a farm servant. Angus is a Farmer of 6 acres paying rent of £4 10s. Son Alexander’s occupation is given as a labourer. In the parish of Bower 1881 census records and 1885 Valuation Rolls Angus (72) a Crofter of 5 acres and Janet (67) are both Gaelic speakers paying a rent of £4 10s. They are living at a farm in Alterwall with their granddaughter Christina (15) at school.

Angus passed away on the 29th of December 1886 aged 77 in Bower and Janet died on January 31st 1899 aged 90 in Watten, Caithness. They had raised five daughters and three sons and had worked most of their lives as Crofting Tenants to Sir John Sinclair, Baronet of Dunbeath and Barrock, then to his grandson who succeeded him, Sir John Rose George Sinclair and his Factor, Col. Alexander Learmonth. Sir John Rose George Sinclair was married to Marion D’Oyly a niece of Lady Eliza D’Oyly Traill-Burroughs of Trumland, Rousay. Children of Angus and Janet Munro were:- Christian, b.1835, George, b.1837, Hugh, b.1839, Alexander, b. 1841, Ann, b.1844, Johan, b.1846, Jennet, b. 1849, and Elizabeth, b.1851.

From the 1874 Valuation Rolls George Murrison, Ground Officer, was living at Roadside, Lyth, paying an annual rent of £2 10/- for the house and £20 for a grass park, working for Sir John Rose George Sinclair’s Factor, Col. Alexander Learmonth, who was residing at Barrock House, Bower. Lieutenant-General Frederick Traill-Burroughs retiral from the army in 1873 coincided with the retiral of Robert Scarth as factor for the Rousay estate. He had married Eliza D’Oyly on the 4th of June 1870, Eliza staying at Westness House until he completed his army service. On the 1^st of February 1852, his 21^st birthday, Lieut.-Gen. Burroughs succeeded to the Rousay estates from his grand-uncle George Traill who died in 1847. Robert Scarth, an agricultural reformer, had overseen the second Quandale Clearances between 1855 and 1859 on behalf of George Traill of Westness and Woodwick. A strict disciplinarian from his army days the new laird was to continue the system of “clearance” instigated by Robert Scarth on behalf of George Traill. By 1875, George Murrison took on the roll of factor of the Rousay and Veira estate along with the farm of Skaill in Sandwick. By the time of the 1875 Valuation Roll George Murrison is living at the Mills of Rango on the farm of Skaill in the Parish of Sandwick, Orkney, paying an annual rent of £60 to the proprietors, representatives of William Watt of Breckness and Graham Watt of Kierfiold. The 1876 Valuation Roll for the Mills of Rango shows George Murrison renting for £60. Another Valuation Roll for the same year shows that he is also paying £16 rent for Veira Lodge, Frotoft, Rousay to Lieut.- Gen. Frederick William Traill-Burroughs. In 1877 George Murrison is still acting as Factor at the Farm of Skaill, renting Mills of Rango in Skaill, Sandwick, rent £60, from the proprietor Mrs Barbara Watt (Liferentrix) of Breckness and on the Rousay estate of Lieut.-Gen. Burroughs, renting the house and grounds of Veira Lodge for the sum of £16.

On 14th of July, 1876, Alexander Munro aged 35, a road contractor, married Christina Steven, aged 26, at Alterwall. Witnesses James Oliphant and John Geddes were both neighbours of Alexander and Christina who was the daughter of Alexander and Janet Steven (m.s. Calder). In the 1881 census Alexander, a general labourer, foreman, aged 39 and Christina aged 36 and daughters Malcolmina, aged 2 and Agnes, aged 9 months are living at Trumland Lodge. Living with them are Alexander’s brother George, aged 44, an unemployed forester and John Geddes, aged 32, a blacksmith and wire fencer who was a near neighbour when at Alterwall Bower and had been best man at Alexander’s wedding in Bower in 1876.

The 1884 Valuation Roll for Veira Lodge Frotoft shows that George Murrison, Esquire, Factor, is paying £16 rent for the house and grounds.

From the1885 Valuation Rolls, Alexander Munro is paying £6 6s 6d rent to Lieut-Gen. Burroughs for the Old Schoolhouse and Grounds.

Hugh Munro, fifth child of Alexander and Christina was born on the 25th of July 1886. David William Munro was born to Alexander and Christina Munro on the 17th of October 1887 at Old School, Rousay, Alexander now recorded as a merchant.

Lieut.-General Frederick Traill-Burroughs had advertised through Messrs. J. Watson Lyall & Co., Land Agents, No. 15 Pall Mall, London, S.W., the “Beautiful & Valuable Estate of Rousay and Veira in Orkney, extending to 12,000 acres with handsome mansion house, excellent shooting lodge, fishing’s, etc, etc, which will be offered for sale by public auction, at the Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, Bank of England, on Thursday, the 7th of June1889, (unless previously sold by private bargain)”. He did not find any buyers and remained on Rousay, becoming a County Councillor in 1889 and appointed Vice-Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland in 1900. He received a Knighthood in 1904.

On June the 13th 1890 after 15 years as factor on the estates of Rousay and Veira, George Murrison had left Orkney to return to Kintore in Aberdeenshire. On his departure he was presented with a drawing room clock with the inscription:- “Presented by Lieutenant-General F. Traill Burroughs, C.B., of Rousay and Veira, Orkney, to Mr George Murrison J.P., as remembrance of his able, active, zealous, and faithful services as factor of his estate from 1875 to 1890, and as a token of his sincere regret at parting with him on account of the action of the Crofter Commission having stopped all estate improvements, and having rendered useless the further services of a resident factor”. He died on the 27th of April 1900 at Braeside of Rothmaise, Warthill, Parish of Rayne, Aberdeenshire aged 83 years old. His wife Mary died on the 26th of October, 1906 at Rayne, aged 79 years.

Below are the written instructions given to Alexander Munro, Ground Officer for the estate of Rousay and Veira, hand written, unlikely by him, in a notebook, dated 24th November 1902, in which he took details of the various jobs which needed to be done on the properties he had visited. Although not signed, it was most likely that the instructions would have been written in the hand of Lieutenant-General Frederick William Traill Burroughs, Proprietor of the estate.

~~~~~

Alexander Munro, Woo, Sourin, The Ground Officer, Rousay

Commenced; 24 November 1902
Instructions and Memoranda For Ground Officer

To visit every Farm and Holding on the Estate at least once a quarter and see that the Estate Regulations are adhered to
and report any contraventions thereof without delay.
To see that Buildings, Dykes and Wire Fences are kept in good repair;
also Farm Roads and Gates.
To see that Woodwork is periodically painted for its due preservation;
also Ironwork.
To see that Ditches and Drains are regularly scoured and kept clean.
To see that weeds are regularly cut down.
To see that Roads are kept in good order and that loose stones are removed.
To see that Quarries are not ill-used, and only used by those having the Proprietor’s permission.
To Superintend all Building and Draining, or other Improvements and see that they are properly done.
To report any Poaching by land or water. To protect Grouse, Trout, and all Game.
To stop and report any unauthorised Heather burning.
To see that Hedges are trimmed annually.
To see that Farms are properly stocked, and cultivated, and not mis-cropped.
Wire fencing along Public Roads to be according to the law.
To prosecute persons tethering Stock across the Public Roads.
A multiplicity of dogs to be checked. The Owners of Dogs poaching or trespassing to be proceeded against.
Persons damaging Dykes, Fences, Bridges to be prosecuted.
Not to permit arrears of Road Rates.
To preserve the Peace of the Estate.
Names and addresses to be painted on all Carts as required by law.
The Rules of the Road to be observed by vehicles on the roads.
Disorderly conduct to be reported.

24/11/02.

~~~~~

Last dated entry in Alexander Munro’s notebook of visits is January 2nd, 1906. He would have been 65 years old.

In a 1902 “The Scotsman” newspaper carried a report of a fire in the stack yard of a property in Sourin, the tenant of the farm was made known as the “assistant factor of General Burroughs. Police were called when five stacks of bere and oats and one stack of hay were burned. Since the passing of the Crofters Act, relations between the proprietor and the crofters have become strained and it is supposed that the fire may have been the work of incendiaries”.

In 1904, when the lease of Westness Farm was again advertised, Alexander Munro, was the “Ground Officer” to be contacted for viewing the subjects of the lease.

Sir Frederick William Traill-Burroughs KCB, died in London on April 9th, 1905 and his wife on the 1st of February 1908. A memorial was erected in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall by Lady Edith Marion D’Oyly Dunbar or Sinclair, wife of Sir John Rose George Sinclair, 7th Baronet of Dunbeath, Barrock House, Bower, who was executrix of Lady Burroughs’s will and niece of Lady Eliza D’Oyly Traill-Burroughs. Sir John Rose George Sinclair and his predecessors were the proprietors of the estate at Alterwall, Bower, Caithness, where Angus Munro and his family lived and where Alexander Munro was born in 1841. One of his crofts was let to Angus Munro who worked all his life as a tenant crofter to the Sinclair’s.

Alexander Munro became tenant of Woo, Sourin in 1900, getting a loan of £200 from General Burroughs. From the 1905 Valuation Roll recording the farm and house of Woo, Sourin, Alexander Munro was paying a rent of £25. He was Sub-postmaster, Inspector of Roads and Collector of Rates. He lost two of these appointments when he became bankrupt but retained the post of Sub-postmaster and returned to Old School, Sourin. The Trustees of the Rousay Estate were persuaded by Lady Burroughs to leave Alexander Munro in Old School after they had applied to have him removed from there in 1905. The 1911 census has Alexander Munro, aged 69, a Small Farmer and Sub Post Master. Christina Munro, aged 60, (they had been married for 34 years 8months & 8 days), Agnes McDonald Munro, aged 30, was a cook, home on a visit, Hugh Munro, aged 24 and Albert Edward Munro, aged 18, were horsemen and Mary Ann Munro, aged 21, a general domestic servant. Alexander James Munro a stonemason and building contractor, was at Hallbreck in Sandwick aged 26, a boarder at the home of James Flett Hourston and family. Malcolmina Calder Munro, aged 32, was a domestic servant at the United Free Church Manse, Rousay, where the preacher in residence was Andrew L. P. Jamieson.

On the 4th of September, 1914, James Roy Sinclair Russell, 26, Farmer, Brendale, Sourin, Rousay, was married at School, Rousay to Agnes McDonald Munro, 34, Postmistress, Old School, Sourin, Rousay. Hugh Munro and Mary Gillespie were witnesses. James and Agnes were married by the Rev. Alexander Irvine Pirie of the United Free Church of Scotland.

Agnes McDonald Russell died at Brendale, Rousay, on April 26th 1934, aged 53. James Roy Sinclair Russell re-married in 1946 to Agnes’s sister, Mary Ann McKay Munro. Mary Ann McKay Russell died at Myres, Sourin, Rousay on December 29th, 1962. Alexander Munro (late Ground Officer) died at Old School, Sourin, on September 10th 1916, aged 75, his son, Alexander James Munro was Informant.

Hugh Munro died at Old School, Sourin, Rousay on March 2^nd 1920, aged 33. He was unmarried. Albert Edward Munro died in Rousay on the 24th December, 1975, aged 82. He was unmarried.

From “The Orcadian”, 5.6.1919; “Christina Munro, Old School, Rousay, applied as a statutory small tenant for the fixing of a first equitable rent. Duncan J. Robertson, solicitor representing the Traill-Burroughs family trustees stated that in 1912 the arrears amounted to £3 5s and these now amounted to £28 12s. Alexander James Munro, son of the applicant, spoke on behalf of his mother. John Cormack was the solicitor representing Mrs Munro and informed the hearing that she was prepared to pay any arrears ordered by the court”. Duncan Robertson insisted on the return of Old School to the trustees but was not successful.

Christina Munro died aged 81 on August 7th 1931 at Old School, Sourin. Informant was her son, Albert Edward Munro.

Alexander and Christina Munro had three sons serving during WW1. Private David William Munro was killed in action with D Coy., 15th Battalion Highland Light Infantry on the 17th of March 1916. Gunner Alexander James Munro served with the Royal Horse Artillery and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. Private Albert Edward Munro was in the 4th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders when severely wounded and was discharged because of his wounds.

Left: Military Medal. It was an award for gallantry and devotion to duty when under fire in battle on land on the recommendation of a Commander-in-Chief in the Field.

Middle: British War Medal. This silver medal was awarded to officers and men of the British and Imperial Forces who either entered a theatre of war (an area of active fighting) or served overseas (perhaps as a garrison soldier) between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 inclusive.

Right: Allied Victory Medal. The Allies each issued their own bronze victory medal but with a similar design, equivalent wording and identical ribbon. The colours represent the combined colours of the Allied nations, with the rainbow additionally representing the calm after the storm. The ribbon consists of a double rainbow with red at the centre. To qualify, an individual had to have entered a theatre of war (an area of active fighting), not just served overseas. Their service number, rank, name and unit were impressed on the rim.

About 1906, John Logie, a former Butler for the Burroughs family became the Estate Trustees Land Steward and Caretaker, a post he held until the estate was sold to Walter Grant in 1922.

Alexander James Munro died at Braes, Rousay, on 8th October 1960, aged 76. Agnes Munro died in the Balfour Hospital on the 23^rd of March, 1949, aged 57. Malcolmina Calder Bowie died on April 13th, 1949, at 5 Wilton Street, Glasgow, aged 70. On 13th October 1914, George Murrison Munro, Police Constable, 738 Argyle Street, Glasgow, was married at 5 Wilton Street, Glasgow to Mary Fraser, The Hydropathic, Kilmacolm. John Fraser and Euphemia Fraser were witnesses. George and Mary were married by Robert Henderson Abel of the United Free Church. George Murrison Munro died at 68 Lumsden Street, Glasgow, on March 10th 1944, aged 61.

—————

Alexander James and Agnes had thirteen children. Two died in infancy, and Byng, born in 1919, died in Carlisle in 1947. The others are pictured above, and family member Bertie Gillespie, Longhope, says: ‘This photo was taken in the Sourin hall at my sister Maureen’s wedding to Tommy Watt on April 20^th 1973.’

Back row, left to right: Kathleen Christina Gillespie née Munro, Georgina Jessie Calder Gray née Munro, Agnes Dorothy Munro, Maggie Ann Lyon Gibson née Munro, Daisy Williamina Emsley née Munro. Front row, left to right: Hugh Munro, Robert ‘Robbo’ Watson Lyon Munro, Lionel Alexander Edward Munro, Norman Herbert Munro, Andrew ‘Andy’ Hunter Munro.

---

THE LOSS OF THE FRASERBURGH LIFEBOAT

AND ROUSAY-MAN FREDERICK KIRKNESS

21 JANUARY 1970

The Fraserburgh lifeboat, Duchess of Kent, was a good sea boat, but incapable of withstanding the conditions she met on Wednesday January 21, when she went to the rescue of the Danish fishing boat Opal, about 35 miles off Fraserburgh. Launched at 7.43 a.m., after Wick radio relayed a Mayday signal from the fishing boat, the crew faced a 3½-hour struggle to reach Opal in tumultuous seas, the wind increasing all the time, then gale force 8 to severe gale 9.

Minutes after reaching the stricken vessel, the lifeboat was hit by a huge wave more than 30ft high, lifting the boat into the air, and cartwheeling it bow over stern, resulting in the loss of five of its six crew.

The bodies of four of the crew were found trapped inside the hull of the lifeboat when she was righted three hours later by a Russian cargo boat. The fifth man was Fred Kirkness, whose body was never found. Sole survivor John (known as ‘Jackson’) Buchan, who was acting as lookout on the deck when the wave struck, was thrown clear. He found himself on the surface, hauling himself on to the keel of the upturned lifeboat until he was rescued by a Russian lugger.

The tragedy left five widows and 15 youngsters without their fathers. The dead were coxswain John Crawford Stephen, the town’s assistant harbourmaster; Fred Kirkness, the lifeboat’s engineer; William Hadden, a Customs and Excise officer; fishworker James Buchan, and toolworker James Runcieman Slessor Buchan.

Click > here < to access the Board of Trade inquiry report into the loss of the lifeboat…

…and > here < for details of the recent RNLI Fraserburgh commemoration ceremony.

Frederick Alexander Kirkness was a Rousay man. Born in 1914, he was the son of Mark Mackay Kirkness, Quoyostray, and Martha (Mattie) Wards of Longhope, a teacher at Wasbister school. On Tuesday April 9th 1946, in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Fred married Maisie Robina Mainland of Westness Farm. They had a son, Colin, who became a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Glasgow.

Ernest & Elenora Steel’s Rousay Diary ~ 1952

The diary was written by Ernest Steel in 1952 and is an account of his holiday in Orkney with his wife Elenora, and within the text are some photos taken at the time. Ernest and Elenora fell in love with Orkney and in the early 1960s they bought a croft on Rousay called ‘Langstane’. They would come up regularly to their croft and would spend many months enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the islands, reading, writing, gardening, hiking, cycling and enjoying the company of their local friends. Following the diary text below there are many photos of the island and some of its inhabitants, showing Ernest’s clever camera skills in the early days of Kodachrome colour film.

Elenora left all her papers and photos to her granddaughter,
who has transcribed the diary. ©

ORKNEY 1952

Thursday, June 19th

Risborough depart 3.48pm. The Stationmaster joined us as far as Saunderton.

Depart King’s X 7pm. Miss Watts joined us as far as Aberdeen. She gave us a colourful account of life in Persia as a nurse. Observed an early morning misty crossing of the Forth Bridge. Arrived Aberdeen 7.15am (Friday).

Friday, June 20th

At Aberdeen. Breakfast at Aberdeen Hotel. Observed chairs in lounge made by P.K. of High Wycombe. Visit Quay – and antique shop on the way – to find S.S “St Magnus”. We meet Mr Grant the Purser at the Shipping Co’s office at the quayside & take film of him and Elenora. Collect luggage and discover loss. The Shipping Co quite helpful. Await recovery of lost bag. Is it still at King’s X? (Ernest visits Torry Research Station).

We board “St Magnus” and sail at 4.30pm. Elenora is invited to inspect engine room. We … explore the shaft tunnel. (Triple Expansion Engines. ¾ speed at 74 r.p.m.). No hurry to get to Kirkwall due to tide. Later we are fixed up with 1st Class Berths. Ernest in cabin on starboard and Elenora with young woman of Kirkwall. Smooth North Sea crossing. Interesting party at our table for dinner.

Later adjourn to bar 10.15pm. Chatty steward. And so to bed. We also chatted with interesting lady on deck. Watched group of N Sea trawlers at their fishing grounds. Scotland on the port side. Destroyer (?) passed us on the port side.

Saturday June 21st

The silent engine awakened Ernest at 6.15am. View through porthole: a large wooden stanchion of Kirkwall Quay. At 6.30am Ernest lands on quay and enquires of the S.S. Earl Sigurd and its destination. Sails to Rousay Island, our destination, on Monday only. Breakfast on board St Magnus. Later telephone Mr Gibson, Postmaster of Rousay. Informed by him that James Craigie had left the island for Kirkwall and should now be there. (Small motor boat observed entering the harbour at that moment). We meet J Craigie and George Sutherland, co-owners of the boat. We also meet Mr Vaughan, a visitor to Kirkwall. It’s arranged that we sail with C & S at 4.30pm for Rousay. Meanwhile we explore Kirkwall (lunch at Kirkwall Hotel) and visit Bishop’s Palace. After shopping, return to Harbour and M.V “Fulmar”. Other passengers to Rousay Mrs Perry ….., leave Kirkwall 4.45pm.

James Craigie points out places of interest, the location of other islands en voyage. Weather fine, sea smooth. Take pictures. The whisky bottle is passed round. We pass Gairsay on our starboard. Owned by two ladies (mother & daughter) from Hastings. Electricity installed from the Mainland at great cost. No telephone on the island. Elenora takes the helm.

Arrival at Rousay (Trumland Pier). Our baggage conveyed to “Wychwood”, our abode, by tractor. Mr Cormack driving. [Wychwood was situated between Viera View and Daisy Cottage, a wooden house originally built as accommodation for the island’s nurse. John Cormack (1905-1975) was a blacksmith at the Brinian. In 1937 he married Alice (Girlie) Logie (1906-1985)]

Greeted by Mrs Cormack at door. Tea awaits us. We settle in. There is a fine view of Wyre opposite our window and that Mainland – also other islands.

Sunday June 22nd

A quiet day. A short morning walk. We do likewise in the afternoon but get wet in heavy shower. Later heavy rain. Lunch with the Cormacks. Elenora paints.

Note: There is almost 24 hours daylight. No darkness to speak of!

Monday June 23rd

Up at 6am. A fine morning. We observe the “Earl Sigurd” in the Sound opposite. Later “Earl Sigurd” calls at Rousay Pier. We collect bicycles but not before spending interesting two hours on board and down in engine room. Triple Expansion engine. Elenora starts up engines under supervision of engineer – an elderly gentleman (68). More tales of the sea. Cargo unloaded and loaded including cattle.

P.M. we tour the island by road (14 miles). Road fair and is classified B9064. Our farthest point north (59°11’N). At the top of Kierfea Hill at 400ft contour a magnificent panorama of the islands is spread out before us. Westerly wind at almost gale force confronts us, otherwise fine. Tea and sandwiches at a bleak point near the Quandales. The wind blows us home alongside Eynhallow Sound. We have our first view of Mid Howe Broch (Iron Age settlement).

Tuesday June 24th

Rise about 10am! Weather fine. After lunch we cycle to Mid Howe Broch and explore ancient works. We take a field path by Westness farm, owned by the bros. and sisters Mainland. Easterly wind and rain confront us on the way home. Dinner with Mrs Cormack at 6.30pm. Evening at home.

Wednesday June 25th

Dull and misty. AM repair to Craigie’s boat house by the pier. Arrange for afternoon sail at 1.30pm.

At 1.30 leave Rousay Pier and set course round the island of Wyre. Perfectly smooth sea but sea mist. Pass numerous seals and their young. Keep in shore S of Wyre. Set course for Egilsay our destination. Land at Egilsay pier. This pier is built in the form of an L-shaped quay which is to be concreted over and widened by the C Council at a cost of £5000. Mr Cormack is employed on Egilsay for this work quarrying. We call at cottage for key to St Magnus Church (Ruin). The building is maintained by M.O.W. Round Tower. Pictures taken. Inspect church. Young man (Jim) scything churchyard. We approach “main road” and pass along it for ½ mile, passing the island school en route to the St Magnus Monument (Dedicated by the rector of St Magnus by London Bridge in 1937). Said to be the site St Magnus was murdered in 1116.

Return to pier. Elenora stops at cottage close to church and meets elderly natives. She is shown the cow byre! James gives us a good account of the history of the island. The island is known for its excellent snipe shooting. After having tea on board M.V. “Fulmar” it is observed that the wind has risen and the sea slightly choppy. We sail for Rousay opposite and keep close to shore. Arrive at Rousay Pier 5.30. “Fulmar” anchored off shore. Elenora offers to row us all in dingy to the pier. A very pleasant afternoon’s voyage. Dinner at 6.30pm.

Thursday June 26th

Up at about 8.30am. Not quite sure as to the sort of day it might be. After some delays we cycle to Mansemass Hill road and leave bikes on roadside. Descend hill across fields to North Howe site. Drizzle! Continual walk along cliff tops to Scabra Head and Sinians of Cutclaws. Fine cliff scenery. Photograph and sketches. Continue wanderings. Snack in drizzle. Later heavy shower. Return to bicycles across the Quandale (Quandale 1595). By this time (5.30) brilliant sunshine and magnificent view of the Orkneys.

Friday June 27th

Not a good day.

S.W. wind and rain all day with intervals when we had wind only. Not cold. Stayed at home or strolled down to pier and boat house. James Craigie painting boat. Elenora decides to paint interior of boat house. She visit’s J.C.’s mother this evening. Dinner at Mrs C’s. Mr C returns from Isle of Egilsay.

Note: Our voyage by the M.V Fulmar cancelled owing to bad weather. Sea rough and visibility poor. We were to have gone to Kirkwall. E telephones Aberdeen 3/9d!

Later we cycle to Woo Bank close to Point of Breck. On our return we call at the almost completed but abandoned house “Mid Garth”. The house is well built but is in decay. Marble fireplaces – overmantles in all rooms. Stain and etched glazing to doors and windows. Sole occupants a gull and dead cat. “The Star” newspaper dated July 22nd 1922. Staircase, mouldings etc. of first class workmanship.

Home about midnight. Fine “evening” calm. The hills on the mainland can be picked out on their colours. To bed with no artificial lighting.

Saturday June 28th

Up about 10am. Wind, Sea rough, High clouds. Mild. We miss J.C and his boat for Kirkwall. Warmer. We take boat for the Isle of Wyre, across the sound of the same name. We travel with family – mother, two young daughters and the two redhead boys. Boatman’s name is Flaws, a native of Wyre.

The island has only recently been served with a telephone kiosk (visible from Wychwood). Later all eight farmsteads will be supplied with telephones.

Communication with the mainland and Kirkwall is bad. Landing facilities non-existent. Inhabitants have to take ferry to Rousay, thence by hired car (3 miles) to Hullion. Ferry to Evie and bus to Kirkwall. The island has its own “village” hall complete with electric light.

We visit ruined chapel (M.O.W.) after chatting with man at Hallbreck farm who was collecting debris of large chicken house destroyed by winter storm. Above ruined chapel is a mound on which stands Castle Cobbie Row or Cubbie Roo (1150 AD). We take photographs. Lovely warm, sunny afternoon.

On our return to the “landing stage” (there are no roads on the island) we pick up Mr Flaws. He rows out to motor vessel and returns to pick Elenora and I up. Choppy crossing to Rousay.

Elenora swims in harbour shelter. Later we cycle to Westside (near Brochs). Westness farmer exercising sheep dogs. On our return we examine Blackhammer Cairn (Stone Age burial place protected by M.O.W.). Cairn locked up. Who has the key?

Supper. Fine evening. Ever changing cloud effects with setting sun at 10.30pm. Later we repair to pier at moment of arrival of “The Fulmar” at 11pm from Kirkwall. We enquire as to the possibility of a voyage to the Island of Sanday. J.C. consults George Sutherland. The latter gentleman is definitely against the project. Nevertheless a prolonged discussion ensues on the subject of distance, tides, winds and Stronsay Firth. J.C.’s mother and Harry Logie join in the argument, the finer points of which are lost upon us. We are advised to try and get Nicholson to take us. About midnight we escape to bed.

Sunday June 29th

A fine, bright, sunny morning. Warm. After breakfast we cycle to Home Farm, park cycles in field and commence the climb to the top of Blotchnie Fiold (821 feet above S.L.). The highest point of Rousay. Not a high hill but even so not easy. Most of the way, west of Trumland House is bog and hard going until we reach the 600-700 ft. levels where there is thick heather. Higher up bogs are worse. Here considerable peat has been dug making the going worse. After an hour’s climb we reach the summit and more bog. Here we obtain a magnificent view of the Orkneys spread out before us with the mountain of Hoy to the south. We stay long enough to take photos and then make a direct descent regardless of bog. Call at Mrs Perry’s bungalow on the way down for keys to Taiverso (Neolithic burial ground (M.O.W.). We shall have to call at Trumland House for it.

After lunch I inspect Mr Cormack’s water supply system. He has installed a Stuart-Turner Pumping Set (Petrol) in a hut on the seashore. Here he bored 23 feet below sea level for fresh water which is pumped 120 yds. up to the house cistern, 25 ft. above sea level. A pipeline serves a field down the road and later Mr Cormack intends to serve Wychwood with a water supply to the lavatory.

Wychwood has its own rainwater supply.

This evening we call at pier (6pm) and wait for George to turn up. We sail from Rousay Pier and follow coast as far as Westness Farm. At this point we make for Eynhallow Isle and follow its coast as far as Sheep Skerry. Here the waters of the sound are very shallow. We turn south and make for the mainland coast and follow it as far as Taing of Midgarth. The course is changed hereabouts for the coast of Wyre. Being ebb tide we steer between the Skerries and the Taing.

Return to Rousay Pier. A pleasant evening. Light breeze.

Tuesday July 1st 1952

Heavy sea mist at 8.30am. Warmer. At 10am we sail on the “Fulmar” for Kirkwall (specially chartered for the visit). Strong current in Eynhallow and Gairsay Sounds. Choppy seas and light spray. Arrive at Kirkwall 11.30. George joins us on a bus to Stromness. Lunch with G at Stromness Hotel. We explore the town and intermingle with G visiting old friends, he points out places of interest. An excellent companion & guide. Return to Kirkwall on the 4pm bus and after some shopping, we sail for Rousay, 6pm. Ernest takes the helm most of the voyage and we return via the east side of Gairsay and Wyre. Sea dead calm. The day was very hot and almost cloudless. A very fine day!

Wednesday July 2nd

Late morning rising. After a light lunch we cycle to Hullion and take ferry to mainland (Evie). We meet Mr Tom Sinclair, the ferryman, painting one of his boats. He has never left the islands nor ever seen a train. Age 45-50.

We take bicycles over with us. Choppy crossing of Eynhallow Sound. At Evie we climb steadily to 550ft. to the Breeran where we have a magnificent view of Rousay, the Sounds and outer isles. Our descent to the Burn of Hillside is through wild peat-bog moorland. Here the peat for the island is cut, stacked, and laid in long trenches. The area covered must run into several thousands of acres.

We continue via the rather depressing district of Dounby consisting of the old village plus shacks, bungalows and sheds (Nissen Huts). This was an R.A.F. depot during the war. We cross the main roads of the island (A986 & A967) and skirt the water’s edge of the loch of Skaill until we reach our destination (11 miles) Bay of Skaill and the prehistoric Skara Brae. It was by this part of the coast that “The Hampshire” was lost with Lord Kitchener in 1915.

With guide (M.O.W.) we inspect the Skara Brae. Start return journey 7.15pm. Stop at Dounby. Beer & snacks. Telephone ferry & Mrs Cormack. Tom Sinclair waiting for us at Evie – busy making nets. Home at about 9.50pm. Supper at Mrs Cormack’s at about 9.50pm.

Fine warm day right up to midnight moon.

Thursday July 3rd

A fine sunny day. (W. Wind). After yesterday’s excursion, we relax and almost do nothing. Elenora brings forward the oil colours once again. Ernest takes photos. We take an evening stroll along the top roads. Wind.

Friday July 4th

Rain and gale during the early hours. The day does not promise well but we are mistaken! Morning uncertain. We have chartered the M.V. Fulmar (Capt. Craigie) for voyage to Kirkwall. We leave Rousay Pier at 2pm and have Dr Carlisle as passenger aboard. His locum duties finished upon the return of Dr Innes, he is returning home by air from Kirkwall. Floodtide across Eynhallow sound. Sea choppy but it smooths out as we enter Stronsay Firth and enter Kirkwall. We enter Kirkwall in brilliant sunshine, quite hot. Crowds on quay and much coming and going around the St Ninian. A fine modern motor vessel. Put into service 1951. Meet Mr Wickham again who has just returned from a tour of the islands. The quayside crowded mainly because troops are also embarking………..

Elenora and I have tea in lounge of the Kirkwall Hotel, upstairs, where we have a fine view of the departure of the St. Ninian through the narrows. I take the helm on the return voyage to Rousay. Leave Kirkwall about 6.15pm. (High Water at K. 8.45pm ½ hour earlier at Rousay Pier). Today has been the Picnic on the Island. Our arrival home coincides with the arrival of other small boats from Wyre for the evening dance at “The Schools”.

This evening proves to be one of the finest we have experienced so far. No wind, clear blue sky, sea like gloss. We stroll and take time photograph at midnight. Wyre can be seen clearly in a kind of light dusk.

Saturday July 5th

E. up at 4.15!! A grand “oil-smooth” morning. Perfect. We rest after breakfast outside on “lawn” overlooking Wyre Sound.

This P.M we sail on M.V Fulmar and are joined by Marwick on a visit to Eynhallow Isle. The Wyre Sound is quite smooth but upon approaching Eynhallow the sea is much rougher with the S wind. It is very hot. We search for a suitable anchorage between Sheep Skerry and Grory but owing to the comparatively heavy waves pounding the vessel, we abandon the idea of landing by the dingy. Sail across the Sound to Aikerness on the Mainland and find suitable anchorage. Land by dingy on rocky shore and seaweed. Climb to the Aikerness Broch (under M.O.W. supervision and preservation). Joined by Mr Marwick; we take pictures and have tea. Sail for Rousay Pier and land Mr Marwick. We go across to Wyre and land at Hallbrech Point by dingy. James accompanies us to Cobbie Roo Castle (M.O.W.). Return to Rousay. Tea.

After tea, we stroll down to pier and later (after some indecision) cycle to the top of Kierfea Hill Road and watch sunset (10.30). Cold S wind on our return and upon arrival at Wychwood find the two Cormacks busy collecting poultry and hoeing up potatoes (1/2 acre) with mechanical hoe (two blades). Full moon. Fine. Bed at midnight or later.

Monday July 7th

The “Earl Sigurd” off Wyre at 8am. I meet vessel at Rousay Pier to put bicycle on board. A quiet day. Very fine. A.M. we cycle to Hullion P/O and chat with Mr Gibson on local historical matters. After lunch we decide to paint and draw. Overcast. Heavy cloud and then fog. We receive invitation to take tea with Mrs Grant at Trumland House.

Evening we call on J.C and his mother near pier. House built 1877. Experiments with spinning wheel. German war charts. Photographs. General Sir …. Burroughs (Borris?) Captain Pett of the “E Sigurd” and the oil painting! An entertaining evening.

Tuesday July 8th

Fine, warm but foggy. Later a.m. we cycle to Scockness. The disintegrating wreck (Elenora visits farm). The wreck, a hulk 50’ long lies on the beach, engine in position but portion of shaft removed. It is located in the Bay of Ham.

We visit Trumland House, meet Mrs Grant and introduced to Lady Hamilton. Stanley Cursiter’s paintings of Orkney in dining room.

Exercises in printing Xmas cards for Mr Cormack this evening.

Wednesday July 9th

Fine morning. We climb to Loch of Knitchin with J.C.’s mother where we receive instruction in the cutting of peat. Take pictures. We then climb to the Tumulus 700’+. Here we have a fine view of the isles with the aid of binoculars. Did we see the Fair Isle or was it cloud?

To Hullion and Westness.

Thursday July 10th

A lazy morning. Flotsam on seashore. Elenora to Scockness.

At 2.15p.m. we leave Rousay Pier on M.V Fulmar for Gairsay Isle. We were to have gone to Eynhallow, but the state of the tide prevented this. We set course due E. for Egilsay and then S past Wyre. Overcast. Storm clouds to the W. We enter Stronsay Firth at mouth of Gairsay Sound with tide running at 5 knots against us. Smooth crossing with but few “white horses”. We enter narrow sound ‘tween Gairsay and Sweyn Holm keeping close in-shore on starboard where there is a deeper channel. Pass Russness Bay and the points called Hen of Gairsay and Ness of Gairsay. Here we encounter heavier seas on our port in Wide Firth. Heavier weather. James takes boat into Millburn Bay to investigate possible landing, but weather is still deteriorating so we abandon project.

George takes helm. On leaving bay we meet rough weather. We retire to wheelhouse and take tea (James prefers beer). Plenty of spray. Pass Seal Skerry to the S and on Port. Turn N with Boray Ness on Star’d. N by W for Eynhallow Sound. Rough. Rain. The passage past The Taing of Wyre opposite Aikerness on Mainland is very tricky. Here are hidden skerries which appear at low tide only. Bearings are taken off Rousay and Mainland hills. Although sea is very “choppy”, the sandy and rock bottom is clearly visible. It is advisable to steer over sandy areas. A trawler ran on to the skerries recently and was eventually pulled off by the S.S Earl Sigurd.

We keep to the Wyre shore. Even our own sound was rough. Mainland blotted out by mist (3 knots). Rousay Pier at 4.30pm. Rain. We enjoyed every minute of it.

Heavy storm this evening.

Friday July 11th

Westerly wind. Rain then bright sunshine. To Hullion and P.O. Ramble along seashore.

P.M fine. To Scockness. Elenora paints old wreck. Later we visit Scockness farm.

Rain and fine periods. Evening stormy.

Saturday July 12th

Heavy clouds. W wind. Willie Marwick calls at 8.20am. To ferry. A rough passage to Evie……. Bus to Kirkwall. Shopping. Board St Magnus at noon bound for Lerwick.

(Elenora and Ernest then spent the night at Lerwick on the St Magnus, and the following day at Lerwick, returning to Kirkwall on morning of 14th July.)

Monday July 14th

Breakfast on board at Kirkwall. Shopping. To Finstown by bus. Thence Mr Pottinger’s car to Evie. He & I leave Elenora at the ferry and say goodbye to Tom Sinclair.

I return to Pomona Inn at Finstown and have lunch. Meet the local tailor. Bus to Kirkwall. Tired, so I go aboard and sleep in bunk that afternoon. Tea. We sail at 5.30pm.

Notes from Elenora & Ernest’s granddaughter:

Elenora remained on holiday on Rousay after Ernest returned home.

In a letter to his cousin (who lived in Ohio, USA) dated
September 23rd 1952, Ernest wrote:

“Having been working hard and being of the opinion that a real holiday was vitally necessary to our health and welfare, living as we do in a country that is held together almost by what can only be called a ‘hand to mouth’ existence in spite of the wealth of the world around us, we decided to take a long vacation and get away into more natural surroundings. We therefore travelled overnight by train to Aberdeen on June 18-19 and from there sailed north to the little city of Kirkwall the capital of the Orkney Islands. This is a small group of isles where the people claim Norse descent dating from the early Vikings.  We rented a small wooden bungalow for a month – Elenora subsequently stayed on for five weeks and returned home by air… whilst I came back alone by sea to Edinburgh…

To us it was the grandest holidays we have had for many years. We painted in black and white and in oils some of the most interesting and grand scenery of these Northern Isles.

Most of the time, however, was spent upon the sea in small boats cruising around the various islands. The people are mostly crofters with three or four acres of land close to the sea. There are also comparatively large farms up to 3000 acres devoted to sheep.

A black sheep has been specially shorn for me on one of the islands, the wool spun, cleaned and will then be made into cloth at home here locally…A tailor is then going to make me an overcoat.

We got to know many of the inhabitants and were invited to their homes and entertained.”

[While Elenora was a capable artist, Ernest was a very keen amateur photographer –
as we see from his photos below. No text I’m afraid, just brief captions…..]

Frotoft in the grip of Winter, 1968: Brough, a view from the fields below Langstane,
looking down from the Knowe of Yarso, and the first postal delivery
at Langstane ‘after four days’ isolation’! 

A chilly view of the mainland from Langstane – and an interesting shot of the new
GPO telephone cable coming ashore. The ‘exchange’ was [and still is]
housed in a small building between Cott and Brough.

We end with Ernest and Elenora aboard the St Ola at the end of
another visit to Orkney in 1971.

In the summer of 2004 a party of eight Canadian and American descendants of
James and Mary Craigie visited Rousay to explore the island and see the
remains of the houses where their great grandparents lived,
Mount Pleasant in Frotoft and Greysteen in Wasbister.

Their guide and informant was the late Robert Craigie Marwick, who prepared
the attached pamphlet, handing them each a copy as they arrived at the
Stromness ferry terminal.

One of the party, Liz Harmer, tells us of her thoughts and memories of that visit.

In July of 2004, a group of Rousay Craigie descendants visited Orkney to discover the homeland of their great grandparents James and Mary Craigie.  The group included 3 sets of siblings: Peter and Elizabeth White, Diane and Linda Haldeman, Jim, John and Mary Ann Craigie and Marilyn Penny their cousin, along with spouses and a friend.  We were not disappointed in what we found.

James and Mary (Craigie) Craigie (no relation) had both been born and raised on Rousay.  In 1867, James sailed on the ship ‘Iowa’ to New York with his friends, Robert and James Clark, who were from St Andrews, Mainland, Orkney.  In his diary of the trip he laments leaving his darling Mary behind.  The men settled in Goderich, Ontario, a port on the east side of Lake Huron.  We’re not sure why Goderich was their destination but it proved to be a good choice as the men prospered.  In the fall of 1870, James returned to Rousay to marry his Mary and to take her back with him to Goderich. The marriage took place on December 22nd 1870 at Mount Pleasant in Frotoft and in April of 1871, they sailed to New York on the ‘Europa’, accompanied by Mary’s younger brother John Ritchie Craigie. Mary’s elder sister Betty Craigie had previously emigrated to Goderich with her husband Alexander Craigie (no relation) in 1869.

James established himself in the fish and ice business and by 1874 was able to purchase a frame house with a barn for the ice.  He and Mary had 10 children, 6 of whom lived to be adults.  These were Mary, James, John, Jane, Alexina and Fred.  The cousins who visited Orkney were descendants of 3 of them, Mary (Marilyn), James (Diane, Linda, Jim, Maryanne, John) and Alexina (Peter, Elizabeth).  The family was close and maintained connections even when James and Jane moved to the USA and Mary to Toronto.  The gathering place was usually Goderich at John Craigie’s cottage on the bank of Lake Huron overlooking the harbour.  The cousins all had happy memories of gatherings there to watch the sunset, play bridge and have fun.

The next day, we loaded into Jimmy’s van (our transport for the duration) and took the car ferry to visit Rousay.  After a brief stop at the archaeological remains, we went to the home of the archivist [Sheena Marwick, Braehead] to see the original parish record of the marriage of James and Mary and to meet some islanders.  We were entertained by a young fiddler [Laura Lockyer, now Harrington] and spent an all too short an hour visiting.  We felt very welcomed! We next went to visit Mary’s home, Mount Pleasant, in Frotoft, and then on to James’s home Greystane, in Wasbister. Both houses were in ruins but it only made the visits more poignant.  The view from Mount Pleasant was wonderful: sea, rolling hills, distant islands and clouds skirting the sky.  The visit to Greystane included a stop at Deithe where Max Fletcher, (who had kindly offered to take pictures of our visit), had updated the original cottage and created a very comfortable home.  And all too soon we had to leave with some of us thinking about ways to return!  On the boat trip back, we talked about what a hard life it must have been and how fit one would have been when walking was the only way to get around! The contrast to James’ and Mary’s later life in the town of Goderich could not have been more pronounced.

We spent the next 2 days seeing highlights of the archaeology and other sites of interest on the Mainland with Robert and sometimes, Betty, as our guides. We were overwhelmed with what we saw. The visit to Skara Brae was a highlight as was the Ring o’ Brodgar and Maeshowe.  The recreation of a typical farmhouse at the Corrigal Farm Museum helped us envision what life was like for our great grandparents.  We enjoyed fabulous meals and wonderful times together. When it was time to get the ferry to continue our trip down the west coast of Scotland, we all agreed that we had shared a wonderful experience.

Robert provided an informative Craigie Homecoming pamphlet for his guests,
the contents of which are reproduced below.

A couple of diverse ‘memories’ from our old friend Bertie Gillespie.

I have a story from the early 1950s. We were living in the cottage next tae Faraclett called Pow. Me aunty Maggie Anne was married tae John Gibson o Faraclett; he told me a story of a workman using a pinch bar doon near the North Sand beach above the high water mark near the Faraclett side o the Loch o Scockness.

Tae carry on the story he was levering a large bolder tae cart away when suddenly his pinch bar dropped out o his grip and seconds later he heard the clang as it hit the floor. We were later told it was a complete Picts Hoose, complete circular in shape approximately 12 feet across wae a domed roof about 25 feet deep. The only entrance was about a 150 feet away at the loch side at water level. The entrance was fairly small, about three foot square, so it would have been a crawl in job – mind they reckoned they were quite small.

[Known as the Taft o’ Faraclett, and mentioned by Hugh Marwick in his Antiquarian Notes On Rousay.]

That very phone box brings back a lot o happy memories as the shop at Hullion was a favourite meeting place for the island rockers wae their motor bikes – we thought we were rockers – Ha-ha! The favourite supper was a peedie tin o baked beans and a pack o crisps.

My name is Adele and I lived at Woo, Sourin, Rousay.

Tommy Inkster ran the farm and Adeline Inkster was the district nurse. We would visit many people and as a child it seemed exciting that we would go to so many folks houses. I remember that I hated going over the Lean, still do, but to get to Willie and Mabel o Hammerfield’s house that was the quickest way.

Hammerfield was in Wasbister. There was an old smiddy and Jack o Yorsten’s cottage then up a long narrow road to Hammerfield. Behind Hammerfield it seemed a short walk to the cliffs.

It must have been winter this night we set off because it was pitch black. We went in Adeline’s red mini, up the Lean; once past it I would breathe a sigh of relief when the house of the Firth’s came into sight. On past Cougar and Wasbister school to our destination.

Getting out of the car I was hit with wind that pulled me back. Already my imagination was working overtime. It was the Finn folk come to take me away or drop me off the cliff. When I got inside however, Mabel dispelled such thoughts with her warm smile and huge hug. Willie was sitting in his chair by the fire and grinned at me when we went into the living room.

Drams, tea or coffee and pieces were served. I always got lemonade and lots of pieces. The conversation would begin and then I would be silent, usually sat at Willie’s feet next to the fire. I would look up into the rafters where all the silliks and cuevs were hanging up, drying on long strings. Their eyes would stare back at me and make me feel like they were alive. Willie might notice and then the best bit of the night, to me, began. He would tell stories of selkies and trows and magical Finn folk and how they would interact with humans.

The night would march on but inside Hammerfield, time was forgotten as Willie spun golden threads of history for me. I used to try to ignore Adeline’s soft speech saying it was time for bed. It took Willie to say there’s always more stories next time before I would move.

Then it was out into the cold darkness again and the wind that now seemed to be possessed. Up the Lean then down the brae to the turn off for Woo. The kitchen in Woo was a small one with a sink that had a space underneath it where the bucket would sit.

That space became the blackest pit for me and when I was told to wash my hands I obeyed with fear. You see, underneath the sink, inside the bucket lived the wicked witch and if I didn’t wash my hands quick enough she would drag me by the legs into her bucket and I would never be seen again.

[N.B. All spellings that are no English are phonetic]

Two ‘sea rescues’ – the first of which involves the dramatic rescue
of a young fisherman in 1911, and secondly the retrieval of
a sum of money in 1880.

The first account was mentioned to me by Anne Paterson of Aberdeenshire. She wrote as follows: “This is about an incident in Rousay around August 1911. My father, Alfred Alexander was in Rousay for holidays and his cousin (don’t know his name) and my father were down at the shore. They saw a man in difficulties out in a rowing boat. The man had taken a fit and fell overboard. My father and his cousin swam out and brought him to shore, which saved his life. The man was a son of Sir Victor Horsley who as far as I know was there on holiday too. My father and his cousin both got beautiful gold pocket watches with chains as a thank you from Sir Victor and they were told if ever they needed any help in their lifetime to contact him. None of them did of course. My father’s watch is still to the fore. It is also beautifully inscribed on the back.”

Anne’s father Alfred was the son of James Alexander [b1848], of Cairn, Wasbister,
Rousay, and  Ann Sinclair [b1849], Stennisgorn, Wasbister. They moved to
Hermisgarth, Sanday, where Alfred was born in 1893.

He attended Burness school there, and is pictured 3rd left, second back row.

[Photo courtesy of Anne Paterson]

The Orcadian newspaper of Saturday August 26th 1911, carried this report on the incident:

BOATING ACCIDENT AT ROUSAY. – A serious boating accident occurred off Sourin, Rousay, on Tuesday. From information to hand it appears that a son of Sir Victor Horsley was fishing from a small boat in this vicinity, when he fell into the sea. A lady, who was the only other occupant of the boat at the time, in the excitement of the moment, lost both oars, and was rendered powerless to offer assistance. Fortunately the accident was observed from the shore, and a rescue party set off. By this time, however, the young man had sunk, and it was only after some difficulty that he was picked up from the bottom. He was of course, now in a serious condition, and animation, our informant states, was only restored after great difficulty. It is gratifying to learn that he is now recovering.

---

Two months later The Orcadian revealed the name of Alfred’s cousin – Robert Sinclair of Sketquoy, Wasbister. Sir Victor was very generous in his appreciation of the two lads’ action in saving his son’s life…..

RECENT ACCIDENT AT ROUSAY. – Sir Victor Horsley has presented fine gold watches and alberts to the boys who recently saved his son from drowning. The names of the boys are, Alfred Alexander, Hermisgarth, Sanday, and Robert Sinclair, Sketquoy, Rousay. The inscription on the watches is “To (name of recipient) from Sir Victor and Lady Horsley, in grateful recollection of his prompt and kind action on the 22nd Aug., 1911.”

These photos show the watch that was presented to Rousay man Robert Sinclair, Sketquoy, for his part in saving the life of Sir Victor Horsley’s son. The timepiece has just come into the possession of James Fettiplace, who lives near Cambridge. While doing some research he came across this page on Rousay Remembered. We exchanged emails on the subject, and he has allowed me to reproduce his images.

James says the watch was just about the best you could get in 1911 – 18 carat gold, and made by one of the leading makers in London – and would have been very expensive at the time.

---

Subsequent research reveals the identity of the young man Alfred and Robert rescued.

He was Siward Myles Horsley, Sir Victor’s elder son.

Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley (1857 – 1916) was an accomplished scientist and professor. Married to Eldred Bramwell, they had two sons, Siward and Oswald, and one daughter, Pamela. He was knighted in 1902.

Horsley was the first neurosurgeon appointed to the National Hospital Queen Square, and was known worldwide as the ‘Father of Neurosurgery’. He was a brilliant experimentalist, elected as FRS at the age of 29 years for his work on cerebral localization and comparative anatomy. He pioneered resective neurosurgery for epilepsy, tumours, abscess, head injury, spinal and pituitary disease, and trigeminal neuralgia. He devised a stereotactic frame and a variety of new surgical techniques and technologies. He worked also on rabies, thyroid disease, vaccine, antisepsis, anaesthesia and military medicine. He was an iconoclast and social reformer, active in the Temperance Movement, a support of female suffrage, health care of the working class, vivisection and medical reform. He stood for Parliament and served as president of the British Medical Association, on the General Medical Council. He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Society, and was knighted in 1902. He worked to reform the medical services of the British Army and died on active duty, the only casualty of the First World War amongst the National Hospital senior staff.

At the time of their marriage the Horsleys lived at 80 Park Street, off Grosvenor Square, but later they removed to 25 Cavendish Square, a property previously owned by Dr CB Radcliffe and before him by Brown-Séquard. They had three children, Siward, Oswald and Pamela. Horsley was devoted to the family and was capable of working while family life went on around him, though his prose may have suffered somewhat by their distractions. His biographer, J B Lyons, recounts that, in his late teens, at a concert in the Albert Hall, Siward suddenly became unconscious and convulsed. Epilepsy was diagnosed and an operation was suggested. Only Sir Victor himself was regarded as appropriately competent and it was on him that the awful responsibility fell.

There was sufficient recovery after surgery for Siward to join the army and gain a commission in 1914. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion Artists Rifles attached to the Gordon Highlanders. On the 25th December 1920 he died of wounds received at Neuve Chapelle 1915. The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War. It was a British offensive in the Artois region of France  He is buried in Steep [All Saints] Churchyard in Hampshire.

For an account of the second ‘rescue’ we refer to an edition of
The Orkney Herald newspaper, dated May 25th 1880.

SINGULAR LOSS AND RECOVERY OF £83. – On Wednesday last, when the steamer Lizzie Burroughs was leaving the moorings at Sourin, Rousay, Capt. Reid had occasion to lean over the bulwarks, when an envelope containing £83 and some silver coin dropped out of his pocket into the sea. It is customary for the captain of this and other packets to convey large sums of money to town. In the present case the money had been handed to Capt. Reid by Mr. Thomas B. Reid, Clerk to the Rousay School Board, for the purpose of being lodged in one of the banks in town. On falling into the water the envelope floated for a few moments, but sank just as a boat approached. Capt. Reid sent the steamer to town in charge of the mate, and proceeded himself to the Clerk of the School Board, and informed him of the loss, when it was decided to proceed to Kirkwall by a boat and endeavour to secure the services of a diver. Mr Calder, one of the divers who has been engaged at the pier, at once proceeded to Rousay, and descended at the place where the money was lost, the depth of water being about four fathoms. He had only been down a minute or two when he discovered the envelope lying on the bottom. Short as the time was that the money had been in the water, a large shell-fish known as a “buckie” had taken up its abode on the top of the envelope, thus effectually anchoring it to the spot. It is fortunate that there is not any strength of tide at this place. Had the loss occurred where the current is swift the cash would probably never have been seen again.

Although steam to the North Isles of Orkney started in 1865 with George Robertson’s Orcadia, certain islands were missed off its roster. Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre are islands situated of Orkney mainland’s North West coast. To remedy the situation Colonel Burroughs formed the Rousay, Evie and Rendall Steam Navigation Company in 1879, 14 years after the Orcadia started. Purpose built for the new company was the Lizzie Burroughs, a wooden steamer built in Leith. She was 61ft long by 15.4’ in the beam. She weighed 31 tons and her engines powered her at 15HP. She served the same route for thirteen years.

The route in 1882 was as follows:

Monday: Sourin (Rousay) – Egilsay – Trumland (Rousay) – Veira (Wyre) – Hullion
(Rousay) – Evie (Mainland Orkney) – Tingwall (Mainland Orkney) – Gairsay
– Rendall Point (Mainland Orkney) – Kirkwall.

Tuesday: Monday in Reverse.

Wednesday: Trumland – Hullion – Aikerness (Mainland Orkney) – Tingwall
– Gairsay – Kirkwall – then return in reverse order.

Thursday: Trumland – Egilsay – Veira – Kirkwall – then return in reverse order.

Saturday: Trumland – Hullion – Aikerness (Mainland Orkney) – Tingwall
– Rendall Point – Kirkwall – then return in reverse order.

There was a distinct lack of piers on this route and many of the Lizzie Burroughs calls were made by waiting offshore whilst small rowing boats or sailing boats came out to meet the little steamer. The ship spent six weeks out of service in 1883 for repairs, then shortly after resuming service was washed onto shore from her overnight anchorage in a heavy storm. She remained on Egilsay for a couple of weeks before being towed to, and beached at Trumland pier on Rousay. Money was raised and the Lizzie Burroughs was moved to Stanger’s yard at Stromness for repairs. After four months out of service she re-commenced trading. Her new timetable had been altered so there were only three return sailings to Kirkwall each week. She continued in this way until 1890 when she went to Aberdeen for a thorough overhaul.  In 1892 the Rousay, Evie and Rendall Steam Packet Company Ltd was dissolved and the Lizzie Burroughs was transferred to William Cooper of Kirkwall and renamed Aberdeen.

Margaret Wilson from Edinburgh has been kind enough to share a
few Rousay memories – together with a fine set of
photographs and their captions:

“My granddad, David Wilson, was an Edinburgh draughtsman and was asked by Walter Grant [then owner of the island’s Trumland estate] to draw up the plans of Midhowe Broch during the excavations in 1932. Grant gifted my granddad two cottages to live in during the time he spent there – Sjo Brekka and Avils. He would take the whole family up for two-to-three months at a time. He planned to retire to Orkney but following his trip up to finalise his retirement plans in 1961, he sadly died of a heart attack coming home on the St Ola. My dad, Darney Wilson, was only six months old the first time he went and there began a lifelong love of Rousay and Orkney. He was there every year until he died in 2008. Both his and my mum’s ashes are scattered at Hullion Pier.”

by

Anita Thomson

The joiner shop at Ivybank in Wasbister, Rousay, started out as a school. It was built in the 1840’s or thereabouts under the auspices of the Rousay Free Church.
It remained a school until the School Board built a new one, across the road, which was opened in 1881 by General Burroughs.

My great-grandfather, William had been out working in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s territories for a few years in the Iate 1840’s – early 1850’s, and had there made enough money so that when he returned he married and set up a Grocer shop in one of the houses at Cogar. (His wife was an Inkster from Cogar). In the 1861 Census we find at Cogar, William Craigie, general merchant, 40; Margaret, his wife, 27; and family William, 6; Elizabeth, 3; and John, 1.

After the school moved across the road William and family must have moved into the oId schoolhouse and set up shop in the old school. Whether he had tenancy of the house earlier I don’t know but there is a story in the family of the first shop there being in what we knew as the back bedroom, with the oil barrels etc. standing in the wide passage leading through to it. He was also reputed to have had his own sloop, which brought his groceries etc. straight from Leith and landed them in the Bay of Saviskaill. (It may have been that he only owned a share in this boat along with some other merchants).

James and Annabella’s children.
The eldest is Annie Flaws, born on February 21st 1901; William Marwick [the author’s father], born on April 18th 1902;
and youngest is Margaret Forest [known as Rita], who was born on July 5th 1908.

Back row, from left: Maggie Jane Clouston, Shalter; Hugh Sinclair, Vacquoy; Ellen Mary Craigie, Ploverha; John Marwick, Quoys; Maggie Inkster, Furse;
James Clouston, Tou; Jean Inkster, Swartafiold; David Flaws, Hammerfield; ?.; teacher Mattie Wards.

Middle row: Mary Jane Pearson, Kirkgate; James Craigie, Turbitail; Bessie Muir, Breckan; Hugh Craigie, Deithe; Maggie Jessie Flaws, Hammerfield;
James Marwick, Grain; William Craigie, Ivybank; Robert Inkster, Furse; Annie Craigie, Ivybank; Arthur Flaws, Hammerfield.

Front row: John Clouston, Shalter; James Sinclair, Blackhammer; Maggie Jessie Muir, Breckan; Liz Moar, Saviskaill; Ethel Inkster, Furse;
Annabella Sinclair, Sketquoy; Tony Sinclair, West Side School; Isabella Sinclair, West Side School.

~

Excerpt from Minutes of Meeting of Parish Council, held in Avelsay, 16th September 1927.

“Before proceeding with the business of the meeting, the Chairman made feeling
reference to the loss the Parish Council and the whole community had sustained
through the death of Mr. James G. Craigie, clerk to the council and Inspector of
Poor, for the long period of 40 years.

The Council unanimously agreed to record in their minutes their regret at the loss
they, as a Council had sustained, by the death of Mr. James G. Craigie, the high
appreciation of his long and faithful services, and their sincere sympathy with the
bereaved widow and family.”

(signed) AIlan C. Gibson, Clerk pro.tem. to Parish CounciI.

Unfortunately in 1921 the shop went on fire and burnt down, destroying  all  its  contents. It was only through the expediency and hard work of their neighbours that the house itself was saved. All furniture etc. had been taken out of the parlour and bedrooms and laid on the field in front of the garden. I remember my grandmother saying that after the fire had been extinguished and everything had been brought in, only one cup had been broken.

Back row, left to right: James Craigie, Feolquoy; James Clouston, Tou; James Marwick, Grain.
Middle row: Hugh Sinclair, Sketquoy; George Craigie, Feolquoy; ?.
Front row: Bill Flaws, Hammerfield; Robert Inkster, Furse; Malcolm Hourie, Maybank; William Craigie, Ivybank; James Craigie, Deithe.

Back row, from left: Annabella Clouston, Tou; Maggie Anne Craigie, Claybank; Ida Marwick, Grain; Ida Craigie, Turbitail;
Annie Craigie, Ivybank [teacher]; Liz Moar, Saviskaill; Lizzie Marwick, Whitemeadows.
Front row: Jim Craigie, Deithe; Annabella Sinclair, Sketquoy; Robert Sinclair, Vaquoy; Mary Anne Inkster, Cogar;
Hugh Sinclair, Sketquoy; Clara Clouston, Tou; James Craigie, Claybank

About that time my father William (Willie o’ the Shop) had just completed his apprenticeship as a joiner and cabinet maker. He had served his time with the Sinclairs of Vacquoy and then with Craigie and Inkster, Cabinet Makers in KirkwalI.

It was when he set up his Joiner-work business in Rousay that a new sheet iron roof was put on this building and it became his workshop. When I first remember, my grandmother had a little room in the front corner, which she called the ‘Office’. Perhaps it had been put there for a place for my grandfather to keep his boots and papers. It may have been situated where the old office had been but this had new wood lining. I can only remember hens meal being kept in it and the windows filled with red Geraniums, which Granny watered with cold tea. The only other thing of interest was an old, dirty cash box containing some black and burnt coins, memories of the fire. By the time I started school this partition was removed and the whole room was used as the workshop.

The Workshop was joined on to the east end of the house and faced South. There was a door, with the upper half in glass, in the middle of the south facing wall and a large window on either side. Directly opposite on the North wall were two similar windows, through which, late on a summer’s evening the rays of the setting sun would shine and blind your eyes as you entered the front door. The Easterly walI had no windows but there was a solid door in the southernmost corner. As one entered the front door, on the left was a big double-sided wood-working bench, with wooden vices on either side of it and a dip in the middle, which always got filled up with odd pieces of wood, shavings and sawdust. When we were thought to be old and responsible enough, probably about six or seven, it was our job to clean up the bench, carefully gather out the nails and small tools such as spokeshaves or screwdrivers. When we got tall enough we had to hang them up in their places. Saws, chisels and planes we did not touch and they were usually well up out of the road anyway. Along the wall adjoining the house, at the back of bench, were the shelves and hangers for his tools. Apart from ordinary joinery tools, he had many special woodworking and cabinet making ones. At one end of the bench stood his big heavy tool chest. Sometimes as a special treat, when we had finished our tidying we were allowed to make animals out of small offcuts of wood. This consisted of hammering a nail in each corner for legs and a longer, thicker one on the other side for a neck and head. If we were able to find a round piece, such as a cutting off a fork handle, we were thrilled and always called it a horse. These animals always went ‘missing’. No doubt when the novelty of playing with them wore off the nails were pulled out by our father and re-used.

Below the window to the right was his metalworking bench. It had a large metal vice about two thirds of the way along and a smaller one nearer the door. Underneath this bench were fitted drawers, which held his nails and bolts. All nails found on cleaning up days were sorted out and put in these drawers. It was often our job, when a new delivery of nails and screws arrived to put them in their appropriate drawers. These arrived in thick brown pokes and sometimes, if in Iarger quantities, in hessian sacks. There were usually several pounds of each size as my father sold quite a lot of nails to the farmers in the district. Screws were in much smaller quantities and were kept in jars on a shelf or in the brown cardboard boxes, with the yellow size label, that they arrived in. A shelf above held bottles of shellac, gum arabic and other varnishes and glues used in his furniture making and repairing. On the wall at the other side of the window were spanners, hacksaws etc. but many of the other tools often lay on the top of the bench along with pieces of sheet iron, and iron rods, while on the floor under the bench lay bigger pieces of metal. (He also had a smiddy with a forge, bellows and anvil in another building.)

Among other things about the room were saw-benches, crates of glass, sheets of ply wood, a table with a piece of marble for mixing putty on. No ready-made putty in those days (Iate 1940’s). It was mixed from whitening and linseed oil. Among alI these bits and pieces of his trade was a space for bicycle parts for he once had an agency for bicycles and did those repairs.

---

My thanks to Anita Thomson of Sanday for allowing the reproduction of her article,
which was first published in issue No. 77 of The Orkney View in 1998

The images of Willie o’ the Shop and the invoices are also Anita’s. The other black & whites
within the article are courtesy of the Tommy Gibson Collection.