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08 April 2014 Jess MacLennan of 12 Petty & Ardersier Archive

Jess MacLennan Source: Document found in Ardersier Library March 2013

Ardersier Oral History Group

This is Jess’s story and it is being recorded in August 2011 by Mrs Marina Gow for Jess.

I only hope I have done and do your story credit in this recording, I also thank you Jess on behalf of

Ardersier Oral History Group for allowing us to hear your story of life in Ardersier.

History of Ardersier by Jess MacLennan 94 years of age.

Jess has lived at 2 Clachan Road in Ardersier for 80 years.

MacLennan family

Jess was born on 24th September 1916 at the Maternity Hospital, Fort George, Ardersier. Jess is the

youngest of three girls and lived at 72 High Street, Ardersier. The house belonged to Mr and Mrs

Junor and was sold to Kate Manders after Mr Junor died. Jess was called after Nurse Jessie Owens

who was in charge of the Maternity Hospital. Jess’s sister Margaret was 99 years old on 28.01.2011.

Nurse Owens used to visit families in the village, so was very well known. She had a ready smile for

everybody and was well loved by all around.

Jess’s mother Isabella Bain McAskill was born and brought up in Glasgow. Jess’s grandparents on her

mother’s side, Peter and Margaret Irvine McAskill lived in Glasgow. Peter worked in an iron foundry

attached to the shipyards. Later they moved up to Nairn for the sake of Margaret’s health, she

suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. In Nairn, Peter worked as a colporteur going round the country

selling bibles visiting on his bicycle. The country folk were very kind, giving him rabbits and eggs.

Jess’s grandparents on her father’s side lived at ‘Windyhill’, Ardersier. He was a blacksmith and

carried on his business at home in the smiddy.

Jess’s father, L/Cpl George Alexander McLennan joined the Seaforth Highlanders at Fort George aged

18. He enlisted for 3 years and did his initial training at Fort George and later served in India and

Egypt, then serving in the Reserve Forces. He worked as a postman in Ardersier. When the war

broke out in 1914 he was called up. He was killed at Arras in 1917, at that time he was in the

Cameron Highlanders aged 37.

Church

Our early years more or less revolved around the Ardersier Public School and Ardersier United Free

Church which was made up of people breaking away from the Ardersier Free Church because they

wanted to sing hymns as well as psalms. The UF Church had morning and evening services Sunday

School at 3pm. Superintendent of the Sunday School, Mr James MacPherson served for 30 years, he


was also a faithful elder. He owned one of the grocer’s shops in Ardersier later carried on by

Kenneth one of his sons. Kenneth had to give up the business owing to ill health.

The annual Sunday School picnic was always held down at the McLean’s Lower Carse croft. The two

McLean brothers would put up swings and we would have races. Transport was by horse and cart

and parents attended the picnics along with their children. A ruling elder Mr Jimmy Davidson, who

kept a grocer’s shop at Jetty Corner, was an English speaking character and he would say at the

picnic, “Exercise patience boys until the quadruped is extricated from the cart”.

In the years before the Second World War the Church of Scotland had a few church organists. Mr

and Mrs Grey who had a jewellers shop in Nairn. They came to Ardersier every Thursday evening for

choir practice; Mrs Grey played the organ and Mr Grey taught the singing and taught one or two

anthems. They were very loyal to the congregation.

During the war we had a Miss Riley who came faithfully from Inverness for a long time. She played

the organ with gusto to try and put life in the singing. She taught that lovely piece, “All in the April

Evening”.

Miss Riley had a boyfriend who was a Squadron Leader in the RAF, but alas they did not get married.

We were very very sorry.

The Christmas Social was a special event with a Christmas tree. Various pupils recited or sang a

hymn. I remember Willie Ferguson recited, “A Man’s a Man for a’ That”. On one occasion Mrs

Mitchell, an elderly retired teacher chose for her class to sing, “Here We Suffer Grief and Pain”,

instead of offering something a bit more cheerful.

The Rev Campbell MacLeroy and his wife came from Prague to be the minister of the West Church of

Scotland. He was very interested in helping the youth of the village. He started a Youth Circle on a

Monday evening. Living and being a minister in Czechoslovakia he knew that the Jews were being

killed by the Nazis and that a second world war was likely. One of the lads who attended the Youth

Circle was Colin Asher, who, during the early part of the war 1940/41 was killed. He was in the Royal

Air Force as a sergeant navigator or gunner.

School (1921-28 aprox.)

Ardersier Public School had the following teachers: Miss Gray (infants), Mis Sinclair (standard 2),

Miss Cowan (standard 3), Miss Stark and Miss Bain shared standards 4 and 5, all supervised by Mr

Donald McIntosh, Schoolmaster.

You were either in Miss Stark’s class, as Jess was, for two years; or in Miss Bain’s for two years. In

those days Miss Stark’s class was accommodated in the Ardersier Free Church vestry (the church

beside the post office) as there was no room in the Upper school due to quite a number of army

children attending from Fort George.

I was with Miss Stark my favourite teacher. One day all the girls in the class (except Ann Grant, The

Toll House, who had a long was to go home for lunch) went away down to 2nd Cromal Hill and

gathered wild hyacinths. The school went in after lunch at 1.30pm. We did not get back to class until


2pm. We were lined up on the floor and had to write one hundred lines, “We must not be late for

school”.

We used to say we were going up the hill “for a blow”. Cromal Hill was known to us as Cromwell and

was looking directly down to army officers houses. Cromal Hill used to be nice with lovely short

green grass but a crofter had pigs and it was gradually reduced to mud.

There was a corrugated iron type building where the War Memorial is now and that was Mr Donald

MacIntosh, the headmaster’s, classroom. It was also used for a cookery class by Miss Bruce on a

Tuesday. Miss Bruce was quite a character, she tried to teach us the art of baking scones, apple

dumplings, Irish stew, apricot jam etc. We got a test and we had to make scones; she poked me,

“Are you watching your scones?” We just rescued them from burning. At the end of the lesson she

would ask, “Who is cleaning the cupboard today?” If you put your hand up, she replied, “You do the

scrubbing”.

Mr McIntosh belonged to Beauly, he was very strict but a good headmaster. We were terrified of

him but he did try to educate all the children. When the regiment was leaving Fort George for a new

posting, the fathers came to thank him for the progress their children had made at the school, with

him as headmaster.

My pal Berta Cowan and I were not heeding the cookery, we were more concerned in going guising that night for Halloween, and what we would dress up in. We went our guising at 5 or 5.30pm, called in at all the houses and shops and sang in case we would not get anything. In Miss Cowan’s, the teacher’s house, we sang:-

“Me got a hoosie Doon the mucky alley

Me two roomsy Topsy high

Me from Hong Kong Merry merry come along

Come and sing with your old Chinee Me too sicky

Very very sicky For to worky Me’ll no go

Me from Hong Kong Merry merry come along

Come along and sing wi’ your old Chinee”.

A man came to the cookery room and held piano lessons privately. I don’t think that lasted very long

as lessons were expensive, and one required to possess a piano at home to practice.

My step grandmother, Jessie Grant, a mute and a dressmaker to trade, attended Whist Drives held

in the school cookery room. Jennifer Beattie’s (Blake) granny – Mrs Ross- was a sister of my step

granny. She was married to a sergeant in the Seaforths, he was a very smart sergeant and used to

live in Cromal Terrace before building a bungalow at Sunnybank.

I won a Bursary at 12 years old (1928) to go to Inverness Academy which was then up Stephen’s Brae

and is now a technical college. The Bursary was for three years, the Bursary was worth £9.00 a year.

You still had to buy gymslips, uniform and books plus train fare to Inverness from this sum.


Work (1932 – 1940)

When I left the Academy at about 16 years old, I went to Gregg School in Queensgate, Inverness,

learning shorthand and typing for two years.

I went to work for Lawrie Brothers, Fraser Street, Inverness for one year. It was a Glasgow firm and I

(and two travellers) were sacked because there were no orders.

I was the working in Mrs Pearson’s boarding school in Altonburn, Nairn. It was a boy’s boarding

school and I was living as a tablemaid and was very happy there. I had a day off on Sunday and got a

bus to and from the village. I took a stye in my eye and when I was in with my mum paying the coal

merchant (which was the shop Mrs Norrie managed), Maggie told my mum that if I had one stye, I

would take 14 styes, her words came true and I had to leave my job.

In 1937, I went to work for Mr Tom Davidson, the chemist shop in Ardersier, (it was next door to

where Esther the hairdresser’s shop in now) and Esther’s shop was a lovely drapers and belonged to

Etta MacIntosh.

Fort George (1940 – 1943)

When I was working in the local chemist’s shop in Ardersier I was called up for War Service in the

VAD – Voluntary Aid Detachment, No 13 Company Royal Army Medical Corps, Edinburgh Castle. In

June 1940, after some weeks working in the hospital office at the Castle, I was transferred to the

Military Hospital, Fort George, Ardersier in September 1940. This happened because a typist at Fort

George wanted a compassionate posting to Edinburgh so I agreed to come back to Fort George.

I stayed in the VAD quarters there until accommodation was required for new arrival, and I was lucky

to live at home until being demobbed. Those years at Fort George were truly happy. The staff, from

the Colonel to the sanitation orderlies, they were all a wonderful bunch to be among. I used to cycle

to the Fort and I remember one time getting warned about the danger of cycling without proper

lights on the dark nights, There was a barrier just a little way up the Fort road where we were

stopped, “Halt Who Goes There”. Then we were allowed to pass. They got to know the workers. One

could go up and down the Fort road in the pitch dark and it was quite safe – a change from the

modern days.

Sometime before the Second World War, Colonel and Mrs Graham Bissell arrived from Quetta,

Pakistan and took up residence in Ardersier. The Colonel was appointed in charge of Administration

of Fort George Maternity Hospital. Mrs Graham Bissell started up a Voluntary Aid Detachment in the

village. There would be 25-30 members. A local nurse came and taught first aid at the meetings. We

were taken down to the Fort for marching and on occasions, trial with gas mask experiences. Later

on, in the event of war, we were given the chance to go Mobile – which meant you could be posted

away from home – or Immobile – to remain at home – and join the ARP.

Before the war a photograph of the Ardrersier VADs was taken outside what was recently Mary’s

Flowers shop. Jess named those present as:


Mrs Graham Bissell (Commandant & wife of Colonel Graham Bissell)

Rosie Russell (ran the farm at Treeton – 1st woman to drive a car in Ardersier)

Jess

Mrs Elsie MacLennan

Marie Urquhart (teacher in Delnies School)

Mrs Nettie MacPherson (Trained Nurse)

Jess Davidson

Mrs Joan Fraser

Ella and Liz Cameron (both had a Grocers shop)

Marjorie Main

Mrs Tom Davidson

Cis Devidge (after the war she married the provost of Coldstream)

Grace George

Cis Campbell

Mrs Bodie

Dorothy (Dot) Gordon

Mrs Scott

Annie McLeay

Mrs Dunbar (The Star Inn)

Annie Graham

Elsa Robertson (Dalziel, Castle Stuart)

Blossom Reid ,and her sister Marjorie

Miss MacKenzie (dressmaker)

Ann MacLennan

Kate Main

Mrs Cruikshank (newsagent)

Mrs Horsburgh

Mrs Elsie Asher

Mrs Verlander

Peggy Cameron

Peggy Wylie

Margaret Ross (sister of Donnie Ross, Upper Carse)

War did break out and the first two posted were cooks Annie McLeay and Cis Devidge to Edinburgh

Castle in September 1939. As the months went on there were at least three or four joined the WRNS

(Alice Davidson, Meg Farmer, Izzy Asher) and the young lads were called up and went into the Navy,

Army and Air Force.

The lads who had joined the Territorial Army in peace time were the first to be called up at the

outbreak of war. They were attached either to the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders or the

Seaforth Highlanders, all part of the 51st Highland Division, and these included Donnie Ross, Hughie

Oliver and Johnnie Johnstone.

The Fort was an exceedingly busy station in the years of war. At one time there would be about a

thousand men stationed at the barracks, training, as well as training off and on barges in the sea.

People from the village were employed in a civilian capacity e.g. in the Nursing Sisters’ Mess or

Offices’ Mess as cooks or assistants.

Soldiers were seen on exercise in the village streets practising with walkie-talkies.

Army personnel from many varied regiments did training before being posted elsewhere. Before the

‘Big Push’ by our forces into Germany there was some hard training went on around the Fort in

those hectic days.

The ATS company was stationed at Fort George for some time and one of the Officers’ quarters on

the Common was transformed into an ATS hospital. I remember the Commanding Officer ATS was

admitted with lumbago. Later the ATS moved to the Cameron Barracks, Inverness. They were a great

miss to the Fort.

The ATS and VADs brought trade to the village shops, developing photos at the local chemist was

popular.


The Fort George Military Hospital was an important part of Fort life. There was the Commanding

Officer in charge, a surgical specialist, a medical specialist, matron, an optician, nursing sisters and

VAD nurses, also VAD cooks, a steward and a RAMC Quartermaster Sergeant and nursing orderlies.

There was a ward master, an assistant ward master, as well as sergeants and corporals. There was a

dental unit next door to the main hospital building with Royal Army Dental Corps staff.

The hospital was at one time so busy an extra ward was built on to the hospital. When patients were

recovering they were transferred to convalescent hospitals in the area e.g. Darnaway Castle, Altyre

House. Patients came from outlying units of the forces. Red Cross ambulances with civilian Red Cross

drivers transferred patients to and from convalescent hospitals. Also a FANY unit helped and

supplied transport.

There was a company of the Home Guard in Ardersier: members included farm workers, who were

exempt from active service or others from some reason. The Home Guard were attached to the Ack

Ack unit in huts just outside the Fort.

Folks at home helped in the Air Raid Prevention organisation; they perhaps would be called out in

the middle of the night if there was an Air Raid Warning and the siren would warn of any threat of

German planes coming over.

Some prisoners of war were sent to Fort George for a medical check-up at the hospital when they

arrived from Germany.

There was an excellent dance band at the Fort in the Regimental Depot during the war and once

they built a large gymnasium just outside the Fort for the troops’ gymnastics. Dances were held and

proved very popular. Dances were also held in the village and were very well attended by personnel

from the Fort as well as the Air Force lads from Dalcross RAF base and Canadians from a Canadian

Camp of lumberjacks just on the outskirts of Ardersier. There was another Canadian Camp in the

Cawdor area and VADs from the Fort were invited to Cawdor on any special evening.

During the war years each household was issued with a ration book, a number of clothing coupons

to cover a certain period. Food commodities, tea, sugar, dried egg powder, biscuits etc were

rationed. One couldn’t get bananas. When a shop did eventually get a delivery of bananas, one had

to stand in a long queue at the shops to get one or two. Service personnel did not have a lot of

money and if they went to a restaurant it was very often scrambled eggs to order.

So many lads were called up for service in the early stages of war and stationed at Fort George for

initial training. Mr MacLeroy, West Church of Scotland minister, started a canteen in the Drill Hall on

a Sunday evening, with a service and 1 or 2 hymns. The local ladies of the village took turns serving

teas/ coffees and a variety of food.

Sometime later, permission was sought to build a YMCA hut for Servicemen and women so that they

could come up from the Fort to a place where they may buy food or write letters home. A lovely

building with a hall, canteen, kitchen, quiet room and a pool/ billiard table was established at the

Gun Lodge end of the football field. It was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester who was an

attractive young lady in WAAF uniform, quite an event!

Many a young service lad or lass frequented the Hut during their stay at the Fort. There was a young

chap Kennedy, his name was George, and he was a lovely trained singer and he was usually


performing at concerts held in the Hut. He later became a sergeant, and married a nursing sister at

Fort George Military Hospital. Very often George sang “Bless this House”.

The three large house buildings opposite the football field were built around the 1890s by Mr Peter

Young who had the contract for maintaining the Fort George structures. When he died the contract

passed to his son, Colin Young and later to Colin junior.

Fort George gave a lot of employment to the people of the village. Men were employed as labourers

maintaining the boilers. Mr Verlander and Mr White worked at the firing ranges.

In the early days there were a lot of married family quarters that had to be kept up to date. There

used to be 3 high blocks near the sea, later extra more up-to-date rows of quarters running parallel

near to the main road.

One English woman asked a labourer Colin MacKenzie “Do you want white or black coffee?” Colin

replied, “I’ll have a cup of tea”. Women in Ardersier worked down the NAAFI Canteen for years. One

or two were taken on as helpers in the Officers’ houses.

Fort George Railway Station (Ardersier)

The station was at Ardersier, in earlier days the powers that be had hoped to take the railway right

to Fort George. This would have been much too costly. The station was a very important and busy

point in the village. Old Mr Brooks the Stationmaster retired and his very tall som Harry took over as

Chief Clerk, there was a full staff, two engine drivers, two firemen, two guards, porter and a goods

yard, as well as a horse and trailers driven by Duncan MacGillivary. Before Duncan there was John

the lorry man who had regular deliveries to and from the Fort. When they stopped using the horse

and cart the Fort used mules. Mule transport used to gallop through the village from the Fort

collecting goods from the station.

The regiments at the Fort changed every three years. The Highland Light Infantry would replace

perhaps the Black Watch. When each regiment departed to one of the Empire parts – Aden, Hong

Kong, Cairo, Singapore etc. it was quite a sad event seeing the army families and children going

away. The Regimental band marched through the village, it was a great occasion. The new regiment

on arrival marched from the railway station to the barracks.

The army children attended Ardersier School and sometimes in wintertime a soup cart came up with

cocoa and lovely very thick biscuits from the Fort for the army children.

The train which ran from Ardersier to Gollanfield was known as the ‘Ardersier Puggy’. It was not at

all pleasant hanging about Gollanfield station in wintertime waiting for the Aberdeen/ Inverness

train. However the 8.20am to Inverness and 4.20pm train to Ardersier both school trains were

direct, no changing at Gollanfield.

We pupils could be a bit rowdy on the train. A window was broken on one occasion and the mother

of the person blamed had to pay the cost. One could get a cheap railway ticket on a Saturday for one

shilling.


There was a marshy area behind the platform at the back of where Alison’s bungalow is and it was

the station office. There were lots of Mare’s Tails, frog spawn and tadpoles. We used to go for

tadpoles and put them in jars to see them grow.

Shops in Ardersier

People did not need to go to town. We could get:-

Milk from Mr Watson, dairyman who came round the village with a pony and small governess cart

selling milk, and we could go out and get a jug of milk. He and his wife had a small dairy shop on the

High Street. A few of the small farms or crofts supplied milk as well. We used to go up for milk and

liked to see the crofters wives milking the cows and see the cows trying to kick at times or swish

their tails.

Perhaps milk would cost 4 pence a pint.

Cis and Bessie (Littleton), Jean (Blackpark), Angus and Mary Graham (The Carse) were some of the

regulars delivering milk each day to local customers. Jean (Blackpark) cycled and , just like the

others, went to the service quarters and Fort George, and she was a familiar cheery person with a

good sense of humour. Campbell (Bridgeside – now Ardersier Mains) had their young family and two

orphans in turn carrying cans of milk to customers, they all worked hard.

Potatoes from Mr Dunbar, the crofter at Sunnyhillock, came round with horse and cart selling

excellent new potatoes; he seemed to be the first selling earlies.

Bakers: we had two baker’s shops in Ardersier, Johnstone’s and MacLean’s. One or two of the

grocers bought in bread etc from Fletcher the baker’s van and Ashers baker’s van from Nairn which

delivered certain days of the week. For a time Leache’s the licenced grocer at the Alma corner took

in cakes etc. from Burnett the bakers, Inverness. Mr MacLean only went round the country district

on certain days. Johnstone bakers had a very frisky horse and trap with a regular driver, delivering

bread to Fort George; later transport was elevated to a van which toured country areas.

The village was well catered for in grocers: quite a number of the local shops were grocers. Liptons

and Coopers grocery vans came round on certain days of the week.

Mr Victor Thomas was the tailor, Mrs Thomas was very tall with black frizzy hair and dark eyes like

brambles. She exchanged the Bulletin with our Daily Record most days. Without fail she and Mr

Thomas went by train to Inverness calling at her favourite butcher’s shop. Mrs Thomas kept a few

hens in the back yard, Berta Cowna and I would cll and ask if she wanted chickweed for her hens.

She would give us a bag and when we brought the chickweed we always got a penny each. The

Thomas’s were always good to the bairns.

Mr Pa Bell who owned a shop on the High Street, Ardersier, ran a cinema in the Drill Hall once or

twice a week. Admission was 3 pence. Silent films of course. One usually showing on a Saturday

afternoon.


One of the village sweetie shops was Maggie Norrie’s across from the church vestry. Daughter

Maggie, a disabled person with kyphosis, gave ua a better poke of sweeties than old Mrs Norrie.

When we saw it was Mrs Norrie we asked for change of a penny,

The old mother in the MacMillan family, in the High Street made marmalade and rhubarb wine and

we could go along to their house and but a pot of marmalade. The rhubarb wine was pretty potent

as the late Alfie Weymss found when actind as an extra postman at Christmas time.

The two Mrs Simpsons near the back of the West Church made white mealy puddings and potted

meat for sale at their house.

It would be in the early 20s when a Mr Falconer had a lemonade factory beside seafield house, in a

building they called the Ark. We could purchase bottles of lemonade.

Fishing

Years before the 1939 war, Ardersier was quite a busy fishing village. One or two fishermen owned

their boats and found a crew from local fishermen. Boats had names like “The Mary Jane” or “Susan

Gardner” and they would sail round the back of the Fort to the Nairn outskirts and catch a variety of

fish. The fishermen’s wives sat in their sheds helping to mend the nets. Some wives went round the

houses with their creels of different fish in season, cockles at times. One could get a plate of lovely

white fish for 6 pennies or a shilling. One or two f the fishing community had sheds where they

smoked fish as kippers or speldings. Dorkins were used to smoke the fish. A few of us went to the

wood with hurlies and gathered dorkins and we would earn 1 shilling and 3 pennies, or 1 shilling and

6 pennies a bag, and save up 6 shillings for the Nairn Games.

One year there was a sad fishing tragedy and three local fishers were drowned in an area by the

Fort.

Ferry

Circa 1931 there was a ferry which ran from Fort George Point across to Chanonry Point lighthouse.

It was just a small boat but it could take bicycles. People would cycle from the Nairn area and catch

the ferry to be able to visit relatives on the Black Isle instead of going round by Inverness. We used

to go over to Fortrose and Rosemarkie for picnics. We would cross on the 2 o’clock boat and the sea

would be quite calm but returning on the 6 o’clock it would be quite a choppy sea, as there are

currents between the Firths. Alec the Ferryman was well known. He used to oblige the Sergeants

from the Fort and do an extra crossing and he would be taken to the Sergeants’ Mess for a dram.

One night Alec was drowned and his body found near the lighthouse. It was very sad.

No-one took the ferry after that happened and it was greatly missed at the time.


Travelling Folk

Travelling folk periodically camped in the vicinity of the village and one or two were quite familiar.

One in particular was Khaki Epy; she liked a dram and on occasions took a long time getting up the

road after visiting the Star or Alma.

One very popular traveller of the road was a lovely tall man with a long grey beard known as

Fushinard. He was so well known and harmless that Mr Alec Campbell and his brother Angus,

Viewhill Farm allowed Fushinard to bed down in the barn for a few nights, if he was remaining a bit

longer he was told in a kindly way, “I think it was time you were moving on”. Sunnyhillock Croft

owned by William Ross and his two unmarried sisters was another place Fushinard was allowed in

the barn or outhouse.

Once in a while a pedlar would arrive and go round the streets with a horse and cart collecting rags.

Bairns would run out with some old item of clothing and would be happy to get a flying canary or a

balloon. The pedlar would shout, “Your mother’s drawers, your father’s drawers, anything at all.”

The ‘Showies’ came to the village periodically and caused a bit of excitement when the show family –

generally the same family – put up the amusements, swings, chair-o-planes, hobby horses and side

shows. The price to get on the chair-o-planes etc would be two pence. But it would be a welcome

entertainment.

Old Willie Hay can tell of his time working at the shows for the Morrison family, a well known decent

show family. The Morrisons became very well off through the years.

The shows were always held in a field up Stuart Street where Corbett Gardens is now.

Characters

One known character was Mr Josey Bannerman who lived in one of the Fisher Row houses with his

two elderly sisters, Elsie and Maggie. The sisters were regular attenders at church and at the

afternoon mission services held in Miss Susan’s Hall. Josey lived alone when his sisters passed away.

He was very miserly and would remark that a rabbit would do him two or three days. He walked

from Ardersier to Nairn rather than pay a bus fare. In spite of having a bad chest he wouldn’t pay

one shilling and threepence for a bottle of cough mixture. His sisters were a lovely pair and dressed

well to go to church with lovely hats, feathers and bows.

Jimmack Forsythe was a weel kent character in the village in the 1920s/’30s. He lived in a small

house behind the wall of Johnstone’s bakehouse, 73 High Street. He looked a really black man as he

never washed himself. He was very good at poetry and he would recite poems, even when he had a

dram. He had a girlfriend in Glasgow; she used to come up perhaps once a year to visit him.

Maggie Loft was another familiar figure. Maggie’s aunt had a small shop beside the Star Hotel, I

remember the blood oranges arrayed in the window. When the aunt died, she left money at the

bank so Maggie could get a certain allowance at times, as Maggie was not a scholar. Maggie had a

very loud voice and during the war, if an aeroplane flew over, Maggie would call up “Hello John”, an

imaginary boyfriend. Now and again, Maggie paraded up the High Street wheeling a barrow on her


way to collect Jimmy Forsyth’s washing. Mrs MacLaren who kept a small shop was a very good friend

to Maggie.

In olden days a well kent figure was Grannie Sinclair, she used to live in a house near the garage at

the end of the village. She was a local midwife who attended mothers having babies and on

occasions she was called to dress those who died. She always wore a spotlessly white apron and

with her lovely white hair she looked so clean.

Nairn Games

As children, getting to the Nairn games was a red letter day. How we looked forward to the event,

we went to the woods to gather bags of dorkins (cones) and sold them to the fishwives in the village.

We would get one shilling and three pennies (8-9 pence) or one shilling and six pennies (12-13

pence) per bag from those fishwives who smoked the fish in their outhouses. We would make six

shillings (approx. 36p) to spend at the games. Amusements like the Cake Walk or Jungle cost 2

pennies. We would always take home a melon for a shilling. We went to see ‘Big George’ for 2

pennies, he was of enormous height and wore a red tartan kilt. We were more interested in the

‘showies’ than the various sports. Crowds came from the counrt districts on these occasions. In the

early days, travel was by train, later buses got the trade.

Registrar for Births, Marriages and Deaths

The Registrar for the residents of the High Street area lived at Balnagowan Farm on the outskirts of

Ardersier. They had to go to Balnagowan to register births, marriages and deaths, while the folks on

Stuart Street came under the Petty village registrar.

Later records were transferred to the postmistress at the local post office.

A person was employed to deliver telegrams, he or she got quite a few pence for each telegram

delivered. It would be quite a distance to travel to the Carse and outlying areas without a bicycle.

Annie McLeay: Postwoman

Annie McLeay was a postwoman in Ardersier for a long number of years and is a well known and

respected character in the village.

Annie’s father, Alec McLeay was one of the soldiers killed at the battle of the Somme and he is one

of the soldiers aho has never been found. He was a shoemaker at Fort George before the 1914-18

war.

Annie was in service for officers before the war and she also worked for Mr and Mrs Wylie as general

maid.

Annie was one of the first to go to Edinburgh Castle as a VAD. After the war she worked as a civilian

in the Sisters’ Mess and helped at Officers’ dinner parties.


She then became the village postwoman and was until she retired. She also looked after her mother

who became disabled.

The Ardersier War Memorial Hall

Mr and Mrs Fraser, Blackpark were not pleased when dances started in the hall, as their son had

been killed in the war.

jess maclennan - spanglefishs3.spanglefish.com/s/26759/documents/memoirs/3.1-memoirs...08 april 2014...

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