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| The Gaelic Village and War Detectives |
Project
organiser:Am
Baile, Highland Libraries.
Pupils of twelve primary schools from throughout the
Highlands interviewed war veterans and local residents
who lived through World War 2. Some of the interviews
were conducted in Gaelic. From the interviews the
following audio resources were created and organised
into two main themes: Home Front
and Battle Front. There are over
100 individual audio clips. The schools involved in
the project were:
- Aldourie Primary
- Ardross Primary
- Cawdor Primary
- Central Primary,
Inverness
- Cromarty Primary
- Grantown Primary
- Kinlochbervie
Primary
- Kinlochleven
Primary
- Merkinch Primary,
Inverness
- Pennyland
Primary, Thurso
- Portree Primary
- Rosebank Primary,
Nairn
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The
Home Front
[Outbreak
of War][Effect on Family
Life][Food][Travel][Schools][Attacks][Military
Presence][Precautions][Treats
and Pastimes][End of
War]
The
Battle Front
[Active
Service][Accidents][Comradeship][Pleasures][End
of War]
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The
Home Front
-
Outbreak of War
- Hugh
M Fraser of Aldourie speaks of the political
situation [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Bochel from Nairn describes Sunday, 3 September
1939 [audio]
[transcript]
- Albert
Robertson and Peggy Spence remember the
beginning of the war in Kinlochleven [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Maclean reflects on how things were for
a Skye family living in Glasgow [audio]
[transcript]
- Lorna
Milligan of Golspie remembers exactly what
she was doing when war was declared
[audio]
[transcript]
-
Effect on Family Life
- Rod
Geddes of Aldourie describes the depressing
effect of bad news [audio]
[transcript]
- Iris
Barclay of Kinlochleven recalls the shock
of seeing her father in uniform for the
first time [audio]
[transcript]
- Beth
Thom remembers how her mother took evacuees
from London into their Dingwall home [audio]
[transcript]
- What
Margaret Wright from Grantown remembers
is the absence of men [audio]
[transcript]
- When
Gordon Noble's family had to move from Thurso
to Sheffield, they experienced separation
[audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Munro's husband was a prisoner-of-war in
Germany; her daughter Catriona helps her
tell their family's story [audio
- Gaelic] [transcript]
[English
Translation]
- Hugh
A M Fraser remembers children coming from
Edinburgh to Aldourie [audio]
[transcript]
- Fay
Anderson, Peggy Spence and Avril Watt discuss
evacuation to Kinlochleven [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Maclean was evacuated from Glasgow to live
with relatives in Skye [audio]
[transcript]
- Food
- Margaret
Bochel's mother in Nairn made the best of
what she could get [audio]
[transcript]
- Beth
Thom from Dingwall remembers eating rabbits
and macon [audio]
[transcript]
- Elsie
Cormack thinks they weren't too badly off
for food in Caithness [audio]
[transcript]
- Alistair
Mackintosh remembers life in a school hostel
in Inverness [audio]
[transcript]
- Iris
Barclay tells how ships crossed the Atlantic
with food for British people [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Wright recalls a scary moment when she lost
the family's ration books [audio]
[transcript]
-
Travel
- Mrs
E J Newell of Cromarty speaks of driving
conditions during the war [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
I M Macarthur from Cawdor remembers a novel
way of getting permission to travel [audio]
[transcript]
- Kathleen
Fraser of Aldourie knew how to get permission
to go to a dance [audio]
[transcript]
- Fay
Anderson remembers needing a passport to
go to the island of Coll [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
I M Macarthur remembers that everyone had
to carry an identity card during the war
[audio]
[transcript]
- Fay
Anderson and Avril Watt reminisce about
identity cards [audio]
[transcript]
-
Schools
- Dorothy
Rutledge remembers classes being held in
people's houses [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Black had classes in the Wick churches [audio]
[transcript]
- Elizabeth
MacInnes describes the shelter accommodation
in her school [audio]
[transcript]
- Willie
Sutherland talks about alternative school
lessons [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
E J Newell speaks of economies and tattie
holidays [audio]
[transcript]
- Hugh
M Fraser had a lot of fun at school in Aldourie
[audio]
[transcript]
-
Attacks
- Alistair
Mackintosh remembers when bombs were dropped
on Foyers [audio]
[transcript]
- Avril
Watt was staying with her grandmother when
Leith was bombed [audio]
[transcript]
- Peggy
Spence recalls that Fort William had some
scary moments [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Maclean was living in Glasgow at the time
of the Clydebank Blitz [audio]
[transcript]
- Agnes
Milne visited friends in London during the
Blitz [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Morrison was nursing at RAF Fareham when
Southampton was bombed [audio]
[transcript]
- Gordon
Noble saw bombing in Sheffield and at Scapa
Flow [audio]
[transcript]
- Duncan
and Elsie Cormack lived in Wick when it
was bombed early in the war [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Watt saw aerial activity from her home in
Melness [audio]
[transcript]
-
Military Presence
- Margaret
Bochel tells how soldiers trained for Normandy
on the beach in Nairn [audio]
[transcript]
- Avril
Watt remembers that there were many soldiers
protecting the aluminium factory in Kinlochleven
[audio]
[transcript]
- Peggy
Spence and Fay Anderson talk about the naval
base in Fort William [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
E J Newell remembers different servicemen
in Cromarty [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Johns has a special memory of the Cameron
Highlanders in Inverness [audio]
[transcript]
- Lorna
Milligan recalls that people of many nationalities
came to the village of Golspie [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
I M Macarthur remembers that every village
had its Home Guard [audio]
[transcript]
- Fay
Anderson describes one of the benefits of
having a father in the Home Guard
[audio]
[transcript]
-
Precautions
- Margaret
Bochel remembers when gas masks were issued
in Nairn [audio]
[transcript]
- According
to Donnie Smith, gas mask boxes had multiple
uses [audio]
[transcript]
- Willie
Sutherland remembers when someone wore a
gas mask for fun [audio]
[transcript]
- Rod
Geddes remembers the black-out in the Inverness
area [audio]
[transcript]
- Alex
Howie remembers precautions taken at school
and at home, in Inverness [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Black recalls that windows had to be taped
with sticky tape [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
I M Macarthur mentions good and bad points
of the black-out [audio]
[transcript]
- Duncan
MacInnes tells a funny story of the black-out
in Eriskay [audio]
[transcript]
- Avril
Watt describes the noise when the air raid
siren went off in Kinlochleven [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
E J Newell went down to her cellar in Cromarty
when the air raid siren went [audio]
[transcript]
- Duncan
and Elsie Cormack talk about Anderson shelters
[audio]
[transcript]
-
Treats and Pastimes
- Margaret
Bochel had a cousin who brought gifts from
America [audio]
[transcript]
- Various
people in Kinlochleven remember 'Whisky
Galore' [audio]
[transcript]
- Alix
Allison answers questions about her wedding
[audio]
[transcript]
- Willie
Sutherland talks about birthdays during
the war [audio]
[transcript]
- Margaret
Watt remembers the lack of treats during
war time [audio]
[transcript]
- Peggy
Spence remembers happy times in Kinlochleven
[audio]
[transcript]
- Beth
Thom remembers meeting people from many
countries in Dingwall [audio]
[transcript]
- Mrs
E J Newell had an active social life in
Cromarty [audio]
[transcript]
- Lorna
Milligan describes an improvised baby's
rattle [audio]
[transcript]
-
End of War
- Hugh
and Kathleen Fraser remember tremendous
rejoicing [audio]
[transcript]
- Dorothy
Rutledge describes great relief and delight
[audio]
[transcript]
- Alix
Allison remembers a community celebration
[audio]
[transcript]
- Judy
Harris was annoyed to have been left out
of the celebrations [audio]
[transcript]
- Willie
Sutherland reflects that the end of the
war was not a happy time for everyone [audio]
[transcript]
The
Battle Front
-
Active Service
- Major-General
Robertson from Cawdor served in the Army
in Africa, Sicily and Normandy [audio]
[transcript]
- Donnie
Smith talks of his career in the Royal Navy
on the Uganda and other ships [audio]
[transcript]
- Lady
Christian Innes speaks about her brother-in-law's
experience in the South Atlantic [audio]
[transcript]
- Angus
MacDonald from Lewis tells his grandson
about his experiences in the Royal Navy
[audio-Gaelic]
[transcript]
[English
Translation]
- Andrew
Marshall from Kinlochbervie was with the
Cameronians in North Africa, Sicily and
Belgium [audio]
[transcript]
- Duncan
MacInnes from Kinlochleven recounts his
experience in the Merchant Navy [audio]
[transcript]
- James
Nicolson of Portree describes the Battle
of Monte Cassino in 1944 [audio-Gaelic]
[transcript]
[English
Translation]
- Major-General
Robertson talks about the Normandy invasion
[audio]
[transcript]
- William
Shand of Nairn describes an incident that
took place in the aftermath of the Normandy
invasion [audio]
[transcript]
- Andrew
Marshall describes the destruction of a
pontoon bridge in East Germany [audio]
[transcript]
- Julia
Mackenzie of Inverness remembers going into
the Belsen concentration camp shortly after
it was liberated [audio-Gaelic]
[transcript]
[English
Translation]
-
Accidents
- Agnes
Milne remembers looking for a Spitfire in
a haystack [audio]
[transcript]
- Major-General
Robertson recalls an unplanned incident
in North Africa [audio]
[transcript]
- Lady
Christian Innes tells how she was sent to
India by mistake [audio]
[transcript]
- Agnes
Milne tells of the consequences of sleeping
on picket duty [audio]
[transcript]
- Julia
Mackenzie remembers a drowning accident
as the war ended [audio-Gaelic]
[transcript]
[English
Translation]
- Christopher
Chapman from Kinlochbervie relates how an
older friend found a Spitfire on the Sandwood
beach [audio]
[transcript]
-
Comradeship
- Agnes
Milne describes the camaraderie among women
in the WAAF [audio]
[transcript]
- Major-General
Robertson enjoyed the fun with friends during
the war [audio]
[transcript]
- Mary
Morrison recalls life as a WAAF nurse [audio]
[transcript]
- Agnes
Milne reflects on coping strategies when
men were lost [audio]
[transcript]
- Major-General
Robertson remembers losing comrades
[audio]
[transcript]
-
Pleasures
- Andrew
Marshall speaks of the delights of Army
food [audio]
[transcript]
- Agnes
Milne met some celebrities in clubs for
the Forces [audio]
[transcript]
- Major-General
Robertson remembers concert parties and
quiet fun [audio]
[transcript]
-
End of War
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