Raised in the first block of houses in Kessock Road with his six brothers, three sisters and a half sister, Willie Williamson re-called the early years around the Kessock Farm and the people that came into his early life.

The Kessock Farm was owned by Willie Fraser, known locally as ‘Willie the Carse’ for the obvious reason that the Kessock Farm was situated in the Carse area of Merkinch (before the Railway line, the Carse extended as far as the West Field). Willie worked the farm with his younger sister and mainly had cattle and sheep for grazing as most of the land was bog land and wasn’t suitable for much else.

During the Boer War, Willie Fraser received a severe war wound which left him disfigured for the rest of his natural life - he had his nose shot off. Willie Williamson remembers that as a young boy and somewhat impressionable, he hadfound itrather discomfortingto have to gazeupon this somewhat grotesque disfigurement for too long, particularly when talking to Willie, who was incidentally neither conscious nor worried about his facial appearance in the slightest, or so it appears!!

However, children of the Carse on Merkinch used to have their own nickname for WillieCameron and that was - ‘Willie No Nose’.

Madeline Grant was born and raised in West Drive (now Carnarc Crescent) and she remembers Kessock Farm very fondly. The Farm house itself is now used by the Sea Cadets, and this was where Willie’s sister lived. Mrs. Cameron as she was always referred to, would only let the children into the house in pairs and this was to help wash the eggs etc. Payment was one of the chocolates, that some relations had sent over from Canada. As chocolate was rationed at that time, you considered yourself well paid.

The farm covered the whole of the West Field, and in the farm was a bothy where Willie stayed. There was no ploughing or planting, due to the quality of the land, however there was Pigs, Sheep, Cattle & Chickens. The farm was often used by the Black Isle farmers to store the animals, if they missed the last ferry over. Willie’s nose (or lack of it) never bothered him, or the people that knew him, however he had a false nose which he would wear for formal occasions (Weddings, Funerals etc.) >

On the other side of the railway line there was horses, there was also railway sidings (known as the puggy line) where men would gather to play pitch and toss. The puggy line was a great source of black diamonds (coal) and more importantly it was closer than the coal depot which was in George Street.

Our thanks to Madeline Grant for sharing her memories with the News and Views.