wick, scotland

Wick revisited

Looked up Wick on google maps with Connie, a sheltered housing Tenant. It was where she was born and brought up but had not returned since leaving in 1951. We used street view to “visit” her house, what used to be the Post Office, the schools she went to and her favourite walk along the harbour, with a solitary old-style fishing boat where once you could walk from one side of the harbour to the other, across their decks.

She said she’d wondered about going back to visit, but was glad she hadn’t, seeing the state that the ‘old place’ is in.  She pointed out the area where 15 people were killed including 8 children in 1940 by stray bombs intended for the neighbouring RAF base.  It was thanks to some unexpected baby-sitting that she wasn’t among the casualties. We looked up the Wick bombing via google and found an account by a local resident called George Cameron. The website it comes from (Am Baile – Highland History and Culture) looks like a rich seam for further reminiscence.