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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Fair Isle 1960 Photos ?? (1 Viewer)

Peter Davis says;

"This is the old pier, which was extended in the spring and summer of 1959, so the photos must date from spring 1957 or 1958"

thanks,
Keith.
 
Not wishing to sound a total bore, but I've just been on this site;
http://photos.shetland-museum.org.u...ey=IYToxOntpOjA7czo5OiJGYWlyIElzbGUiO30=&pg=2
and discovered some amazing photos by a photographer, B Havlin.

I had wondered who this gentleman (in the photo wih the hat) was and discovered he was Lord Wymess, and here he is again.... the first photo by B Havlin, and the second one by Eric Meadows. According to B Havlin, the photo was taken on 28th April 1958.

Now, who might the gent be with his back to us, standing outside the Post Office.......? (Aren't I sad!)

Keith.
 

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Peter Davis sent me a very helpful reply, and I quote:

"shows the interior of the island shop at Rock Cottage (formerly Stackhoull), with the shopkeeper Audrey Till (an English immigrant), Jimmy Anderson who was drowned when his yole overturned in a tide-race, and in the background Gordon Barnes, who was my Assistant Warden in 1957-58 and who then took over the Vaasetter croft and farmed it for about 15 years."

I notice that Gordon Barnes wrote a book 'Unforgettable Challenge' about his Fair Isle years - anyone read it, or own it, or know where to get it?

Thanks,
Keith.
 

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George Stout of Field (Fair Isle), former bird collector for Royal Scottish Museum, and another photo of the Bird observatory huts. Sorry about the quality,

Keith.
 

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Firstly, sorry for the quality of the scans - I didn't remove the slide film from the mounts, and hadn't time to clean the glass. Did you scan yours with or without the glass?
The older slides are mounted in metal mounts. The more recent slides are mounted in plastic. Every mount has a number etched on the back.... the film number and then the frame number, so therefore 428/24 means it's the 24th shot of his 428th film. 428/25 will come next etc. If I was doing my detective work properly, I'd put all the transparencies in chronological order first and go from there, but it's such a mammoth task, I can't get round to it yet - they're hopelessly mixed up at the moment!

He seems to have made at least a couple of visits to this quaint home. Notice how the window has been changed from 9 panes to 4 panes. I had thought of using the silliouetted mountains in the background (through the window), to determine where the house was - the older man would likely be gone now, but the young boy may well be still alive....

The boy in the 'dresser photo' who is pointing is like the boy in the photo of the three children. I don't think Eric had any children of his own, but had nieces and nephews (according to the newspaper report), and I wondered if the three children were his nephews and nieces, or were they just local children who joined him on his walk?

More to follow,
Keith.

Amazing - I've spent the last few weeks corresponding (by email) with the boy in the photo - he's almost retiring age now! He's called Donald MacIsaac.
He lived not far from the older man, and he remembers the photographer staying in the area with his uncle.....

Keith.
 
Amazing - I've spent the last few weeks corresponding (by email) with the boy in the photo - he's almost retiring age now! He's called Donald MacIsaac.
He lived not far from the older man, and he remembers the photographer staying in the area with his uncle.....

Keith.

Hi Keith,

Good stuff. I've just been looking at your posted images here again. Fascinating. Plus-fours seem to have been the order of the day with birdwatchers in those days.

Cheers
 
Hi Phil,

The old man was Angus MacNeil - you've a photo of him sitting by a dresser and bed. I think you've also a photo of him by a fireside.

Atb,
Keith.
 
Hi Phil,

The old man was Angus MacNeil - you've a photo of him sitting by a dresser and bed. I think you've also a photo of him by a fireside.

Atb,
Keith.

Thanks Keith.

I had thought that he and the boy were related, but perhaps that's not the case? By the way where were the photos taken ( a general idea will do to protect privacy if need be)?

Cheers
 
Thanks Keith.

I had thought that he and the boy were related, but perhaps that's not the case? By the way where were the photos taken ( a general idea will do to protect privacy if need be)?

Cheers

Ah - now there's a secret - months of dectective work have been involved in this business! ;)

Smirisary near Glenuig, west of Fortwilliam. It was a small crofting community with no road nearby. The cottage is still there tho' I'm not sure who owns it now. The boy lived over the hill in another cottage. The photographer, Eric Meadows, served in WW2 with the local postman, and thus got an invite up to the area when the war was over. He went with the postman (Hugh) who happened to be an uncle of the boy, and thus found and photographed Smirisary. There's a couple of books on the area, that were written around that time. In one of the books, there's a photo of the same fireside....

On another subject there's a lovely image in your collection (not necessarily a 'Meadows') of a couple of girls walking down a road with an overcast sky in the background.
Can I use it for a painting sometime - do I get permission?
Just thought I'd ask!

Keith.
 
Ah - now there's a secret - months of dectective work have been involved in this business! ;)

Smirisary near Glenuig, west of Fortwilliam. It was a small crofting community with no road nearby. The cottage is still there tho' I'm not sure who owns it now. The boy lived over the hill in another cottage. The photographer, Eric Meadows, served in WW2 with the local postman, and thus got an invite up to the area when the war was over. He went with the postman (Hugh) who happened to be an uncle of the boy, and thus found and photographed Smirisary. There's a couple of books on the area, that were written around that time. In one of the books, there's a photo of the same fireside....

On another subject there's a lovely image in your collection (not necessarily a 'Meadows') of a couple of girls walking down a road with an overcast sky in the background.
Can I use it for a painting sometime - do I get permission?
Just thought I'd ask!

Keith.

Keith, you're welcome to use that photo as inspiration and model.

Thanks for the extra information about these photos. I've discovered that the books on the area are by Margaret Leigh, and will do some research.

Have you any plans yet to put these photos on the web? I'd be willing to scan them for you if that were the case (it's one job that people hate but which I actually enjoy). They're a fascinating glimpse into social history of Scotland after the war.

Cheers
 
Keith, you're welcome to use that photo as inspiration and model.

Thanks for the extra information about these photos. I've discovered that the books on the area are by Margaret Leigh, and will do some research.

Have you any plans yet to put these photos on the web? I'd be willing to scan them for you if that were the case (it's one job that people hate but which I actually enjoy). They're a fascinating glimpse into social history of Scotland after the war.

Cheers

Thanks for that Phil - the other book is by Wendy Wood I think (I don't have it beside me at the moment).

I only get to use the internet occassionally now-a-days - scanning them in isn't the problem, but rather getting time to visit the library to put them online - maybe someday...

Keith.
 
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