And over the years, with the help of her family, especially her late brother Sinclair Gunn, a huge collection of old tools, photographs, sailing-ship models and other artefacts were amassed, much it being donated by Sena to Castletown Heritage Society.

"A variety of things were handed over in two different collections," recalls Sena, who from an early age developed a keen interest in the village – its people and its past.

She lived at Cairnside with her four brothers and parents Alexina and Daniel Gunn; Daniel had his own joinery and undertaking business. The house had been built by Sena's grandfather, Donald Gunn, who moved to Castletown from Canisbay to work in the flagstone industry.

"We were all born there," explains Sena, whose earliest memory is of starting school in what is now the local youth club when she was five years old. "I hated it," she says. Her mother had gone to an all-female school across the road behind the village war memorial, though it was no longer used in Sena's day.

"It was operating in the early 1900s and would not have been a fee-paying school. I came across a first prize my mam received for proficiency at the school in 1903 and that was one of the things that was handed over to the heritage society."

Sena was nine when the Second World War broke out in September 1939. The conflict brought many changes to Castletown as airmen and soldiers were billeted in the village and took over schools, with youngsters like Sena being transferred to places such as church halls.

"A lot of lassies married the troops," she recalls. "There was quite a lot of weddings and I remember going to an ENSA [Entertainments National Service Association] concert at the NAAFI in the Back Street. That was the greatest thing out. There were first-class entertainers."

Sena remembers that before the war there were more than 20 shops in Castletown. They included three watchmakers, a chemist, the celebrated joiners and carvers McIvor & Allan, an assortment of grocery-type stores, bakers, butchers, drapers and stationers, a whisky shop and a post office. There was a dentist, Mr Spence, who lived at Tansfield; the Commercial Hotel, known as Betsy's; and a milliner by the name of Meg Kennedy. "The wifies all wore hats in those days and even went on picnics with their hats on."

There was also James Sutherland, a carrier who went into Thurso on his horse and cart and took out supplies from the railway station, delivering them to the shops in the village.

There was no shortage of characters back then. She recalls one woman who baked lovely pies but one day accidentally spilled some paraffin on them. "She just put them out on the trays to the fresh air and sold them later and no-one was any the wiser," Sena says with a smile.

She mentions George Doull, a watchmaker and inventor – "a very clever man" – and Alex Cormack, another watchmaker. "He was a bachelor and if any young lassie came into his shop his mother would come through and say, 'Alex, your tea's ready!' Sometimes he would tell a customer who called to pick up a clock or a watch he had repaired that the piece was 'no pleasan me. I'll keep her here for a while yet.'

"There was a tremendous lot of characters in the village long ago. People made their own entertainment and there was a lot of crack and humour and a great sense of camaraderie. But the old style of character has gone now."

However, if any of those characters or anyone else went a bit too far, the long arm of the law would be bearing down on them.

One village policeman fondly remembered by Sena was Alex Mackay, who was based in Castletown during the war. "He did a great job keeping law and order at a difficult time when there was such an influx of people – soldiers and others. He was an old-fashioned village bobby and very well respected."

Sena as a little girl with her brothers (from left) Sinclair, Donald and George. The family photos were taken by Sena's father, Daniel, who had a camera that used glass plates.

The church had more influence in those days with the majority of people attending Sunday and other services in Castletown, which was built up into a thriving village during the time of the booming flagstone industry in the 19th century.

At the age of 13, Sena left school – she was given an exemption by the authorities as her mother was ill – and helped run the house and look after the family. "It was a hard task but I had to do it. I was glad to be able to do it and that was that."

Her father was busy with his joinery and undertaking work and later took over the local coal business from John Wares. Daniel had served in the First World War and started his joinery business in 1919 making cartwheels and gigs, but expanded and employed tradesmen and three or four apprentices.

"The workmen came into the house for their food and were provided with sandwiches when they went to work in the country," explains Sena, who later helped out in her father's office. "That was a little light relief in a way," she says, adding: "I had no time to be socialising. It was never a question of 'you'll be in here at such-and-such a time' because I was never out."

When World War Two ended, Sena was 15 and she noticed social changes as more transport became available and village shops began to dwindle in number. Caithness was also to undergo a huge economic and technological transformation a decade later with the advent of the experimental atomic reactor at Dounreay.

"A lot of us were quite nervous about this Dounreay coming," she says. "We knew nothing about it and just wondered what this was that had come upon us. It was an unknown quantity, but it was a great asset and created a lot of work.

"People had much more money to spend and started having cars. It made a tremendous difference and opened up a lot of avenues. Before then one of the few people to have a car would be the doctor. You took a bike if you wanted to go anywhere. And motorbikes, of course. Dad used one a lot."

Sena also points out that the Norfrost freezer firm made a major difference to Castletown when it was set up by Alex and Pat Grant in the early 1970s as young people could get work locally.

Her own long residence in the village ended almost 20 years ago when she married Laurie Leitch and moved to Springpark Farm, Thurso. Sadly, though, Sena was widowed after only four-and-a-half years. She relocated to the town's Granville Crescent 14 years ago and, although she has health problems, she is happy where she lives.

One of her great pastimes was involvement in the Olrig and District Beekeepers' Association – an interest which she shared with her late father and husband. Sena says: "It was a grand hobby and I made a right lot of friends – it was my main outlet. Laurie was a great enthusiast as well. The older ones are getting fewer and the younger ones are not so interested, but Ronald (her nephew) is a member so he is keeping the family tradition alive."

Sena is not often in Castletown these days but is well aware of the changes that have taken place in the community. "There's a lot of strangers in the village now but they're all happy in it, so that is the main thing," she says. "There's lot more prosperity, houses and cars now than when I was young. It is completely different. Back then you knew everybody and could go into any house and be made welcome. I look back on those days with a lot of happiness."

g.calder@nosn.co.uk

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