Join Caithness Family History Society as it celebrates its 25th anniversary
Caithness Family History Society (CFHS), which has members all over the world as well as Caithness, celebrates its 25th anniversary.
CFHS has already published 22 books containing transcriptions of Caithness census records and gravestone inscriptions. The third volume of the Unreturning Brave series is in the offing.
This year’s AGM, which is an online event, will also feature a presentation by Doreen Leith of Wick Voices. She describes it as a tour of Caithness, starting at Dunbeath, with a short recording from Bill Sutherland reminiscing about collecting whelks at the seashore.
The audio recordings are from the Wick Society’s oral history section, Wick Voices, and they reflect life in Caithness in the past.
The recordings cover a range of subjects, some informative and some amusing. They help to capture what life was like growing up in Caithness and give a sense of social history in its most natural form, told by the people who lived it and, in many instances, spoken in Caithness dialect.
Each recording gives an insight into different aspects of life in Caithness, whether it is the history of John O’Groats as told by local businessman Walter Mowat; life and work at Dounreay described by archivist and photographer James Gunn; or the recollections of Catherine Byrne talking about Operation Snowdrop on the island of Stroma in 1955.
The Wick Voices collection is a “treasure trove of life experiences: nostalgic, educational, moving, entertaining and always interesting”. The entire collection is available at wickvoices.co.uk
More info on CFHS can be found on its website: caithnessfhs.org.uk/
Registration for the free event on Tuesday, October 8 is essential. Email: caithnessfhs@btinternet.com before Friday, October 4 to book a place.
The AGM part of the meeting will cover what the Society has done this past year and what is planned for the future. There are no changes in officials or committee members.