Looking Back – News from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear

Accident on train

From the Groat of July 8, 1921

An accident that might easily have ended fatally had occurred on the morning train from Wick.

David Sutherland, fireman on the train, had been standing on the engine tender while the train passed under the road bridge near Bilbster. At that point his head came into contact with the bridge and he was rendered unconscious.

He was taken to the Bignold Cottage Hospital in Wick, where he was making a good recovery.

Elsewhere, the members of the local Defence Units, who had enrolled "on account of the coal stoppage", returned to Wick.

The contingent numbered over 100 men who had enlisted for a period of 90 days, and they had practically served their entire time.

Their return did not bode well for the unemployment figures, however. The numbers unemployed had changed little except for the addition of a few coopers who had been discharged by several of the larger local fishcuring firms due to the light catches.

It was expected that the figure would rise by 100 the following week now that the Defence Units had returned.

Meanwhile, John Cardosi, Thurso, gave a return visit of the new cinematograph at the Ross Institute in Halkirk.

"An entirely new and up-to-date programme of all the latest and best pictures was submitted which greatly pleased the audience."

Council costs topped £2m

From the Groat of July 9, 1971

Caithness County Council's expenditure was to exceed £2 million for the first time.

The increases in spending, averaging 20 per cent, were described as "staggering" by convener Alex Rugg but this was what was required to provide all the council services, he said.

Social work recorded the biggest increase, at over 53 per cent. However, this took into account the establishment of Pulteney House in Wick and the new welfare home to be provided at Naver House in Thurso.

Meanwhile, emboldened by the success of a discotheque held a few weeks previously in the Assembly Rooms, members of Wick Youth Club had organised a midnight football match.

The club team met and defeated teams of Wick High School teachers and members of the Wick Round Table in the hard-fought matches at the riverside.

The games had been refereed by Provost W G Mowat, and "the mixed teams in fancy dress presented a colourful spectacle under the floodlights".

The event was no doubt helped by the good weather as, in common with the rest of the country, Caithness had been experiencing a heatwave. In Wick the maximum temperature was 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the warmest day for 16 years.

The large numbers of holidaymakers in the area were enjoying the conditions and the riverside camping site in Wick had been full all week, as were most of the other sites in the county.

Sacked sheriff's legal challenge

From the Groat of July 12, 1996

Sacked Wick sheriff Ewen Stewart was continuing his legal challenge to clear his name.

Mr Stewart was petitioning the House of Lords to overturn his dismissal from the bench in 1992.

His latest move had followed a series of setbacks, the latest of which had seen three appeal judges reject his bid to have the dismissal order set aside.

Seventy-year-old Mr Stewart, who lived in the town, had been sacked after Scotland's two top law lords found him unfit for office through inability – one of three grounds for ousting a sheriff.

Their ruling had come after they had studied 18 criminal and civil cases over which he had presided in Wick, Dornoch and Stornoway.

Meanwhile, the job losses at Simrad in Wick were likely to not be as high as first anticipated. The Aberdeen-based managing director of the underwater television technology company, David Ireland, said the losses would be "significantly less" that the 22 originally predicted.

And he revealed that the company would retain more manufacturing capacity at the Wick site than had been expected.

He said the rethink was largely a result of the dedication and commitment of the Wick team.

"They have persuaded us that improvements can be made in productivity," he said, and praised the local workers' attitude and negotiating skills.

The business was struggling in the face of considerable price competition, but Mr Ireland was confident that the restructuring would help it regain its commercial success.

Simrad had taken over local firm Osprey Electronics in 1992 in a £3.5 million deal.

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