Looking Back – news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear
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Wick hotelier's war claim
From the Groat of November 4, 1921
At the War Compensation Court in Edinburgh, Mr W Hatje, hotelier, Wick, pressed a claim against the Admiralty for compensation for loss sustained by him as the result of an order made in November 1914 which required him to leave Wick and reside south of Perth.
Mr Hatje was a native of Schleswig-Holstein and both his parents were Danish. He had left home when he was 16 and had resided in Scotland ever since, marrying an Aberdeenshire woman.
He had become a naturalised British subject while living in Shetland in 1907. But when war broke out, the fact that he resided in a centre of naval activity was "responsible for a number of rumours and for attacks on his loyalty", with even an MP making accusations against him in the House of Commons.
Although the MP apologised and withdrew the comments in 1915, Mr Hatje had found it impossible to obtain permission to return to his home in Wick until August 1919.
He wished to claim £55 for travelling expenses – his wife had to travel to Glasgow on several occasion to discuss business matters with him – and £509 for expenses incurred in having to live in another part of the country.
MP's Common Market stance
From the Groat of November 5, 1971
Caithness and Sutherland MP Robert Maclennan was one of 69 Labour members who defied the whip to vote for Britain's entry into the Common Market.
In the debate in the House of Commons he said he believed the move was best for the country and particularly his constituency.
Mr Maclennan said: "This is a matter of high importance to my constituency, lying, as it does, at the northern extremity of our islands, far removed, it may be argued, from what has been loosely referred to as the industrial heartland of Europe.
"Indeed, it is because I believe that my constituency stands to gain from the economic growth which I anticipate will follow our entry into the Community that I also felt impelled to dissent from the official line of my party."
His decision was not universally welcomed. Donald Barr, chairman of the Wick branch of the SNP, accused Mr Maclennan of rejecting the views of his constituents ,"the majority of whom are opposed to entry".
He added that at a meeting in Wick a few months previously the MP had given an undertaking to local fishermen that he would not support entry unless a satisfactory arrangement could be found for the industry. "That undertaking looks a bit sick now," he said.
Wick firm's Disney contract
From the Groat of November 8, 1996
Grampian Records had won a major deal with a company which was part of the world-famous Disney Corporation.
The contract, which had helped secure 90 jobs at the Wick plant and paved the way for a £260,000 investment in new equipment, involved the firm in producing read-along story tapes for hit films such as 101 Dalmatians, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Toy Story.
Grampian Records' general manager John Hunter said he hoped the deal with Buena Vista Home Entertainment would open up significant new opportunities for the firm.
The Disney Corporation was the latest big name to be associated with Grampian Records. It was also involved with several internationally renowned companies such as EMI, Reader's Digest and Sony.
The company, which had been set up 32 years previously with just three staff, also worked for Warner Brothers, making cassette singles for the likes of Gina G, Phil Collins, Simply Red and Madonna.
Meanwhile, the Caithness Church of Scotland Presbytery was to write to the BBC to protest at the "pseudo-prayer" used by presenter Bob Monkhouse during the Saturday night live National Lottery show.
The move had been prompted by the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland which had already protested at the use of the phrase, "I know I'm a sinner but make me a winner."
