OBITUARY: James Donaldson, journalist, artist and author
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James Peter Henry Donaldson was born at the Henderson Memorial Nursing Home in Wick on October 14, 1940, the first of John and Elizabeth Donaldson’s family.
His brother, semi-retired Wick journalist Noel, writes: “James couldn’t have arrived at a more dangerous time. German planes were flying over the Henderson home on their way to bomb Wick harbour.
"James was educated at Wick North School, which was requisitioned by the RAF during World War II. It resumed its educational role after the hostilities and, more recently, was demolished to make way for the new-build Noss Primary School on the same site.
"James crossed the river to complete his education at Wick High School.
"My brother displayed a love and aptitude for art from an early age and had private lessons.
"I shared an attic room with him at our home, 19 Thurso Street, Wick, and I can still see him now, ensconced in front of his easel in his pyjamas, putting the finishing touches to a still life in oils, well after bedtime, and pestering him to get the light out so we could get some sleep.
"He was still in his early teenage years at Wick High when he was invited to exhibit one of his oil paintings entitled Canisbay Kirk at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. He was believed to have been the youngest exhibitor in the institute’s 93-year history.
"His amazing talent wasn’t a one-off, as he returned to Glasgow two years later with a second canvas entitled Winter Funeral (Canisbay Kirk). It is believed that the Queen Mother expressed an interest in buying the painting which was on view at the Society of Caithness Artists' exhibition visited by Her Majesty during her holidays at the Castle of Mey.
"James’s Glasgow successes were reported in the local and national press. Our family was proud of James and it was also a feather in the cap of Wick High School.
"Our parents didn’t have to scratch their heads wondering what to get him on his birthday or at Christmas time. It was always crayons, charcoal, paint or canvas.
"James, who also excelled at the Caithness Music Festival, used to take off in the summer holidays on his bike to paint rural landmarks in Canisbay and Freswick and invariably stayed with ‘Norseman’, the pen name his host used in his correspondence with the John O’Groat Journal.
"James’s future in the art world seemed assured but it was not to be. One day he arrived home with the Highers results, absolutely shattered, to announce that he had – unbelievably – failed his art exam. How could that have happened?
"Our dad, Wick journalist John 'Hot News' Donaldson, suggested he resit the exam but James didn’t have the heart for it.
"The telling testimony to James’s talent which, in my opinion, transcended the Higher art pass, is to be found in the decision by the Glasgow institute to offer James a place without the Higher qualification. They clearly saw something significant in the youngster’s talent.
"James declined, on the basis that if he could not enter the institute on merit, on the same basis as everyone else, he would not do so by way of a concession. As I say, I took the view that the institute’s offer trumped the educational qualification but James stuck to his principle.
"So, where did the budding artist go from there?
"James, like all his siblings, had worked during school holidays in the family news agency, which filed stories from Caithness and far beyond to the national press.
"In his earlier life, he would act in loco parentis to his siblings, Lois, Barbara and myself, and take us away from the frenetic pace of the home-based news agency on walks along Wick River, up Newton Hill and through Stirkoke Woods until we were old enough to work in the family business.
"Dad’s philosophy was that if James, for any reason, didn’t make art his career then he had a head start on an alternative: journalism.
"James was well read and seldom seen without a book in his hands. He presented as a serious lad but had a healthy sense of humour.
"He was given a concentrated year’s training with his parents and joined the Inverness branch office of the Scottish Daily Express at the tender age of 16, the youngest ever reporter to be employed by a Scottish national newspaper.
"During his time there, he encountered a family rival – myself! I was training with the Daily Record under branch office chief Gordon Argo.
"At one point, James was responsible for staffing a sub-office at Fort William covering many of the tragedies on Ben Nevis, along with general news coverage. He subsequently worked for the Express at its offices in Edinburgh and at Glasgow, where the newspaper was printed.
"Up until then, general news was his daily diet but at one point he was invited to become the newspaper’s religious affairs correspondent and took up the challenge. His job involved speaking to the clergy of various denominations and, when he opted to emigrate to Australia, James was publicly acknowledged as 'a journalist they could trust', particularly when they chatted off the record.
"The move to Sydney in 1968 was prompted by the health of his son John, who, it was thought, would benefit from a warmer climate.
"James worked for the Sydney Daily Telegraph and at one point was complimented on his accurate reporting of a parliamentary debate on a controversial issue.
"He also worked for the Australian Medical Association Gazette and co-wrote the History of the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children.
"After retiring from mainstream news, he became a full-time author, writing a book about Alexander Macleay entitled Colonial Mandarin. Macleay, who emigrated to Australia, had been born in Wick.
"James also edited a collection known as The Mey Letters gathered by his father, which James published. He was working on a further book about a Caithness soldier who served in the American Civil War when he suffered a bleed on the brain and it was feared that he would not survive. Lois and I flew out to be with him on what was thought would be his final days.
"However, due to the amazing skill of the surgeons, and James’s true grit, he pulled through and began a long programme of recovery, after which he was transferred to a care home at Mary Andrews Village, South Hurstville, a suburb of Sydney.
"James enjoyed his time there and was full of praise for the staff who cared for him. Sadly, while resident at the home he lost his Inverness-born wife Janet who had supported him throughout, despite her own health problems. Their only child, John, predeceased them.
"James’s health declined and he passed away at Mary Andrews Village on March 20 at the age of 81.
"Although you travelled thousands of miles for a new life in Australia, James, you were never far from our hearts and thoughts.
"I hope the staff of the Heavenly Herald were about their business when you arrived.
"Until we meet again, dear brother...”
