Thurso sculptor retires after over 50 monumental years with John Hood & Son
A Thurso man has laid down his mason's tools to call it a day after over a half-century of continuous work with a Wick-based monumental sculpting firm.
Gordon Fraser (71) had worked at the Thurso branch of John Hood & Son since May 1968 and officially retired on Friday, April 8 – almost 54 years of employment with the firm that is famous throughout the far north for carving memorials and gravestones.
Gordon has seen all the changes in the industry – from the position of apprentice worker to company director. In an interview with the paper back in 2018, marking his 50th year with Hood's, he said: “I left school at 15 years old and I started my working life as a message boy for a butcher’s shop where I was paid £3 a week.
“Then the chance to begin an apprenticeship with John Hood & Son came up and they were offering a pound more. Of course, the means by which to do the job were very basic compared to the technology we have today.
“Back then, to do a headstone by hand would involve the use of a hammer and a chisel and, depending on what job it was, could take up to three days to complete. These days we have a full inscription machine – a grit blaster – and the job is completed on the same day.
“In the hammer-and-chisel days, work could be a bit dicey as the occasional small piece of stone could come flying in your direction. Let’s just say I’ve had a few in the eye over the years. Thankfully, we work with full facial masks these days.
“What has kept me in the job for so long is that I’ve been fortunate to be working alongside a good workforce over the years. Plus, you get time away from the office tending to headstones in various cemeteries throughout Caithness, the west and the south.”
Four years ago, Gordon had talked about retiring in 2020 when the firm celebrated its 200th year but kept going for a further two years. John Hood & Son (Sculptors) Ltd was established in 1820 and served Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire for over 200 years. The company says its memorials "have stood the test of time and the strong gales of the north".
Many of the public memorials in Wick were designed and put up by Hood's staff, including three in close proximity to the Station Road yard: the statues of Dr John Alexander and James T Calder and the Distinguished Visitors plaque.