Thursday late night miscellany - Christmas Market perhaps – Hamish’s memories of Findlay Ross prompted by a request from Milwaukee – County fans Ben Nevis sponsorship total nears 5K

The Gurn understands that that the nucleus of folk involved in the Inverness Farmers market are keen to hold a Christmas Market in Nairn. The 23^rd of November is a date that has been mentioned. The market would be held in one of the car parks between the main road and the High Street.

Our correspondent Hamish was asked a question on a thread on this article here by someone in the US who had come across the article mentioning a Findlay Ross who was a fishmonger in Nairn. The mention which caught this person’s attention came in the comments on the article. Unfortunately the retired librarian who left the request below failed to add contact details: 

“My Grandfather William Ross born in Ontario, Canada was a 1st cousin of Findlay Ross of Nairn. I would be interested in any information that you might have to share about Findlay Ross and his family during his time in Nairn. I do know that he had a son, Brian (Campbell?) Ross born in the 1950's and that he was married to Bathia McDonald who worked as an assistant in a bookshop in Nairn. I am very much looking forward to hearing from you. I am a retired librarian and genealogist located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.”

The request jogged Hamish’s memory and here’s what he had to say:

” I got to know him when I worked in M^cKay’s garage in Courthouse Lane. He had a 250 cc Excelsior motorbike and garaged it with us during the time he was at work.

Don’t know anything regarding his family background except that he lived in a cottage in Delnies.  The cottage was typical of the many to be seen in the country outside the town and he may have had a sister with the name Jean. He did have a sister.

I’m reasonable sure that he served an apprenticeship in the Highland fish shop in Leopold Street following which he worked In Haldane’s fish shop in High Street until war broke out.

I think he may have been in the Nairn branch of the Territorial Army but I do known that he served in France in the very early part of the war and was taken prisoner of war near to Dunkirk in 1940. As a prisoner he worked as a farm labourer on a farm in Poland until repatriated and returned home to Nairn. He did tell me that the Polish family treated him as one of the family and that he saw little or nothing of his prisoners.

I met him late 1945 when I was on leave and write what I say regarding his time as a P.O.W. from him then.”

The County fans that climbed Ben Nevis last weekend have been counting up the sponsorship money pledged that will go into the Fans Ground Improvements Fund. The total is approximately £70 short of £5,000 and this weekend there will be a bucket on the bar in Uncle Bob’s for anyone wishing to make a last minute donation to help round up the figure to 5K. Steven Bain will also be accepting donations at Station Park too. You can see a video of the fans in action here and some images here on the fansfund raising site. Each pound raised will attract matching funding from the Scottish Football Partnership for ground improvements at Station Park. It is hoped that a new “Cowshed” will be built in the centenary year 2014.