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Tarfside
Tarfside maps
Historic maps of Tarfside and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Tarfside maps
Tarfside area books
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Memories of Tarfside
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Angus memories
The Weather
My parents, sister and I lived in Kinneff for a couple of years and I attended the little village school, Mr Hainings was the Head then. The weather was extreme, winters were full of snow and the lovely coal fire my mum to used to make, hours and hours were spent playing out in the summer, I remember one year when all the jelly fish arrived and we took a picnic and sat on the top watching them, another time there was a seal in the water. Wonderful place and wonderful memories.
Early Days in Ferryden
Kids used to run around bare footed. At the school in Ferryden we had slates, if you were good the teacher used to let you take the water bottle home to refill it, we used to clean the slates with water. Went on a picnic, the whole class on a horse and cart. Used to buy a bag of buckies for a penny, didn't eat them, just winkled them out with a pin for fun. Used to get candy apples from a Mrs Coull at the back of Ferryden. We used to go up the braes at the back of Ferryden and pinch the farmer's peas (I[still feel guilty). Used to love the beer boat coming and going, we called it 'the beery'. It was the SS 'Lochside', it used to ply between Newcastle and Montrose. There was still a few fishing boats in Ferryden then and you could see the salmon jumping in the river. It was a wonderfull place to grow up in and it's so sad to... Read more
The Low/Davidson Family
My sister and I are from Canada and came to Scotland this past month, August, 2009, to see where our mother, Kathleen Low, and her family were born and raised in their youth. After many years of hearing them describe their homeland, we knew it instantly as soon as we saw the beautiful coast line and smelled the fresh sea air!
Our grandfather was William Herbert Low and he was born in Benholm. His father owned the large farm - Nether Benholm - in the late 1800's. William married Katie Davidson of Johnshaven in 1896 and they lived in Ibicui Cottage, which was her family home. (Katie's mother, Ann Douglas, married Captain David C. Davidson, who went down with his ship (the S.S.Montrose) off Helsinki in the late 1800's).
Grandma and Grandpa Low had five children: David, Annie, Grace and Kathleen (twins), and Winnifred. They left Scotland in 1913 to make a new life in Canada and, while on the voyage over, their youngest... Read more
Benholm Bothy
Responding to Judi Parry's memory of visiting Johnshaven and her mother's surname of Low, I hae a single census record (1901) of my great uncle David Low at the age of 19 being a blacksmith apprentice at the blacksmith's bothy, Benholm. He became a journeyman blacksmith based at Anstruther, Fife, for most of his life. I would be most interested in any information on this blacksmith's bothy or indeed of this branch of the Low family.
My Family
I was born in Johnshaven at 9 Mid Street, my grandmother's house. She was Mary Wyllie, nee Laing, and my grandfather was Jimmy Wyllie. My mother's maiden name was Mary-Ann Wyllie. We moved to Fife when I was young, but I remember coming back to visit until my grandmother died in 1952. I had an older half-sister Georgina (Ina) who unfortunately died very suddenly this year (2011). I grew up hearing names like Dundas, Blues and McBay and apparently I used to play with Susan McBay when I was small but can't honestly remember. After a bit of research and help from a lovely lady called Cressida in Stonehaven Registrar's office, I've managed to locate my grandparents' grave in Johnshaven cemetery and as we're staying in the Anchor Hotel this New Year I'm looking forward to placing a tribute on the spot for the first time in over fifty years! It would be lovely to hear from anyone who remembers my family. Jo Whyte
Evacuees
I attended school headed by Dominie Colvin and indeed ended up living there along with two other evacuees, having previously lived at East Crachie with the Ogilvie family. I learnt, among other things, to make snares and nets to catch rabbits. How to drive a tractor on the farm and other farm work. At the school we put on a school play, which was also put on in Forfar. At 10 years old it was a good war away from the city. In the winter our daily 1/3 pint of milk frequently got frozen, an early version of frozen lollies. We often walked to Forfar to go to the cinema and see Flash Gordon on Saturday, usually followed by chips in the High Street. I later worked for Dave Drummond at Backmuir farm Carmylie having taken a liking to the countryside. At that time the summers seemed endless and the weather fine. We often played in the stream/burn that runs in the hollow to the south below Crachie. The name... Read more
RAF Radar at Inverbervie
I was based in Inverbervie from March 1957 till March 1958 with 977 Signals Unit of the Royal Air Force. 977 SU operated radar from an underground site on the hill a couple of miles north of the village. Height finding and azimuth aerials were mounted on plinths on the surface. Coming up to the surface to work on the aerials or just for a change of scene was always pleasant, with curlews calling and plenty of sea air. Once while checking the equipment in the radar head, which wasn't rotating at the time, I noticed smoke pouring out and grabbed a CO2 extinguisher to deal with it. Holding the large black plastic horn out of which shot the gas, I found that when I removed my hand most of the skin of my palm was left frozen onto it. However the fire was put out and the nation saved. The unit's domestic site was in the village, but I believe has now been replaced by housing. There were 27 of... Read more
