Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Earlier, I have already covered the topic of telegrams in the post “My Parents’ Telegrams” describing telegrams as ‘state-of-the-art’ technology during the mid-twentieth century. Telegrams are also handy when writing a ‘family history’; they are a kind of primary source providing official evidence of residence and dates. In addition, they tell us something about personal and family relations. Here, I’ll share more telegrams that my mother received during the war years such as birthday greetings, cards, and a mysterious letter.

Birthday telegrams and cards on my mother’s 21st birthday (21 May 1942)

From her mother Morag

The address of the telegram is Rannoch Cottage, 85 Queen Street, Dunoon. Despite the fact that the house is visible on Google Maps, I could not find a clear picture of it there. The word ‘cottage’ implies a single dwelling, while the Google image seems to show a semi-detached house. However, Google has a public document referred to as ‘Rannoch Cottage.’¹

My mother does not seem to have kept any photos of the house/cottage.

However, the telegram shows that she lived in Dunoon in 1942. She mentions that she moved to Dunoon after her wedding in 1940; by 1945, the family seems to have moved to 2 Chesser Loan, Edinburgh, after a short stay in Sunderland, where my brother Alistair was born. 

Apart from these factual details, the telegrams suggest that she had a close relationship with her mother. Sometimes though, my mother expressed disdain for her mother in conversations with me (when she was in her seventies and eighties). The other point is that it doesn’t say, “Congratulations from her father.” 

As mentioned elsewhere, my two eldest brothers, Alexander and Stuart were born at 85 Queen Street. It seems this house was merely a rental. Perhaps this was arranged due to my father’s employment with the RNVR at Holy Loch during the war.   

Birthday greetings from her sister Flora

My mother’s younger sister Flora sent the telegram from ‘Kippen,’ which seems to be in the Stirling area. She married Robert Ralston in the 1950s, and I seem to remember that she settled in Stirling. 

Birthday card sent by her younger sister Violet

Violet was only ten years old in 1942. She was, therefore, eleven years younger than my mother. Since there is an age gap of eleven years, it may be odd for ten-year-olds to send birthday cards to their elder sisters. But it also implies that my mother had close contact with her Glasgow family.

Mysterious letter from Rodie MacPherson 2 July 1940

It is perhaps too much of a coincidence that my mother received a letter from someone called Rodie MacPherson on July 2, 1940. She received this letter before she married and maybe before she met my father. 

I won’t try to interpret the letter but just insert it here and leave it up to the reader to fathom it.

He mentions ‘a letter from Alec’ – but this may not be my father. One might suspect this was a ‘love letter’; he says, “bringing the tears to my eyes every night.” But it seems more likely that he was someone my mother had made friends with at the Highland Institute in Glasgow, which housed naval officers and recruits. 

This job must be ideal for a young girl at the time, given they could pick and choose from the naval men billeted there! 

In retrospect, Rodie might have been the son of my father’s neighbours at 2 Chesser Loan in Edinburgh. He may have served as a ‘go-between’ for my mother and father when they were first courting. We will never know if Rodie harboured romantic ideas about my mother. However, I have no further evidence that Rodie was the MacPhersons’ son.² Yet another mystery! 

¹ https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/g674/Public%20reports%20pack%20Tuesday%2002-Apr-2002%2010.00%20Bute%20and%20Cowal%20Area%20Committee.pdf?T=10

² But this could be searched for on Scotland’s People.