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Lochaber Stalwarts.


laird387
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Hi,

There never would be a Scottish Six Days were it not for the keen band of volunteers from the Lochaber area who do all the donkey work, not only when the bright lights are in that first week in May - but in many of the weeks leading up to it.

Here is a blast from the past, seen building the 'catch net' at Blackwater.

They are, L to R, Alex Smith, Eric MacNamara, Willy Pitblado and Tommy Ritchie.

Sadly few are still with us - but happily, they have been succeeded by more willing hands.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-48042100-1390215018_thumb.jpg

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Hi munch,

I'm with you - I was travelling from Old Welwyn in Hertfordshire and used to clock 480+ miles to Fort William - so even a brief jaunt up to the Fort from, say, Edinburgh, seemed relatively local........

Many of the 'stalwarts' had difficult journeys - I think of Ed Stott, who rode in the SSDT from 1947 through to 1952, then acted as an observer from 1953 to 1964 before joining the ranks of spectators until just before he died - and Ed was travelling from Enfield in Middlesex. He was also one of a group of friends who regularly travelled on their road bikes from the London area to be part of the trial.

Some Scots had problems, the Grant brothers (twins?) ran the only shop in Rogart, way north of Fort William in Sutherland, so only one could be away at a time, you saw them at the event on alternate days, with a dash back home each evening over roads that are nowhere near today's standards. Very fortunately they didn't have one of the many ferry crossings to cope with on the way - or that would usually have limited them to daylight travel only.

Sorry if my comments seem harsh to current 'local' enthusiasts - but I am remembering and commenting on how it was - not how it is today.

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  • 4 months later...

That's my Dad and Uncle Bill!! Lovely to hear them mentioned on here after such a long time. And lovely to see Uncle Willie in your pic too! Thanks for sharing! :)

Some Scots had problems, the Grant brothers (twins?) ran the only shop in Rogart, way north of Fort William in Sutherland, so only one could be away at a time, you saw them at the event on alternate days, with a dash back home each evening over roads that are nowhere near today's standards. Very fortunately they didn't have one of the many ferry crossings to cope with on the way - or that would usually have limited them to daylight travel only.

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That's my Dad and Uncle Bill!! Lovely to hear them mentioned on here after such a long time. And lovely to see Uncle Willie in your pic too! Thanks for sharing! :)

Hi,

Can you please clarify one point for me, were the Grants brothers, twins or cousins? - I knew about the alternate days arrangement they had for many years, indeed I first mentioned it in my book "Lochaber Rich Mixture" way back- which, incidentally will be republished shortly in a way that I hope many more people can enjoy - when I published it initially it was all self financed and I could only afford to have 1200 copies printed - which all sold very quickly and now you'll see copies on eBay for lotsa money - but with the help of 'tc' and a new project we are developing it will be republished - but with revised and updated details plus many more photographs that I have never used before and at a cost that all can afford - the more who enjoy it the merrier - and it would be nice if I could put the Grant family relationship correctly described - plus any other details you can give me, how did they get from Rogart to Lochaber, by motorbike probably? - for instance. Are there any family stories of problems they may have had travelling around all those years ago - I know the problems I had travelling from Yorkshire to ride over Bealach-na-Baa on a trials bike with no lights in 1954 - the journey from home then back again took a week - camping by the roadside all the way!

Thanks,

Deryk Wylde

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  • 2 months later...

Sorry Deryk - only just spotted this! They were twin brothers....not medically identical, but next to impossible to distinguish between them unless you knew them very, very well....!

You're right - they generally took the bikes down. They'd head down the main road to Beauly, then cut over the top to Drumnadrochit before heading on down to the Fort....a cracking run even today. Not the week-long trek that you had mind you!

In terms of family stories.....man, I could recite them for days, although a fair percentage probably wouldn't be appropriate for public consumption. :)

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Sorry Deryk - only just spotted this! They were twin brothers....not medically identical, but next to impossible to distinguish between them unless you knew them very, very well....!

You're right - they generally took the bikes down. They'd head down the main road to Beauly, then cut over the top to Drumnadrochit before heading on down to the Fort....a cracking run even today. Not the week-long trek that you had mind you!

In terms of family stories.....man, I could recite them for days, although a fair percentage probably wouldn't be appropriate for public consumption. :)

Thanks for that' Highland Lassie' - now I can state the correct facts when I come to the twins involvement as i rewrite 'Lochaber Rich Mixture' in the new electronic magazine - ORRe,

regards

Deryk

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