Ledger lifts lid on Wester Ross secrets
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A HIGHLAND family heirloom has provided an intriguing insight about a key part of the history of the second world war.
The MacIver family have inherited their father George’s meticulously hand written sales ledger, which covers the sales of food to the merchant navy ships on Loch Ewe from the family shop in Aultbea, Wester Ross from the months of September 1942 to October 1943.
The family have donated the ledger to the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum project, which has high hopes of a museum in Aultbea as a lasting legacy to all those that took part during WWII.
The significance of the ledger came to light when Annabelle MacKenzie (nee MacIver), from Inverness, contacted the museum group when she saw the television Remembrance Day news item about the Arctic convoys which was filmed at Aultbea last November.
It quickly became apparent that her father’s book was extremely important, giving a carefully and accurately written listing of every one of the ships that were anchored in Loch Ewe either before or after their gruelling convoy trips to Russia.
As the area was top secret during the war, very little is known of the ships' movements - so the ledger is a rare insight into what was happening on Loch Ewe during parts of 1942-43.
Annabelle said: "We are so thrilled that this sales ledger from our dads shop in Aultbea is proving to be such an important reference book for the Museum Project. We never thought it would be so significant! Our family are very happy to hear of the plans to develop a museum in Aultbea to commemorate the part the area played in the Second World War.
"Our father ran the grocer's shop at the bottom of Tighnafiline, which is still there. As well as serving local folk from a wide area he supplied the merchant ships during the Arctic convoys. We heard many stories from our parents of how our sleepy little village was completely transformed to a vibrant and very busy area during the war.
"WWII had an enormous effect on the area and provided work for locals for a number of years. Our mum Ena worked in the Post Office in Gairloch and told us of how the little post office was overwhelmed with telegrams coming back and forth from the military.
"We are especially pleased also to hear of the WWII families' reunion which is planned for May 10 at Aultbea Hotel during WWII Week and the Arctic Convoys Week that the Museum group are organising. We have lost touch with many of the folks we knew in Aultbea since our family moved to Inverness in 1959. Several of my five siblings Wilma, Gina, Muriel and John (Tonto) and myself hope to come along to the Reunion and look forward to meeting everyone and sharing our memories of these bygone days. We still have a number of relatives living in the Gairloch area and see them from time to time."
For further information about the Museum Project and the WWII event go to www.russianarcticconvoymuseum.co.uk
More on this story in this week's Ross-shire Journal.
