Culter Heritage-Hound Research

03/01/2025

Meanwhile, on the south bank of the River Dee... When returning from taking the drone footage of the North Bank, I took some photos of the ancient Beech trees still in place on the Maryculter side.

03/01/2025

A Love Letter to "Lovers’ Walk": January 2025.

03/09/2024

September is traditionally a time when groups and organisations are looking to their programmes for the coming session. I am already booking up for talks across the city - on a whole variety of subjects. Feel free to get in touch to see if I can offer you a date. No fee, no obligation, 365 days a year.

03/09/2024

https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/regions/aberdeen-city/fountainhall-church-at-the-stocket

This weekend is Doors Open Day in Aberdeen- you have the opportunity to visit many buildings and venues across the city. The Hound will be at Fountainhall Church at the Stocket delving into the history. The church, formerly Midstocket Church, began life as St Ninian's. You can find more information about this and all venues at www.doorsopendays.org.uk

Doors Open Days is Scotland’s largest free festival that celebrates places and stories, new and old.

08/03/2024

80 YEARS AGO…
On the same day, 9th March 1944, news reached the families of two Culter soldiers who had died in the service of their country.

Killed on Service
Gunner John Mitchell (31), R.A., the youngest son of the late Mr James Mitchell, Milton, Murtle, and Mrs Mitchell, Denmill, Culter has been killed in action with the Central Mediterranean Forces.

Chief Petty Officer John M. Harold (23). E.R.A., only son of Mr and Mrs William Harold, Hildesay House, Culter, has also been killed while serving in the Central Mediterranean.

We Remember Them .

04/03/2024

200 Years of the RNLI in 200 seconds

02/03/2024

The Culter POW who made these picture frames from silk thread was Giuseppe Palomba. Giuseppe was from the SW of Italy, north of Naples. The Acciari/Andreeti families were from Pontremoli in Northern Italy- and there was a natural dislike of people from the South! However, as the picture frames show, they obviously struck up a friendship with native Italian speakers billeted at Culter. Domenico started by selling ice cream from a cart- then bought a pony- and then the shop. When Domenico was interred in an Isle of Man POW camp, Caterina had to run the Culter shop on her own.

28/02/2024

British Pathe News : Italian POWS 1941

Unused / unissued material - location and dates unclear or unknown.VS of Italian Prisoners of War (POWs) helping with English harvest. They wear the familiar...

28/02/2024

I have been asked about Italian Prisoners of War. The National Archive does have lists of Italian POWs held in British camps, however these are still unindexed and would require a visit to Kew Gardens to identify any individual.

The first Italian Prisoners of War arrived in Scotland’s West Coast in November 1940. However, by the following summer there were still only a few hundred available for farm work- out of an estimated 3000 UK wide prisoners. The Ministry of Agriculture had identified those who would be employed on ditching, draining, land reclamation, and general agriculture.

By 1942, Italian POWs were to be put on “parole” to work on farms. Until then, they had been working on farms under armed guard. Selected men “of good conduct” would be chosen and farmers who employed them had to give an undertaking about their care and treatment. “The Italians have quite a fair reputation as workers on the land. Many pf them shine at drainage jobs. They are said to be quick at adapting themselves to general farm work. The language difference is not regarded as a serious difficulty.”

A War Office official said “Good conduct prisoners are allowed to live in hostels with a very light guard over them, or billeted on farms with no guard at all. It is a valuable privilege from any prisoner to get away from the wired-in camp to a hostel or to a farm. Many people don’t understand when they see prisoners, in their dark brown uniforms with the large coloured disc, riding alone to work that these prisoners are too well-behaved to need a guard, and it would be a great waste of man-power to guard that type of prisoner.”

27/02/2024

I am delighted to receive a booklet on the celebrated poet Lord Byron. The 200th anniversary of his death in Missolonghi, Greece will be commemorated on 19th April 2024. In preparation for the 100th anniversary in 1924, a statue was erected outside his “old school”, the Aberdeen Grammar. The statue was unveiled on 14th September 1923. To mark the event, I was pleased to invite members of the Watt family to re-create the placing of a wreath, exactly 100 years before by their ancestor George Watt- a ten year old pupil at AGS. George was to die in 1941, a medical surgeon, aboard HMS Wryneck when it was torpedoed evacuating troops from Greece. Both he and Byron dying in Greece in the fight for freedom.

27/02/2024

Take yourself back to the main road in Culter 120 years ago. The postcard is postmarked 1904. The photo has been taken, perhaps a couple of years before. The building on the far right -Coronation Buildings- was built at the turn of the century. There is not a motor vehicle to be seen. In the distance two men are walking on the road beside a horse and cart; two women in long ankle -length dresses catch up on news standing in the middle of the road. Two small children stand nearby, another small girl sits at a distance, facing the wall. The buildings are, on the left, Carlyle Terrace. A tin-roofed shed stands where the Richmond buildings will be built. Three telegraph poles lead us to where the Post Office is, beyond this is St Mary's Place. The Mill Lum pokes out from the top of the Gordon Arms Hotel, recently built in 1896. A row of houses , including Craiglea ( marked with an X on the card). Finally, Coronation buildings with a fine set of new iron railings.

26/02/2024

80 YEARS AGO
Domenico Acciari, the Culter Ice-cream man, died on 27th February 1944 at Craigton Place, Culter. On his retiral in 1939, he thanked his customers for their support and loyalty over 29 years.

HIs wife, Caterina, died aged 69, at Nazareth House, Aberdeen on 10th March 1955. They are buried at Allenvale Cemetery, along with their son, Orlando who died in infancy. Their son, Alessandro, at the time of his mother's death was living in Addiscombe, Surrey.