Master Menu
After World War 2
The Younger Generation Take Over.
Had John Cameron not died in the prime of life as a newly well off successful businessman, then things may have turned out very differently. When he died his only son George and his family had to abandon their plans for a new life in South Africa and get the first boat home.
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His wife Alice did not get to spend very long as the wife of a locally respected businessman but instead had to move aside into a sort of Dowager Duchess role as her son took over running the business and the family affairs.
The next generation, the children of John Cameron & Alice collet were all in their 20's and 30's when their father died.
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ELSIE
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The eldest Elsie born 1915 was living in Edinburgh working as a domestic science teacher. This may be hard to believe for anyone who ever experienced her cooking but is a surprising fact. She went on to Marry Sandy MacNair in 1954. Sandy worked in book publishing, had written a couple of books himself about life in Colonial India, he owned several large houses in Edinburgh's New-Town, the rental income from these sustained them after ill health forced him to retire young. He also had political ambitions and stood as Liberal Party candidate in 2 or 3 parliamentary elections in the 1960's. He did not get elected however I understand that on at least one occasion it was close enough to require a re-count.
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Elsie & Sandy had one son, also Sandy born in 1958. Sandy worked in the Civil Service and in a number of other roles whilst eventually getting established as an author and newspaper columnist.
GEORGE
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In the middle was George born 1919, I will not repeat what is in other sections, suffice to say he somewhat reluctantly took over the family business following his Father's death. He had spent the war years in the Merchant Navy, almost miraculously surviving the entire duration of the war. He was an engineer so spent his time in the depths of the engine rooms, the most dangerous of all places to be but somehow he survived being on ships that were hit by torpedos and sunk on three occasions. He must have had a guardian angel sitting on both shoulders, never mind just one!
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The love of George's life was Edith, a Liverpudlian they met during the war, George spending most voyages sailing to and from Liverpool. They married in 1944 and had two daughters Yvonne & Rhona.
Yvonne married Martin Jackson a young Doctor, they moved to Canada not long after they were married where they have been ever since.
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After University Rhona spent an interesting few years travelling and working in many different places and countries . Eventually she met and married Dick Walsh, an American civil engineer and for years they moved around the world from one major construction project to another.
Eventually he reached a seniority where he was mainly USA based and they were able to settle on a more permanent basis in Dick's native Florida. There they raised their two sons Craig and Grant and there tragically Dick took his own life one beautiful sunny September afternoon in 2012.
MARGUERITE.
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Last but not least, born in 1923 Marguerite was the baby of the family. She spent most of the war years at University in Edinburgh and then also in Edinburgh at the Teacher's Training College as they were known back then.
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During her time in Edinburgh she met Joe Duffin, a young Naval cadet he was stationed at the huge Naval base at Rosyth, next door to Dunfirmline.
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Not renowned for its night-life Rosyth must have been a pit of a place to spend months of your young life, unsurprisingly any time off tended to be spent in Edinburgh where the pubs and dance-halls were rammed with, mostly young men of various nationalities. Somehow Joe had become friends with a young Medic called Alec Reid, so when Joe met Marguerite, Alec met her room-mate Anne.
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MARGUERITE CONTINUED.
They clearly all got on as after the War was done with Alec married Anne and Marguerite married Joe. The four of them remained firm friends for the rest of their lives. Such friendships can't go on for ever, in the early 200's Alec died followed by Joe in 2009 leaving two sad lonely widows who between them had been married for 122 years.
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You do not get over losing your spouse of 60+ years but by 2011 Marguerite seemed to be getting to the far side of her grief. She had a brighter disposition and started to get pleasure out of life once again. Sadly this was not to last, in 2012, investigation of some odd pains discovered the advanced pancreatic cancer from which she died at the end of that year. There was certain inevitability about this as both her mother and grandmother died of the same thing.
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So what happened to Anne & Alec? By the time Alec had completed his training as a doctor the war was fortunately over and as a Doctor he was exempt from National Service. After qualifying and doing various junior hospital jobs Alec joined a partnership in Caerphilly in South Wales. Quite why he would have chosen to spend his life in quite such a depressing dump of a place I have no idea and no way of finding out. For whatever reason, having joined the practice in Caerphilly, there he stayed for his entire working life, it clearly suited them. As an English speaking Scot practicing in Wales there must have been some interesting exchanges ! They had three sons but regrettably that is all I can tell you about them.