Willie Hatrick - No smoke without fire
In the 1950's the Forestry Commission were very zealous in their fire protection, and there was one aspect of it that was welcomed by the forestry
workers, i.e., at the weekend in the spring of the year, a fire patrol
duty was appointed to patrol the Larach. This would amount to a
four-hour stint on Saturday and Sunday afternoons when it was considered
the threat of fire was at its greatest. That duty was popular among the
forestry workers for it meant extra money plus the fact that it was an enjoyable chore,(who gets paid for going out for a walk?). The fear was that a passing motorist might discard a cigarette end or a picnicker might light a fire.
One particular April weekend Willie Hatrick got a turn. Willie was a retired constable from Gourock and was living at Sligrachan, the last house up the glen. The weather that weekend was cold and windy but still the Forester in charge thought it justified a fire patrol, so off Willie went. However, soon he felt the cold too much to bear and decided to light a small fire to keep himself warm. All went well until the Assistant Forester Jimmy McKay spotted the smoke rising from the Larach. Jimmy McKay was a very quiet spoken man and he worked on the Estate, prior to the Forestry Commission taking over in 1929. Anyhow, Jimmy jumped into his van and raced up the Larach to confront Willie and ask him what he was playing at, Willie explained he was feeling cold and lit a wee fire to keep warm. “Mercy me” says Jimmy “yer here tae stop fires nay tae start them”.
Now I have something for you to do, take a walk up the Larach from the Ardentinny end and on the left side see if you can spot the ditch that was dug for a fire break, it's about four feet wide and about one foot deep. It was clean to bare soil every year until the late 1950s, it will be about five foot from the edge of the road. Happy hunting and enjoy your walk.
Fred Mann
Other stories by Fred Mann:
- The Broken Brashing Saw
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