Bill Wright Milkman
Date Added: 24 April 2008
Year Range: 1900 - 1930
Institution Name: dnhhl
Cat No: ◀ | 2007_278_09 | ▶
Picture No: 3729
Monochrome photograph of milkman Bill Wright making a delivery from a single wheel cart with a milk churn in ? Gilbert Street, to a man standing in the doorway of a thatched single storey dwelling.
Dimensions: jpeg file
Groups: Hidden Gems
3 Comments
My Father's oldest brother William Wright (1898-1963) born in Fife, operated a dairy operated a farm and dairy in Doronch in the mid 1920's. My father worked on it over a few summers. Any info on that would be appreciated.
Comment left on 13 May 2018 at 13:52 by Al Wright
The dairy herd was kept at The Meadows and people in the town still remember how the cows used to make their way through Dornoch to the dairy milking parlour in St Gilbert's Street to be milked and then returned to the Meadows. According to a previous employee of Mr Wright, the ice cream from the dairy was 'legendary' and people would come from all over to buy it!.
Administrator
Hello Al,
Just a note to say that I saw your comment telling that Willie Wright was your uncle.
I knew Willie Wright well during my childhood days in Embo, where I was born in 1939.
Willie delivered his milk to most of the homes in Embo from a small pick up van that he drove. A pick up van? I hope that's the right expression, here in South Africa we call them "Bakkies".
Willie was always smartly dressed in a dustcoat, shirt and tie and riding breeches with leather leggings. And of course he had his largish leather money bag hanging from his neck on his chest.
He was always friendly to all the Embo villagers which was unusual as most Dornoch people in those past days looked down on Embo people as “uncouth Gaelic speaking fishersâ€.
Later my family moved to Glasgow and while we were there Willie visited us at our home when he was attending a farming conference in that city.
Somewhere else on this site I told a story of where some of us Embo boys thought that we would play a trick on motorists. Those were the days when we were lucky to see four vehicles a day on the road to Embo. The trick consisted of putting a stone in a small cardboard box and placing it on Cnoc Hill on the road just above the Embo railway station. As bad luck would have it Willie struck the box with his van and contrary to the saying there was crying over that spilt milk!
Yes, he was a very nice man and I have fond memories of him and his daughter Beattie who served in his ice cream shop behind Grants The Butchers in Dornoch. I can also confirm that the ice cream served in the shop was indeed legendary.
Those were the days…
Kenneth Mackay
Comment left on 12 June 2018 at 14:12 by Kenneth Mackay
Just a note to say that I saw your comment telling that Willie Wright was your uncle.
I knew Willie Wright well during my childhood days in Embo, where I was born in 1939.
Willie delivered his milk to most of the homes in Embo from a small pick up van that he drove. A pick up van? I hope that's the right expression, here in South Africa we call them "Bakkies".
Willie was always smartly dressed in a dustcoat, shirt and tie and riding breeches with leather leggings. And of course he had his largish leather money bag hanging from his neck on his chest.
He was always friendly to all the Embo villagers which was unusual as most Dornoch people in those past days looked down on Embo people as “uncouth Gaelic speaking fishersâ€.
Later my family moved to Glasgow and while we were there Willie visited us at our home when he was attending a farming conference in that city.
Somewhere else on this site I told a story of where some of us Embo boys thought that we would play a trick on motorists. Those were the days when we were lucky to see four vehicles a day on the road to Embo. The trick consisted of putting a stone in a small cardboard box and placing it on Cnoc Hill on the road just above the Embo railway station. As bad luck would have it Willie struck the box with his van and contrary to the saying there was crying over that spilt milk!
Yes, he was a very nice man and I have fond memories of him and his daughter Beattie who served in his ice cream shop behind Grants The Butchers in Dornoch. I can also confirm that the ice cream served in the shop was indeed legendary.
Those were the days…
Kenneth Mackay
Comment left on 12 June 2018 at 14:12 by Kenneth Mackay
Thanks so much Kenneth for your comments. It was more than I was hoping for. My Dad and I visited Dornoch in 1977 and stayed on Beattie's and her husband Jim Hutton's house which they ran as a B & B. Jim and Beattie also visited our family in Ottawa Canada.
My Dad told the story similar to that of the Boys of Embo. His story was setting a suitcase out at the side of the road while hiding in a cornfield with a rope attached to the suitcase. When a car would drive by and stop, they would pull the suitcase back into the corn field much to the frustration of those who though they had spotted some treasure. This would have been the Canadian version and I believe it to be true as I recall seeing some write up in a small local paper.
Nice to hear your kind comments on "Willie". Again much appreciated.
Al Wright
Canada Comment left on 11 July 2018 at 17:34 by Al Wright
My Dad told the story similar to that of the Boys of Embo. His story was setting a suitcase out at the side of the road while hiding in a cornfield with a rope attached to the suitcase. When a car would drive by and stop, they would pull the suitcase back into the corn field much to the frustration of those who though they had spotted some treasure. This would have been the Canadian version and I believe it to be true as I recall seeing some write up in a small local paper.
Nice to hear your kind comments on "Willie". Again much appreciated.
Al Wright
Canada Comment left on 11 July 2018 at 17:34 by Al Wright
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