Graeme Reid Photos

Written by Graeme Reid, January 2020:

My Great grandmother May Reid was born in Kemnay in 1873 and was i believe one of 5 children born to Lewis and Elizabeth Reid of Kemnay. Two of her brothers, Alexander George and William Bisset Reid were builders and set up a small building company circa 1900 and built the 4 flatted property Ardennan on Paradise road and the Masonic lodge building St Bryde 991 on St Bryde’s road Kemnay.

For their silver wedding A.G. Reid built the house known as “The Knowe”, on the corner of the junction to Inverurie, Pictillum road as a present for his wife.. My great grandfather George Reid (Husband of May) and my grandfather also George Reid ( May’s son) were both Sett makers in Kemnay quarry and helped A.G. with the building of “The Know, which led to them being allowed to site an old railway carriage at the rear of the Knowe. They would live in the carriage during the working week Monday to Saturday then catch the train home to Woodside Aberdeen.

After the end of W.W.2 A.G. informed my great grandfather that he wanted the carriage for his daughter and son in law who was an officer in the R.A.F. and had been posted to Leuchars in Fife.

My great grandfather approached Charlie Ogg who ran a croft / farm on the Horner Pictillum road and received permission to site a second Carriage a few hundred yards up the Horner from the main road but visible to A.G. in the Knowe.

I spent many weekends and summer holidays at the carriage on the Horner and have some wonderful memories of a lifestyle that was simpler than nowadays  where an outside toilet was just roughing it and the fridge was a biscuit tin buried in the ground but it was certainly an experience to pull back the curtain lying in your bed and be confronted by a huge cow’s tongue licking the dew from the glass. Happy, happy memories.

1. Great grandfather George Reid, his son my grandfather also George Reid and the wee boy is my father also George Reid but he was known as Junior. This is the garden of the Knowe on the Aberdeen Road at the Junction to Inverurie. This would be 1932.

2. Great gramma May Reid at Ardennan on Kendal Road with her daughter Millie and my granda Reid George Reid. This is about 1907.

3. Granda Reid on the right with a pal from America called Buddy and my dad at the old Railway carriage behind the Know about 1932.

4. Great granda with my dad and i’m afraid i don’t know who the other older boy is. Again behind the Know.

5. Dad at the carriage after being told it was bed time about 1931.

6. Great granda’s second carriage from the Loco works and sat on Charlie Ogg’s land on the Horner. Mum and dad in the early 1950’s.

7. Granda George Reid sleeping outside the Carriage on the Horner in the 1940’s.

8. Mum and dad, “George and Rena Reid”,  on the Horner just down from the site of the Carriage, 1960’s.

9. Great gramma May at the Carriage possibly 1950’ish.  May married George Reid who was a quarry mason in Vinal Haven Maine U.S.A. in 1894

10. Great granda and granda both George Reid at the Know as it was nearing completion late 1920’s.

11. Great granda passing the Knowe on his way home to the old Carriage and he has been in the Gushet Neuk and is 3 sheets to the wind.

12. Reid clan on a picnic in the Kemnay area.

13. The last picture is my Great grandparents, grandparents and possibly A.G. Reid great gramma’s brother the builder in Kemnay and the factor on the Kemnay house estate. The taxi driver is from Kemnay so this was a day out from Kemnay we think to the Lecht or the cairn O’h Mount circa early 1930’s.

Graeme Reid, by email, 20 January 2020