Hugh MacMaster (sometimes McMaster - they are interchangeable in this era), was the some of Donald and Janet MacMaster. He married Kennethina Isabella Dorwood in Glasgow on 28 Oct 1924 and they had a daughter, Victoria, who became a nurse.
He moved to Brora around 1935 as the gamekeeper on the Gordonbush estate. He had previously worked as a keeper for the Earl of Ancaster in Perthshire. He left for another post in Dublin in 1937, but returned to Brora a year later to take up the same role. Ill health forced him to give up this active role in 1941 and he took a job at T M Hunter's Sutherland Wool Mills, where he stayed for 10 years.
On retiring he took up a post as a part-time ghillie on the Brora river, popular with the fishermen for his detailed knowledge of the salmon and their habits.
He was a fluent Gaelic speaker and also a keen fan of shinty and football. In 1951, after leaving the mill, he became caretaker for the bowling green and tennis courts.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brora Patrol | Patrol member | Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Gamekeeper
Hugh Macmaster had a long military career, first signing on a Territorial on 11 Feb 1908 with the 4th Battalion Cameron Highlanders for 14 months, leaving at his own request. He again signed up as a Territorial with the 1st Lovat Scouts Yeomanry in 1912. He record states that he was 5 foot and 5 inches tall and was working as a forester. He attended the annual camp in 1912, 1913 and 1914, often seen a paid summer holiday by many of the men. He was mobilised for service in the First World War on 4 Aug 1914 as Private 225661 at Roy Bridge, Inverness-shire, where he then was living.
During the summer of 1915 he was twice admitted to hospital for issues with varicose veins. He was sent to Gallipoli, landing on 26 Sep 1915 and remaining there until 18 Dec. He spent a total of 9 months in Egypt, reenlisting in Jan 1916 while at Mena Camp in Cairo.
On 17 Nov 1916 he was transferred to the 10th (Lovat Scouts) Battalion Cameron Highlanders, shortly after the Battalion landed at Salonika. On Dec they were involved in heavy fighting at Tumbitsa, taking heavy losses. They then settled down to a period in the trenches. On 10 Apr 1917 he was admitted to hospital in Malta with an infection in his right armpit, having been evacuated from Salonika. This worsened in this pre-antibiotic era, and he was declared seriously ill on 5 May, undergoing surgery for the abscess that had developed. Fortunately, he recovered well and came off the seriously ill list 4 days later.
He returned to the Battalion and was transferred with them to France arriving on June 1918. He remained there until Feb 1919. During Dec 1918 he was attached as an observer to 13 Army Corps Headquarters. He was disembodied on 8 Mar 1919 and was discharged from the army on 31 Mar 1920.
During the Second World War, he was one of the first to sign up with the Local Defence Volunteers. He transferred from there to Auxiliary Units, being an obvious candidate.
TNA ref WO199/3388
Ancestry UK
WW1 Service Record
Northern Times 4 Nov 1937, 30 Mar 1951
John O'Groat Journal 22 Oct 1965