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The Scottish Review is on its annual summer break and will resume publication on Tuesday 24 July
I nearly kent
my faither
A poignant memoir by Jim Fiddes
Celebrate
Places Seldom Mentioned
A love poem for the summer by
Gerard Rochford
Holiday memories
are made
of this…
A celebration in photographs by
Islay McLeod
The most memorable
holiday in Scotland
that I never had
The glories of the
hydro hotels by
Kenneth Roy
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A Scottish holiday
Drawing by SR’s resident cartoonist, the one
and only
Bob Smith
I nearly
kent my
faither
Jim Fiddes
It is probably very common for sons to feel remorse that they never took an opportunity in maturity to speak at length with their father. I certainly do, and I am left with an awful regret that these opportunities did not materialise. Father died when only 64 and frankly I did not mature ’til late.
I feel very flattered when told ‘You are just like your dad’, but I lack the excellence of his attributes while demonstrating several of his shortcomings. The fact that I am content with this perhaps reflects the admiration I had for him and also my love.
Frederick Smith Fiddes was born on 1 September 1907 in Bonaly Road, now Harrison Gardens, Merchiston, the younger son of Sergeant James Fiddes of Edinburgh’s finest. He demonstrated his independence of mind quite early, becoming a choirboy at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Ardmillan, with no family connections to this church or denomination. Singing was obviously an early ‘enthusiasm’ at the time because, as far as I am aware, he didn’t join a church or become a church-goer until the 1950s.
He won a scholarship to George Heriot’s School and entered the school in September 1918. This was the start of a life-long association with Heriot’s during which he was head of school, governor, president of the FP club, president of the rugby club as well as the proud but often exasperated father of three pupils of the school. The valedictory comments of his headmaster confirm that: ‘He has done very well this year, with three medals to his credit, captain of the school (medalist in English, Latin and History), winner of the Robert Louis Stevenson prize for literature and quiet and gentlemanly – an excellent type of boy’.
He obviously felt enormous gratitude to the school for the opportunity he perceived it gave to him and this was reflected in his enthusiastic life-long involvement. I don’t think my brothers and I, although affectionate Herioters, have ever felt quite as strongly. He was also captain of cricket at school and I have a cutting from the Scotsman which confirmed that, when captaining Edinburgh schools in Glasgow, he bowled I A R Peebles of Glasgow Academy, later of Middlesex and England. Again, cricket was a life-long passion which he passed on to me, believing that if a man was a cricketer there must be something fundamentally decent about him. Years afterwards medics in the university cricket eleven told me that in ‘Vivers’ they had only been asked about cricket and medicine was almost ignored.
He matriculated at Edinburgh University in autumn 1926 in the medical faculty, graduating five years later in 1931. Again, he had a notable academic record as medalist in surgery, top of the class in psychiatry and psychology and ‘Proxime Accesit’ in pathology and bacteriology.
On graduation he was offered a position as trainee with one of Edinburgh’s leading surgeons, George L Chiene, but this opportunity had to be turned down as he had a living to make.
And so he turned to general practice and his first appointment was as assistant to Dr George Hendry in Buckie from October 1931 to May 1934. Many life-long friendships were established at this time, one in particular – Alfie Duncan, much later banker at Maud – who shared dad’s interest in piping, small bore shooting and the Famous Grouse.
Two other what may be called ‘locums’ followed, assisting Dr Ian Cameron in Tarbet, Argyll and Dr Campbell McIntyre in Bowmore, Islay. And then, surprisingly, he took a job with the Paddy Henderson Steamship Line and sailed in November 1935 as ship’s surgeon on the SS Pegu from Liverpool to Rangoon. An 8,000 tonne steamship with a complement of 124 passengers, then on the Glasgow-Burma service, left Rangoon on her return trip in May 1936. Although he only alluded to these voyages briefly, I think he enjoyed the experience and popularity such a post ensured. He doubled up as entertainment officer and among other things arranged for celebrity passenger W B Yeats to give a recitation of his poems.
He was disappointed in 1953 not to be appointed to the chair of forensic medicine at the university but was content to be Professor Douglas Kerr’s deputy and senior lecturer and deputy medical referee and police surgeon to the city. Douglas Kerr died in 1960 and dad was appointed by the university as acting head of forensic medicine and medical referee and police surgeon. Father’s academic record was exemplary as was his experience and I don’t need to expand here. He was liked and respected by staff and students and I have particularly enjoyed the approval of many senior legal figures who remember fondly his lectures and later admired his performance as expert witness in High Court trials.
He applied for the chair when it was advertised again in 1963 but changes in the university meant that no actual appointment was made and he was kept in limbo for several years. I think his disappointment at not being formally appointed was intense and certainly contributed to the deterioration of his health in the late 60s. The politics of a university are arcane to say the least and certainly he was not a political animal but at the end of the day he did not achieve the professional recognition that he should have and this hurt.
I don’t know if he was seen as a maverick or outsider in university circles as certainly his politics were non-conformist although a good soldier and proud to fight for king and country and with a romantic vision of empire (I remember him singing ‘The Road to Mandalay’ very loudly). He was a great nationalist and signed the Scottish Covenant in 1946 and was friends with John MacCormick as well as Wendy Wood. In these post-war years his politics were probably of the left although he was a great admirer of Churchill and I know that he liked John P Mackintosh and voted for him when he stood unsuccessfully in Pentlands.
Although he had a very busy and significant job his main interest outside was his family, and I realise the tremendous time he spent encouraging me and my two brothers and ensuring that we had the best opportunities whether academically or at sport. My earliest recollections of watching sport with him were going to Tynecastle to see the Hearts in 1947 and in 1948 going to Headingly to see Don Bradman and his all-conquering Australians. Every Saturday morning he would be down at Goldenacre to see one of us play rugby or cricket.
A man of great outward serenity he did occasionally explode and I have seen him incandescent, for example, when I was foolishly run-out or be exasperated at some of brother John’s constant guitar chord playing: ‘For God’s sake stop that constant twingy twangy!’. But he encouraged John’s music and made sure that I was taught to play the pipes well. Willie had a short abortive career as a highland dancer.
Our family holidays were not exotic – we spent most of August on Donside in Aberdeenshire on a farm worked by a real character, Charlie Wyness, who was introduced to dad by his old Buckie contemporary, banker Alfie Duncan. Dad relaxed away from the pressures of his work and we all enjoyed working on the farm and exploring the Donside countryside. Highlights of the holiday would be the Tarland Show and Lonach Games and for me some piping tuition from Bob Brown at Balmoral – for dad jaunts to Boltinstone Inn for a dram with Mr Wyness were enjoyable, particularly as Charlie was a born raconteur and in later years became a well-known figure in the north-east for recitations at concerts. Mrs Wyness played the piano in a local country dance band led by another neighbour Dick Stewart, still going strong at Lonach last year.
At the end of the holidays we were sad to return to Edinburgh with only the highlight of an annual visit to the Edinburgh Tattoo to look forward to as school and work beckoned.
Father’s interest in genealogy meant that he had traced our ancestors to Aberdeenshire and identified us with the county. We all had Gordon tartan kilts although mother had her Clan Fraser skirt, and it was no surprise when anticipating retiral he bought a plot of land near Ballater and had a house built there.
Jim Fiddes is a retired chartered surveyor who worked in London, Glasgow and Sydney, before spending 30 years with Kenneth Ryden and Partners based in Edinburgh. He has been a member of the board of Glenrothes Development Corporation, a member of the court of the University of Edinburgh and a trustee of the National Museums of Scotland.
