Tuesday 8 May 2012

Something new

The island isn't big, it is only about the size of 100 football pitches and a lot of that is inaccessible rock. So you might think that after a couple of seasons of spending a lot of time there you might have seen everything but there are always features that you haven't noticed before. A few evenings back I noticed something I hadn't seen before, a small plaque set into the wall near to the ringing hut, that is probably a dog grave stone. It was only because of the angle of the light that made the words stand out and that the vegetation hasn't grown much that I noticed it. The wording is simple, just:
Mack died 7th January 1962, Prince died 14 August 1962.

The Principal Keeper at that time was W Watt, it was in the middle of his 9 year stint that ended with his retirement. Were they his or his families dogs ? Or did they belonged to one of the several Assistant Keepers that passed through the island at that time. There is a story there that would be interesting to know.

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