A Son of the Rock

Huntly is a town in Aberdeenshire.

Our visit there had a threefold purpose. To photograph the War Memorial, to look at the bookshop in the town and to visit Huntly Castle.

The War Memorial is unusual, a tapering obelisk above a group of granite columns in an elongated octagon:-

Showing elongated shape:-

Dedication. The obelisk has the date 1914. The dedication reads, “Men of Huntly who fell in the Great War 1914:1918.” Great war names on both side tablets, World War 2 on lower tablet:-

Looking towards the town:-

Epitaph. The obelisk bears the date 1918. The epitaph reads, “Their land they crowned with fame that shall not die: in death they died not, being raised on high to glory with the brave.” Great war names on both side tablets, World War 2 on lower tablet:-

I missed photographing this when I visited Huntly before despite  it being very near Huntly’s War Memorial.

Christie Park is the home of Huntly FC, who play in the Highland League.

View of ground from Castle Street:-

Entrance gates/turnstiles. These have an Art Deco styling:-

Christie Park from southeast. I had to stand on a wall to get the photos from which I made this stitched picture:-

It’s a tidy ground.

Rhynie is a village in Aberdeeenshire, south of Huntly. We travelled through it on our way back home from our trip up north in August.

Its War Memorial lies in a wide green space in the middle of the village:-

It depicts a soldier in a great coat, in mourning pose with rifle reversed, surmounting a square pillar and base. There’s a good looking church at the end of the green:-

Dedications and World War 2 Names. “Erected in memory of the men from the parishes of Rhynie and Kearns who served the cause of freedom and right in the Great War 1914-1918 and in grateful memory of those hereon who fell in the great conflict. Their name liveth for evermore.” Below “1939-1945.” Note; Miss Helen D Grant Civilian (Student.)

Great War Names:-

I observed this school (Gordon’s School) while photographing Huntly’s War Memorial, so naturally had to take these as well.

Horizontals, verticals, flat roofs, square chimney, rounded corner:-

Rounded corner again and strong verticals:-

I mentioned in this post that our journey up to and back down from Elgin last April turned out to be a peregrination through the heartland of the Highland League.

It meant I have now visited nearly all of the towns which have hosted past or present Highland League clubs during my lifetime.

The first of these would have been Inverness (home to Caledonian FC,* Clachnacuddin and Inverness Thistle*.) I have walked past Caledonian’s former Telford Street Park ground and been to a game at Clachnacuddin’s Grant Street Park but never saw Thistle’s ground, Kingsmills. I think I may have visited Dingwall (Ross County) around the same time. After that – or possibly before – it would have been Brechin (many times now) to see The Sons of the Rock play Brechin City at Glebe Park. Next up was probably Fort William. Another trip to Inverness saw us take in Nairn (Nairn County) and Forres (Forres Mechanics.)

I don’t think I went to Aberdeen (Banks O’ Dee, Cove Rangers,) until well after those trips.

Then on our first sojourn up to Orkney we passed through Brora (Brora Rangers) and Wick (Wick Academy.) A year or so later a journey up to Aberdeenshire saw us in Inverurie (Inverurie Loco Works,) Huntly and Turriff (Turriff United.) In 2019 we went to Peterhead and on to Fraserburgh. The year after that on another trip to Peterhead we visited Pitmedden (Formartine United.)

And so to last April’s journey, passing through Grantown-on-Spey (Strathspey Thistle) and Rothes before reaching Elgin (Elgin City) with a side trip to Lossiemouth. Then finally, on the way back home, Keith.

So, out of all the towns/cities to host clubs in the Highland League during my lifetime I have only Buckie (Buckie Thistle) and Banff (Deveronvale) to visit.

*The present SPFL club whose name contains these two descriptors was formed when Caledonian and Inverness Thistle merged in 1994 to ensure entry into the then SFL. That merged team, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, have never played in the Highland League.