My granny, Mary Smith, was typical of many Buckie wifies during the War and like others in the civilian population she 'did her bit' for the war effort.
Granny was born in 1911 and married my grandfather, George Smith, in 1932. They lived at 59 High Street. During the War, folk from the Town Council came round in search of 'spare rooms' that could be used to house the influx of Danish and Norwegian refugees to the town after the Germans had invaded in their home countries.
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Granny had plenty of room and she ended up housing members of the Hitsøy family. They had fled from Fjell in Norway on 27 August 1941 and arrived at Lerwick two days later. There were thirty-two people on that little boat. It was skippered by Nils Hitsøy and his sixteen year old son Leif. Nils's brothers Hallvard, Mathias, Olav, Mikkel, Jens, and Kristoffer were all on the board too. A good few of the others on board ended up in Buckie too like the Hansens, including little Lilly Marie Hansen who was only two years old at the time.
Granny took in the Hitsøys. Nils and Leif fished out of Buckie on their little boat, and Hallvard worked at the Royal Norwegian Slip that was set up at the harbour and we've got this photo of him with King Haakon and Prince Olav when they visited. Leif Hitsøy, the skipper's son (above right), left Buckie in 1943 when he joined the Norwegian Navy.
Granny took in the Hitsøys. Nils and Leif fished out of Buckie on their little boat, and Hallvard worked at the Royal Norwegian Slip that was set up at the harbour and we've got this photo of him with King Haakon and Prince Olav when they visited. Leif Hitsøy, the skipper's son (above right), left Buckie in 1943 when he joined the Norwegian Navy.
Alison's story was originally collected digitally and then followed up by an interview and opportunity to scan and photograph the objects. It informed two of the stories of the Little Norway website. Subsequently, she has been appeared in the Norwegian press and been filmed for a documentary by Norwegian filmmakers.
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