Water had to be carried from the well and lighting was with a paraffin lamp

About this recording

Tommy Munro recalls growing up on a croft in the Auckengill area where, for the first six years of his life, there was no running water or electricity. From an early age he was expected to carry out certain tasks on the croft, such as potato-lifting.

“Everybody takes electricity and running water for granted,” Tommy says. “But on the croft when I was quite young there was no piped supply of water. Water had to be carried from the well. Lighting was with a paraffin lamp. It wasn’t until 1955 that electricity came past our area, and the same year the water main went past and we got connected. This made a huge difference.”

He shares some memories of Operation Snowdrop, school meals, Christmas concerts, picnics and, from the age of 15, weekly trips to the cinema in Wick with a bag of chips afterwards before catching the bus home.

Tommy spent all his working life at Dounreay and was involved in the PFR while it was being built. “People used to ask me, was it safe? And I said, yes, if you did everything according to the procedures, it was a very safe place to work.”

He talks about some of his retirement activities, ranging from gardening and attending the Triple C Caithness Country Music Club to taking part in Royal British Legion Scotland events as a member of the Wick, Canisbay and Latheron branch.

The photograph shows Tommy on visit to Stroma in August 2026 when he and other members of the Wick, Canisbay and Latheron branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland took part in the first service at the island’s war memorial for more than 50 years.