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| Shieldaig near Lochcarron |
Walter Wills loved to ski in Switzerland and resided many hours after his retirement in 1912 on his Scottish estate at Killilan. Born into the wealthy Wills family of Bristol which earned great profits out of the tobacco industry (WD & HO Wills, later Imperial Tobacco), Walter became responsible for the business account of the family firm. He restructured the company internally and became head of sales at some point.
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| Postcard sent from Achnashellach on the 23rd of September 1913. The green ½d George V Downey Head has been tied by a 690 Achnashellach Double Arc CDS. |
The photo on the front of the postcard had been taken relatively close to Killilan. Shieldaig is situated on the west coast of Scotland in the middle of the rugged Torridon mountain range and not so far away from the isle of Skye, which has grown into quite a tourist hotspot lately. In 1913 there were almost no tourists around, due to its barren location. Nevertheless, a railway line down from Inverness proved to be a modest source for limited tourism and wealthy industrialists from the South who owned vast estates here. The railway line was therefore quite a vital link for this part of Scotland. I do not know how this postcard - sent to the son of Walter Wills - Harold Edgar Wills travelled to Charterhouse. At least the location of the post office at Achnashellach - a railway station - might give you an idea. In the map below you'll find several arrows. The most northern one highlights the post office and railway station, the western one points to Shieldaig and beneath the most southern arrow the Wills spend their holidays on Killilan Estate.
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| In remembrance of Harold Edgar Wills |
A happy family back then, I can imagine. Wills married to Gertrude Wilson in 1887 and four children were born. Edgar Wills to whom this card was addressed was born in 1896 and was their youngest son. He studied at Charterhouse in 1912 and survived the war, unlike his elder brother Robert who died in France in 1915. Edgar served alongside his brother and probably witnessed his passing. He became a captain after Robert was killed - he had already been a captain. As so many families experienced in the 1st World War, Walter, Gertrude and the siblings of Robert were devastated about his loss. A monument was erected in France to commemorate him. Back in Bristol his father undertook the built of a homeopathic hospital and reached completion in 1925. The opening of this 'Memorial Hospital' was overshadowed by the sudden death of Edgar on the 11th of February 1922. He died in an avalanche while attempting to climb Schilthorn in the Swiss Alps. In the garden of Hampton House a plaque was placed with end with: "He was passionately fond of flowers". According to the University of Bristol which the Wills family founded the grass in this garden "is now allowed to grow
longer and incorporates wild flowers such as clover, buttercups, speedwell,
spurge and forget-me-not augmenting Edgar’s memorial." Father died in 1941, his mother had passed away in 1936.
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| Map of locations of interest mentioned above. |
I would love to know who sent the postcard and what it is saying, but until now my attempts of reading it are unsuccessful. There are just too many abbreviations and scribbles I cannot decipher. At least 'they went to Shieldaig again' on the 22nd of September 1913, but that's all folks...
