My maternal grandfather, Thomas MacNaughton Davie, was born in Edinburgh on 11th September 1889, the last child of John Davie (1846-1914) and Helen MacNaughton (1851-1916). He trained as a doctor in Edinburgh, and served with distinction in World War I, being badly wounded twice. After the war, as he regained his strength, he studied law and became drawn to the study of the mind. In 1927 he was appointed Medical Superintendent of the Broadgate Mental Hospital, on the outskirts of the east Yorkshire town of Beverley. He held that post until his retirement in 1954. He died in Beverley on 4th July 1966 and was buried in the nearby village of Walkington. He was a gentle and learned man, with a great interest in people.

I shall say something about his ancestry. His father John Davie was born at Grimbister, in the Orkney Islands, in 1846 and as far as is known, all of John Davie's forbears came from Orkney. John's parents were another John Davie born 1809 and Jean Johnston b1818. The Davies were, before about 1690, named Grimbister and one researcher has claimed that they descend from the Viking warlord, Thorfinn the Skullsplitter, who ruled Orkney in the tenth century! John Davie b 1846 moved to Edinburgh and in 1879 he married Helen MacNaughton. She was born on 26th March 1851, in Colinton, Edinburgh. Helen was the last of many children of Joseph MacNaughton and Helen Falconer. They were married in February 1831 at Duddingston and the marriage records state that they were living in the Edinburgh district of Portobello at the time. Helen Falconer's parents were William Falconer, a miller, and Georgina Gilmour. Joseph MacNaughton's ancestry is very mysterious, as he is believed to have come from the north of Ireland to Edinburgh to escape violent republicans, and to have changed his name from McNaught. Perhaps he changed his first name as well. He died in 1853, aged 46, and is buried in the Church of Scotland graveyard in Colinton.

There is so much that could be written, but one thing I do not wish to omit is that several of the Davies went from Orkney to Canada to work with the Hudson's Bay Company. These included one James Davie, who is father of the John Davie born in 1809. He had only returned from Canada the previous year, when he married Grace Esson. One of the Davies stayed in Canada, and gave birth to many descendants!

Andrew Wilson