Taking up Stuart's Robertson's suggestion, we should all be aware that gravestones are rarely a permanent memorial. Besides vandalism (fortunately still rare in Orkney), sandstone headstones suffer from frost damage. Today the OFHS, led by Dave Higgins, is making an excellent effort to record all of Orkney's old gravestones still legible. Luckily the Council had started this process in 1990, and in the old graveyard of St.Peter's, Sandwick their team transcribed the inscription on my great-great aunt's stone. When Dave and I came to check this work and start transcribing the stones in the West graveyard there in 2001 I found her stone bare, defaced by frost. And by 2002 the Council had removed the stone completely! Visiting St.Peter's in S.Ronaldsay in 2006 I saw several beautiful 17th century stones with heraldic carvings crumbling from frost damage, almost as I watched. I'm not sure what the answer is, except don't put off visiting and photographing your ancestors' graves any longer than you have to! Don't wait for the beneficial effects of global warming!! James Irvine.

In relation to headstones I could not agree more with James Irvine (by the way your book is excellent). As you are aware I have been working on a database of Sinclair's and reelated families starting off in South Ronaldsay and then throughout Orkney, and when I was up in Orkney I photographed all the stones in St Peters graveyard with Sinclair on them. These will be going onto the site and linked to the individual and families, so that if you select a particular person and there is a headstone you will be shown this. A number of them are very difficult to read right now. Both myself and Lisa Conrad would welcome photographs of headstones as Lisa has a section dedicated to showing these. In Lisa's case they are all South Ronaldsay, in mine as long as they are Orkney related and I have that person or family in the database we would be pleased to receive them. This would help ensure that we will still be able to see the headstones and so would future generations as well as read the transcriptions. I hope I have not spoken out of turn for Lisa on this and if I have she will let me know :-), as she has a lot on her plate at the moment. Willie Sinclair 2008/10/18 James Irvine <james.irvine@ukonline.co.uk>: > Taking up Stuart's Robertson's suggestion, we should all be aware that > gravestones are rarely a permanent memorial. Besides vandalism (fortunately > still rare in Orkney), sandstone headstones suffer from frost damage. Today > the OFHS, led by Dave Higgins, is making an excellent effort to record all > of Orkney's old gravestones still legible. Luckily the Council had started > this process in 1990, and in the old graveyard of St.Peter's, Sandwick their > team transcribed the inscription on my great-great aunt's stone. When Dave > and I came to check this work and start transcribing the stones in the West > graveyard there in 2001 I found her stone bare, defaced by frost. And by > 2002 the Council had removed the stone completely! Visiting St.Peter's in > S.Ronaldsay in 2006 I saw several beautiful 17th century stones with > heraldic carvings crumbling from frost damage, almost as I watched. > > I'm not sure what the answer is, except don't put off visiting and > photographing your ancestors' graves any longer than you have to! Don't > wait for the beneficial effects of global warming!! > > James Irvine. > > > ------------------ > List Archives, information on contacting list administrator, Subscribing and UnSubscribing can be found at: > > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/SCT/ORKNEY.html > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORKNEY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

ahhhhhhh what memories of time spent in the old graveyard of St. Peter's - relatives buried there - spending time visiting with my cousins - and we opened and closed the old Kirk morning and night. Marion Luckily the Council had started > this process in 1990, and in the old graveyard of St.Peter's, Sandwick > their > team transcribed the inscription on my great-great aunt's stone. When > Dave > and I came to check this work and start transcribing the stones in the > West > graveyard there in 2001 I found her stone bare, defaced by frost. And by > 2002 the Council had removed the stone completely! > > James Irvine.