The following is an extract of an email I received from Ron Garson: "I note now that Gregor Lamb uses the Ritch spelling and that the Orkney telephone directory also has only that spelling. First of all I am interested in the origin of the name and your opinion. Lamb calls it a familiar form of Richard first recorded in Orkney in 1492. In the book by Bremner, "Hoy- The Dark Enchanted Isle" the Ritches are stated to be descendants from Ritchie brothers who escaped from the wreck, at Deerness in 1679, of the prison ship, "The Crown" which was transporting Covenanters to America." Does anyone on the list either know any more about the origins of the RITCH name, or details of the prison ship "The Crown" Regards, Ivan ________________________________ http://www.alphalink.com.au/~isanders