Orkney Image Library

Where in Junction Road? Was it next to the College of Agriculture office?

According to the 1963/4 valuation roll Billy Firth's shop was at 64 Junction Road. It must have been in the square between the NFU office and what is now Orkney PC. As kids we always got a sweetie from Billy when we went for rolls/cookies etc on Saturday mornings.

Willy Firths shop was a wooden shed where NFU is. We stayed at Heddle's Hatcheries which was No70, and I was regularly sent to Willy's for messages. The White Heather Cafe & Shop ( now the Empire Chinese ) opened in the early 60's by Dave Keldie before the Firths retired.

If memory serves me correctly, this shop was removed from the Junction Road site and erected on a site between Grainbank Road and the wooden hut houses on the Hatston Industrial Estate.
This must have been after the 1963/64 valuation as reported by Kathleen.

Billy Firth's shop was right next to and joined on to the old Ministry of Labour [Dole] Office at 66 Junction Road. It was on the right of what is now Orkney PC and when removed it made for a wider entrance to J & W Tait's garage area which was behind.

This shop was sold for £15, taken down, and removed to Hatston in 1965. It was used as a garage which you could hire it for £5 per month to do your car repairs. It was also used to store fire wood before it to became a victim o the fire.

When the shop was taken down the removal of an air raid shelter from the back of the shop was part of the deal. There was a counter in the shop that had a flat glass display unit. As you came in to the shop the top end of counter was where payment of goods took place and change was given- it had a large concave area where all the coins had passed either way over the years. Signs and posters were stored by for a nice wee nest egg.

There was quite a few photos taken of the shop inside, and the removal and building of it at Hatston- hopefully someday they will appear on these pages.

My Dad, Ernie Wishart, said when he was young there were 3 long WW1 wooden huts there. One later became the Dole Office with Willie's shop at the end as an addition and there was another the same length behind this then another slightly shorter behind that. Willie's shop roof was lower than the Dole Office one and there was a small door high up on the end of the building to access the roof but you had to climb over Willie's roof to get at it.