There’s a family gravestone at Doune Churchyard at Macduff recording the passing of Campbell Cowie. He was a close pal of the artist and author Peter Anson and was only 18 when he died all those years ago in 1941. Anson had met the lad while living in a harbourside cottage in the fisher town and the troubled teenager soon moved in. In his writings, Anson records a shared interest in fisher customs such as avoiding meeting the local minister before setting out to sea and putting both shoes on before tying up either of your shoelaces. I think there was something about avoiding white rabbits as well, but I’ll maybe need to check up on that superstition.

The cottage at that time was a sort of community centre for locals and also an early hub for what was to become the Apostleship of the Sea – in short, a religious house catering for the spiritual needs of seafarers. Alongside the open door for sailors, local loons used to drop in for a game of cards, a cup of tea, a chat and maybe a fly smoke.

Seemingly the lettering on the Cowie gravestone was marked out by Scottish sculptor Hew Lorimer which gives Macduff a reason to be proud. But of course, the letters only record the names and dates of the young man’s time on this earth and not his character.

By eighteen, Campbell had reached a terminal point in his illness – he had a difficult disease of the pituitary gland which caused an abnormal growth of his brain and there was only one more operation to be had. There was maybe a tiny chance of survival and when Anson headed off to book the rail tickets to the Edinburgh hospital, Campbell said prophetically “Dinna get a return for me. A single’s aneuch this time.”
But of course, I would like to imagine that Anson had the good grace to purchase a return, just in case.
Location: 29 Shore St, Macduff AB44 1TS, UK

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