By C Grahame,theorkneynews

Copyright theorkneynews

A poignant tale of different times.

As many as 40,000 service personnel were stationed in Orkney at the height of World War 2. There were also thousands of civilian workers brought into the islands to build infrastructure needed for the military bases and airfields.

As the war drew to a close in the months of 1945, almost as swiftly as they arrived, the service personnel were dispatched south on the infamous Earl of Zetland, leaving them with lasting memories , not just of the islands, but of crossing the Pentland Firth.

In March 1945 adverts appeared in the local newspapers for a lost dog. It belonged to an officer, Wiley, based at Hatston. The liver and white pointer dog had run off and a reward was offered for any news or if it had been found.

Months passed and the pet was never recovered. The officer left Orkney.

Then in the Spring of 1946 farmers reported that there had been raids on their hens. Additional information came forward that wild birds had been discovered partially eaten.

On 10 May 1946 The Orkney Herald reported that:

‘Poultry on Orkney West Mainland farms are being raided, usually at dawn as the fowls emerge from their roosts, by a yellow and white spaniel dog which has lived wild in the Harray hills for over a year.’

It was the lost dog, which somehow had survived an Orkney winter. It should be remembered that Orkney, at this time, was famous for its egg production, and attacks on hens was a serious business.

Bands of armed farmers would go out to try and track down the wee dog, and although he was spotted in the distance, he always managed to get away.

In The Orkney Herald Islandman wrote:

‘Orcadians are once more masters of their own soil. Nothing is left behind but a few skeletons of former canteens , and the Wild Dog of Harray’ – 4 June, 1946.

Legends grew up around him. He became known as ‘The Wild Dog of Harray’ . ‘The Great Harray Dog’ , and a ‘devilish denizen of the underworld.’

Unwanted pet dogs were a significant problem in Scotland. The SSPCA (Scottish Society for Prevention to Cruelty to Animals) reported that there were 1,800 unwanted dogs in 1945.

By the summer of 1946 the dog was often seen approaching farmyards when people were about, not in a vicious way, but cautiously friendly. It would run off, however, if it saw anyone with a gun.

‘Lately the dog had been giving no trouble and last week was stated to be on “fairly friendly” terms with a number of households.’ The Orcadian, June 30, 1946.

The Wild Dog of Harray met his inevitable end when he was shot by farmer William Laud of Millhouse Farm, Harray at the end of June 1946. His body was taken to Jolly’s slaughterhouse for skinning. It was put on show a few times raising money for a new Community Centre in Harray. People paid a total of £4 and 9 shillings to gaze upon its remains.

The Wild Dog of Harray had survived an Orkney winter and the armed search parties of farmers. For a short time he was a legend.

And then in June 1946 a collie bitch in Harray gave birth to a litter of yellow and white puppies.

The Legend lives on …..

Fiona Grahame