70 years ago today a fire changed Aviemore for ever
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At 7am today, exactly seven decades ago, disaster struck at the beautiful Aviemore Hotel.
Most of the 72 guests were still sleeping and in a frightening short time a fire spread throughout the entire building, with two people destined to perish in the blaze.
But for the brave intervention of a gallant band of rescuers the toll would have been much greater.
The two victims of the tragedy were an Edinburgh holidaymaker, Ada Monro (56) and Mr GA Daniels (72) of Hampshire.
The building was lost and with it the elegant Victorian pile which served as the southern entry to a village which was to change dramatically in shape and style as a result.
The site of the inferno was ultimately cleared along with its golf course and in their place came the Four Seasons Hotel, with its stark white heights setting the new tenor for what was to become Scotland's pre-eminent snow sports resort.
One of the witnesses to the inferno was 12-year-old schoolgirl Monka Ward, now Mrs Monka Allan who still lives in the village.
She told the Strathy this weekend: "I will always remember the day. It was terrible.
"We were in the school bus, taking us through to Kingussie, when the driver stopped right opposite the hotel along with the rest of the traffic.
"The flames had really taken hold and it was frightening to see. All we could do was sit in the bus for those minutes, looking over to the flames and smoke pouring from the old building.
"We didn't know that people had died at that precise moment but we found out later in the day. There would have been more deaths but for the bravery of people like Donnie Maclennan."
Mr Maclennan was a 20-year-old railway porter who joined colleagues Bob Mackintosh and William Mundy in risking their lives to save others.
They had spotted an elderly couple trying to make their escape from the blazing building using a knotted rope they had fashioned out of blankets and went to their assistance, ensuring they made it down safely.
Mr Maclennan then went to the aid of another woman using a ladder. It was too short so he placed it on a lorry in order to reach her and bring her down safely to the ground as the fire raged.
"He was a brave young man," said Mrs Allan, "and we knew him quite well because he lived near us in the Railway Cottages."
