Support for campaign to preserve look-out post
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A KINCRAIG woman’s campaign to preserve the remains of a Royal Observer Corps (ROC) World War II look-out post has received the backing of a former Aviemore ROC officer.
Mrs Betty Pentland is hoping to defy the odds and secure some protection for the little building, which still stands just to the north of Dalwhinnie.
Although not directly on the line of the planned Beauly-Denny mega-pylon route, the historic outpost at Carn Dhomhnuill Bhain could be swallowed up in the upheaval all around it.
The hope of Mrs Pentland, the daughter of the strath’s World War II ROC commander, Ronald Fane Martin, is that it can still be given listed building status, despite Highland Council’s archaeological unit rating the chances as very low.
They said that no other such site has ever been elevated to that level of protection.
However, officials were keen to collect more information on the outpost, which they rated highly in terms of its social history.
Former ROC officer Wendy Austin-Bishop, who lives in Grantown, is backing the efforts to protect the post, from where locals scanned the skies for enemy aircraft.
She said: “Full marks go to Mrs Pentland, and the concern she has for our noble history. I wish her all the best, and will give her any help she needs.
“In a world where everyone seems to want something new, no matter what the cost, the need to respect our heritage is more important than ever.”
Ms Austin-Bishop, now 88 and restricted by arthritis, spends much of her time in historical research, and contributes impressive amounts of data to various museums.
A wartime nurse, she moved to the strath in the late 1970s and served with the ROC during the Cold War.
“The secret base in Aviemore was just north of the village,” she recalled, “and it may be down there to this day. It was a ghastly place.
“It would drive anybody mad to be down there for too long, but in those days it was an absolutely vital job. Somebody had to do it.”
