A Scottish upbringing is chronicled here by Mrs Margaret Gordon Hill (nee Gordon-Thomson) whose father was a well-to-do lawyer.

I was born in 1923 the last of the family. My sister was 14 years older and my brothers came in between. The one nearest to me in age was 7 years older so it was inevitable that I was going to be spoilt rotten. The first sign of this was when my baptismal name was dropped to be replaced by 'Joy' from the very beginning.

We lived in Angus, a beautiful county and an old Pictish Kingdom. Most visitors to Scotland head for the West coast which is all right apart from the rain. Our coastline has marvellous beaches and interesting towns - not only Carnoustie; the glens are small but in my time eagles and wild cats were still to be seen in Glen Clova. Glen Shee is now a popular place to ski but we were the only people to be seen skiing on old Norwegian wooden skis, another glen, Glen Prosen, was famous for its 'still', the produce of which came in very handy during the war.

My siblings were away at school but I didn't go to the local school until I was about eight, by which time I could read, write better than I do now and could do quite a bit of arithmetic. Reading was my delight and I had the run of my father's books, most of which I didn't understand but words on their own have always enthralled me. Otherwise my time was my own and poor Mary (the housekeeper), who looked after me, was forever trying to find me.

There was an old pig-sty at the back of the coachman's house, which had a solid stone roof and could be easily climbed. From there I could look over the strath to the mountains and on a clear day could see Schichallion, 354 ft, which was by Rannoch, usually topped by snow and glinting against the sky. Sometimes Father would get me out of bed to see the Aurora Borealis (the colourful northern lights), which was sheer magic, the colours are unbelievable and the whole experience is difficult to describe.

In school holidays the house came alive, my brothers usually brought friends to stay and my sister, now at home but either out or having some of her cronies in. Actually the house usually had some guests coming to stay. I say 'guests' but they were all relatives of which there were a great number as mother was one of five children and father the oldest of nine. I had to turn up, carefully cleaned and dressed NOT in the old kilt I usually wore. I was a confident child and behaved very pretty (because I knew the relatives would slip me come cash), and collected quite a few tips from doting uncles and grannies.

Every August I went up to my uncle's house in Newtonmore which was on the edge of the moors and looked across to Ben Macdhui, Cairn Gorm and Cairn Toul, all over 4000 ft. Aviemore, a quiet little village then, was just up the road but Aunt Maud was great on picnics and we would drive to my favourite place, Loch An Eilean and settle down across from the island which housed the ruins of the Wolf of Buthinoch's Castle, he was definitely a baddie and caused the King of Scotland a lot of trouble.

We used to let a house in St. Andrew's, which was owned by a relative, for the boys and friends to play golf. It was one of these old houses opposite St. Salvator's, which was full of odd staircases and rambled all over the place. (A piano in every bedroom). I learnt to swim in the North Sea at the age of six, tutored by my father.

We had a flat in Edinburgh in the New Town looked after by dear Mrs Turbull who had been with us for years.

Mother was a dedicated car driver and she and I would go all over England, by way of being educational. One time we would go down by Carlisle and 'do' all the way down to Devon stopping off at all historic or interesting places. The next, usually when we were heading for Eastbourne, we would make for Newcastle down the old North Road (A1) to York etc.

Eastbourne was the H.Q. for Goodwood Race Week as mother was an enthusiastic flat race goer, or make for Croydon to fly to Le Touquet or make for Southampton to fly to the Isle of Wight to visit one of her many cousins. Distance was no object.

Time came for me to go away to school. I took it all calmly as of course the rest of the family had done the same. Actually I enjoyed boarding school with all these new friends and I was quite bright, good at games and I could bring my horse! The school was near the Border, just north of Berwick-on-Tweed and of course still in Scotland but a long way from home which made the journey at the end of term very relaxing especially in a 1st class L.N.E.R. carriage - great meals in the dining-car and Pa was a shareholder!

At the age of 17, having passed all my entrance exams in the San (sanatorium -- sick bay) at school with measles, I went to Edinburgh University to read Law and Economics. I did not want to stay at the flat as I thought it might be restricting so mother found me digs with an eccentric family and I had a whale of a time but even managed to do some work.

When I was eighteen my father gave me a cheque book and an allowance, as he had done with all of us, and mother said I could use her account at Jenners ( the sort of Harrods of Edinburgh) and it was wartime when my brothers and their friends who were on leave would take me out. A period of my life which I will never forget.

I volunteered for the Wrens and as I had relatives in the Navy - my Father, an uncle at the Admiralty and a brother who was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm - I got into Boats' Crew. First an engineering course at H.M.S, Excellent, Whale Island (Portsmouth) - and then joined the crew at the North Pier (of Whale Island).

After a year there some of us were sent to Southampton to start a W.R.N.S. Boats crew on the Royal Pier. We didn't know it then but it was preparation for the Normandy Landing, Overlord. It was hard work, 24 hours on and 24 hours off, in all weathers but it was really the making of me and all the other girls (the privileged classes), who had been brought up the same way as I had. It certainly opened our eyes to a totally different world and influenced the rest of our lives.

I met my future husband in the Navy and we were married in Edinburgh on St. Andrew's Day, 1944. He had been in all the landings (N. Africa, Sicily and later Normandy) and was ready to sail to invade Japan when the 'bombs' were dropped there. I know it was a catastrophic and appalling act but wives in my position were relieved.

I left the Wrens in 1947. I was pregnant and went to Gloucestershire, my husband's home county. Our son John was born and later, we bought a thatched cottage in a village in Devonshire where we had another son. We moved to Worthing in 1953 and bought a house in Offington, where I still live. Our daughter was born in Worthing so she is truly Sussex - all five of us were born in different countries and counties. My husband died in 1992 but I felt I could not leave our home, our family home, and all the friends and support I had had, in this warm-hearted town.