2596

ULLAPOOL REMEMBERED

Remembering Denis Cooper
Denis Cooper served in the Royal Tank Corps from 1932 to 1946 and rose to the rank of Captain. He came to Ullapool in the late 1940s and must have made a good impression, as he was elected to Ross & Cromarty County Council in 1949.
In 1953 he was awarded the MBE for his services to the relief effort after the great storm of 31st January, which left 28 fishing-boats driven ashore around Loch Broom. Nearly every local person helped out over the following days and weeks, as well as naval personnel from Aultbea and Royal Engineers from Elgin. Stories of that time can be heard and read on the North-West Highlands Geopark website (bluecorridor.scot) under the heading North Sea Flood, or read on the Museum website in a fascinating article called Gale Warning.
Denis Cooper really received his MBE on behalf of the community, as their County Councillor. The photo shows him (in plus fours) with James Henderson-Stewart, Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, as men worked hard to refloat all the boats successfully, an amazing feat.
By this time, Denis Cooper had met Dr Lesley Smith, who had joined Dr Ronald MacLean in the medical practice at the surgery on West Terrace. They married in 1952, set up home at 11 Market Street, and two sons came along in the next two years. But, for whatever reason, Ullapool was not for Denis in the longer term. After taking a military job in Perthshire in 1955, he moved the family to Arbroath a year later, to become the town’s Publicity Manager. Then in 1958 the family made their final move to the seaside resort of Whitby, North Yorkshire, where Denis served as Entertainments Manager for the next two decades. Lesley went back to work for the NHS after the family of five children had been raised.
Denis Cooper died in 1998 aged 83, and several obituaries mentioned that he had always worn a kilt around Whitby, also referring to the MBE which he was awarded in Lochbroom. The kilt sounds like the trademark of a showman who had found his true vocation in the entertainments business. It sounds like Lesley was also a supportive wife to make all those moves. Maybe she might have liked to stay in Ullapool? She died in 2003 aged 88.
The story goes that Denis Cooper was the real-life captain who gave the Captain’s Cabin its name in 1949. Mrs Connie Mitford opened the Cabin that year, and she already knew Denis socially – he was a guest at her daughter’s wedding in 1947. One thing is for sure, he made quite a big impact during his few years in Lochbroom.

DS.

*****

ESSENTIAL SURFACING IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED IN TWO LOCATIONS ON A835
• Works to begin on Monday 30 Sept for 12 days
• Lane closure with 10mph convoy
BEAR Scotland, working on behalf of Transport Scotland, will carry out essential road surfacing works at two locations on the A835 beginning Monday 30 September 2024.
The works will involve resurfacing the road to address the deteriorating conditions, as well as improve road markings, creating a smoother and safer road for road users.
Works on the A835 Inverlael Farm, Loch Broom are scheduled to take place over four days, with works planned between 7am and 7pm. Works will start Monday 30 September from 7am and will finish on 3 September at 7pm.
Works on the A835 Lael Forest, between Braemore and Loch Broom are scheduled to take place over eight days, with works planned between 7am and 7pm. Works will start Friday 4 October from 7am and will finish on 15 October at 7pm.
No works will take place at the weekend.
For the safety of motorists and workers, convoy operation with a 10mph speed restriction will be in place throughout both works.

*****

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
for Fairtrade Fortnight 2024: “Be the Change”
Just a moment

It starts with a change
So outwardly insignificant
That no one would notice
Except the person
Behind you in the aisle.

Just a moment
When instead of seeing
Rows of labels
On a supermarket shelf
You imagine the people
Behind them,
Tilling the earth,
Sowing the seed,
Gathering the crops.

And you pause,
Wondering,
What their names are,
Where they live,
What difference it will make
If your hand picks up
This box instead of that,

Wondering: how do I
Love these neighbours?
Can I help change
This child’s long journey for water,
Her mother’s lack of healthcare,
The prospect her father faces
Of another year unable
To feed his family well?

Just a moment.
And the person behind you,
Her impatient baby
Squirming in the trolley,
May never realise
That in that brief hesitation,
A life hung in the balance.

*****