Murray (centre) is presented with the public subscription raised for him. Making the presentation is Duncan Winfield (right) accompanied by wife Gail (left). Pic: Marshall Bowman
WELL-known Lybster postie Murray Smythe has retired after 30 years on his rounds serving the communities of south-east Caithness.
He started in 1988, taking over from another postie who was a familiar figure to a certain generation, Donnie Bremner from Mid-Clyth.
Thirty years ago Murray had to go over the Ord to Helmsdale to meet the train north to collect the mail then take it to the local sorting offices in Dunbeath and Lybster. All the small local post offices and all the postboxes between Berriedale and Lybster had to have the mail uplifted on this run.
Now two trucks each morning bring the mail north from Inverness and Murray has been working mainly, since these changes, on the rural run through Occumster, Roster, Clyth, Bruan and Ulbster.
Murray frequently found himself stuck in snow in past winters and has been rescued by farmers pulling him out of drifts in the rural hinterland of south-east Caithness.
He served under three postmasters in Lybster – firstly as a part-time postie as well as being a fisherman under the late Hugh Gunn, whose father before him had been the Lybster postmaster. After Hugh retired, Des and the late Mary Somerville took over before handing over to the present incumbent, Duncan Winfield, and wife Gail.
One incident in particular has stayed with Murray and harks back to his early days on his rounds. When arriving at the late Annie Bain’s place on the Smerlie road he was implored to catch a ewe that had got loose.
Murray jumped the fence and caught it as Annie almost simultaneously thrust her arm up its rear to pull out a new lamb and straight back in for another.
After a quick wipe down of the livestock he was then asked if there was anything in the post, almost as if nothing had happened in the previous five minutes. Murray duly delivered Annie’s mail having firstly helped with the other delivery, and on to his next stop.
A collection was taken in Lybster Post Office and the money was handed over by local postmaster Duncan Winfield accompanied by wife Gail in a small ceremony on June 6.