The Invergordon Archive

Sitting on the wheel at the front is Jimmy Andrews (who later left Invergordon for a career in football), and next to him wearing his trademark hat is Jim Andrews, his father. Next to him is Jimmy Simpson, and to the right of Adam Taylor' was ? Armstrong, on his right (Tommy?) MacKenzie. The garage was near the monument just before Seabank Road, but has now disappeared.

Can anyone tell me if Richard Geddes is in this picture? Apparently he worked at Taylors Garage before the war.

Hello Bill,
My Uncle Jimmy might know. Merry Christmas, by the way!

Thanks Caroline and a Happy New Year to you. Is your Uncle the Simpson or the Andrews?
Richard Geddes was the illegitimate son of my father's sister (my cousin I guess). He was killed on the 6th of June 1940 as he retreated from the Germans at the time the rest of the British Army were leaving from Dunkirk. I visited his grave last year and his picture appears on the Invergordon site - the first time I have ever seen an image of him.

Was it Bill Taylor who was badly burned about the head when he was doing some welding on a floating dock which was anchored just up from the ferry slip? Can always remember seeing him coming up the steps of the first pier covered in blood.

This was Lindy Taylor's dad's garage? They stayed in the big house opposite the railway station. Lindy was a good friend of mine. I did not know her Dad so well, but her mum was a lovely person.

I have a photo of Taylor's garage taken sometime before 1922. My grandfather Christopher Ross married my grandmother in 1922 in Invergordon and he worked at Taylor's garage as a mechanic. The picture shows old Model T Ford in the forecourt and the garage staff (including my grandfather). Great to see a later photo of the garage on the web site!

Just noticed the date of 1930 on the photo. My brother Jimmy Andrews must have been working there before he went off to play football, so we think the date is probably more like 1940-41.

Hi there. My grandfather, Adam Taylor, started the garage after he came back from the Boer War, as far as I know. It was originally in Clyde St. as a bicycle shop, then he began to sell motorbikes. My dad, Bill, took over after his father died. My dad died in Sept. 2007 aged 87.We stayed in Cromlet, Heather is right. I've many happy memories of Invergordon, swimming, cycling, the old school, etc.! All the Best, Linden Stefaniak, Beauly.

Hi Linden - I was sorry to hear of your father's death, but what a good innings he had, living to 87. Well done Bill! I hope you are well - it was nice to see your name here and the information about your Grandad and your Dad re 'Taylor's Garage'.

I was in Invergordon a few days ago (first visit for many years) and was astonished to see that there is nothing remaining of Taylors garage. The entire site has been cleared and it is now a gaping hole with the tank farm clearly visible at the rear. I noted also that my birthplace at 2 Munro Street is now disused as is the adjacent house on the High Street. When my family first moved to Inverg in the 1930s they lived at 43 High Street where the Job Centre is now located. Apparently number 43 was requisitioned by the MOD in the early days of WW2 and the Geddes had to move out!

Does anyone remember the penny farthing bike that used to be in the showroom window?

As a QPR FC fan I recently bought a new book about the club and was pleased to note that Jimmy Andrews gets a mention. I used to live very near the ground and around 1964 I visited Jimmy in his office at Loftus Road Stadium.

Ref the penny farthing- Vanda Zawinski and I took it to the fancy dress competition at the Gala when we were kids. Can't remember if we won a prize, but Vanda had on a lovely Victorian (I think!) dress loaned by an old lady.

Second from the left on the back row is my uncle Roddy MacKenzie (Blackpark) who died 1955.

Sadly, Uncle Jimmy (Andrews) passed away on 12/09/12 but it's lovely to have all these memories of him.

Very sorry to hear of Jimmy's death. He was an early hero of mine - when I lived in London I was just round the corner form the QPR football ground where Jimmy worked on the coaching staff in the early '60s. I tried to cadge tickets for the Scotland v England game but Jimmy could not help as the QPR tickets were all spoken for. I am still a supporter and season ticket holder and last Saturday we held the dreaded enemy Chelsea! I will be thinking about Jimmy when I go to the next home game against West Ham. Come on you Superhoops!

Jacqueline, I just pulled up the 1922 marriage registration of Christopher, as he (and yourself) are distant cousins of mine through his maternal grandmother, I'll email you a copy at the address here. Interesting to see in 1922 he described himself as not just a mechanic, but a chauffeur!

Reference comment by Douglas Will (19/3/2006). My wife's uncle - Tom Mackenzie - was a blacksmith who worked for Taylor's Garage. He was badly burned in an accident at the port around about 1940 and this is probably who Mr Will saw. Tom spent some time in the Navy hospital there, where they made a wonderful job of reconstructing his badly burned face. I am researching Tom and would appreciate if anyone can add to his story.

Donald MacDonald-Ross - chauffeur would make sense, as they could be doing both jobs. My grandfather Jim Andrews used to drive a large Wacky Races-style car hired out as a chauffeur sometimes, and use it for taking the family out for picnics on a Sunday.

Is Mr Bill Taylor the man as I remember as a boy 70 years or more working an audience with his magic tricks at concerts in NW Sutherland? I think he was known as Billy Taylor and he was definitely of the family that owned the garage of that name in Invergorden.

Yes that's right! Bill was my dad and had a concert party which performed all over the north - dad was a conjuror (member of the Magic Circle) and mam was a singer. I sometimes went with them with a guinea pig to be produced from a hat!

Many thanks for confirming that your dad was indeed the conjurer I remember. He was the first I ever saw and the one I remember most vividly! Also, thanks for the additional information about the concert party, including your own role with the guinea pig.

I went with my father to collect a new Ford V8 Petrol truck and Billy Taylor produced all sorts of magic things from my ears. The bonus was a trip in a big red Ford convertible (with the hood down!) around Invergordon driven by Earnie Stout

My father Thomas Mackenzie third from right leaning on the wheel Badly burnt in 1942 while welding in the dock

What a great archive this is. 20 years after the picture of Taylor's garage was first posted, and new stories still coming through. Some of the earlier memories would have been lost without this.

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