A north-east lighthouse has launched an ambitious search to put a name to a face.
Staff of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, which cares for Fraserburgh’s Kinnaird Head beacon, uncovered negative proofs of a bearded man they believe was once charged with keeping the light on.
The image, which was handed over to the museum when it first opened in 1995, was provided with no details of who the mysterious man is or what his role was.
He is pictured against a blank backdrop in a chair wearing a lighthouse uniform.
Last night, collections manager Michael Strachan said it was important to finally identify the man so that his legacy can be preserved.
“It’s a strange one, because we don’t actually have the original photograph,” he said.
“People can want to retain these things if they feature a family member, so we only have a copy of the negative. There’s no documentation of who presented it to us or, indeed, any information of the man himself.
“We’ve only been able to identify the photographer because there was a photo of the back of the image.
“It was done by James Gordon, a photographer in Fraserburgh. He was operating from the mid-1860s to before 1904.”
Using the dates of the photographer’s own career, staff have narrowed the search for the mysterious keeper to six men.
They are David Waters, Francis Harvey, William Gordon, Robert Murray, Niven Kerr, and John Laidlaw.
Anyone who has information on who the keeper is is asked to contact the lighthouse on 01346 511022 or email administration@lighthousemuseum.org.uk
