Thomas Davidson, former head gamekeeper at Seafield Estates, near Cullen, has died aged 90.
Almost all his working life, from 1949 until 1997, was spent working on the estate which was known for stalking and shooting.
At one time, when game birds were reared on the estate, Thomas headed a team of eight or nine gamekeepers.
Photography
Outside work, Thomas was a skilled woodturner and wildlife and landscape photographer, and had served as a special constable.
He always showed great respect for the animals he worked with and, as a younger man, kept a fox as a pet.
Thomas Davidson was born at Bogmuchals in 1932 to Tom and Mary Davidson. His father, and his father before him, had been gamekeepers.
In 1933, the family moved to Aultmore Lodge on Seafield Estates.
School days
Thomas was educated at Deskford and when he left school aged 14, he worked on local farms for a couple of years before joining his father at Seafield.
In years past, the estate reared up to 10,000 pheasants and partridges each year and a large number of gamekeepers was required.
Thomas also led deer stalking parties, many of them from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
He met his future wife, Kathleen, at a dance in Keith. The couple courted for nine years and married at St Thomas’s Church, Keith, in 1964. They went on to have two of a family: Lynda and Colin.
Changes
His son, Colin, said: “There were significant changes in the estate from the 1940s to the 1990s, however, because the estate was on more arable and forestry land than hill land, it was accessible to vehicles during the stalking season.
“On other estates, in the Cairngorms, they used ponies to retrieve deer, and still do.”
The Davidson family lived at Aultmore Lodge and, between 1976 and 1986, Thomas served as a special constable in Buckie and Cullen and the villages in between.
In 1986, Thomas had a heart attack from which he made a full recovery but the experience prompted him to buy Hillview, a house in Deskford, a few years later rather than relying on a tied house.
It was the family home until 2010 when Thomas and Kathleen downsized and moved to Cullen.
Skills
In retirement, Thomas began to attend meetings of Huntly Wood Turners where he learned new skills.
Colin said: “He enjoyed going out for runs in the car and always took his camera with him. He built up a collection of slides featuring wildlife and landscapes.
“He had also trained gun dogs as a younger man and even kept a fox as a pet.”
Thomas is survived by Kathleen, children Lynda and Colin, and grandchildren George, Karen, Craig, Rory and Scott.
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