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Biographical details of Jock Higgins and information about b...

Date October 1953
Track ID 2820
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1953.237.B7

Original Tape ID

SA1953.237

Summary

Biographical details of Jock Higgins and information about burkers.

Jock Higgins was born in Elgin, and lived mostly in Aberdeen until moving to Blairgowrie eleven years before. He is 58 [at time of recording].

Jock heard stories of burkers when he was young. He describes the 'patch' as a pad with chloroform on it. There was a burker story supposed to be about Donald Reid, a strongman. The remains of the burkers' coach used to lie at the blacksmith's at Tulliemet, near Ballinluig. When Bella Higgins was a child living at Smiddycroft, Tulliemet, she played on the old burkers' coach. When the burkers were operating Bella used to hear their machine passing every night between twelve and one o'clock. The coach was caught in Perth at the dark arches by a chain of iron rings and taken to the blacksmith's at Tulliemet.

Item Subject/Person

Reid, Donald

Item Location

County - Perthshire

Parish - Logierait

Village/Place - Tulliemet

Language

Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair