105733: Bessie Burns Paterson
Bessie was born in 1912, the daughter of merchant Finlay Paterson and his wife Christina MacCuish of Geo Dhubh. She was named for her father’s sister, Bessie Burns née Paterson, who had died of tuberculosis a few months previously.
Bessie started attending Berneray School in 1919. She helped her parents in the shop and was also a nurse. Between 1949 and 1970 she served as the island’s telephone operator, being awarded the British Empire Medal on her retirement on 1st May 1970. In 1971 she was enumerator for the island’s census.
She recorded several of her memories about island life for her brother Ian who worked for the School of Scottish Studies. Several of the recordings are available and can be accessed through her biography page on the Tobar an Dualchais website.
Details
- Record Type:
- Person
- Date Of Birth:
- 1 Nov 1912
- Date of Death:
- 30 Jun 1994
- Gender:
- Female
- Brothers Keeper Reference:
- CEBH 938
- Occupation:
- Nurse; Shopkeeper; Telephone Operator; Census Enumerator
- Record Maintained by:
- CEBH