Welcome to Episode 6 of the second season of KEEPING WATCH - a fortnightly podcast for enthusiasts of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, light vessels and other aids to maritime navigation. 

This week we meet David Fraser, who served for the Northern Lighthouse Board - the NLB - at a number of Scottish lighthouses  in the 1970s. In fact, his career spanned three services, David having joined the army on leaving school, and he then spent 30 years in the Northern Constabulary, serving across the Highlands and Islands, after he left the lighthouse service.

Now David has published his memoirs, the profits from which he uses to support people and families affected by motor neurone disease - the brutal condition that David’s wife Isabel sadly died from. 

So having completed tours of duty in Germany and Northern Ireland, David left the army at the age of 23, and joined the NLB in 1973, which is where we pick up the conversation.  

Just a quick heads up - We spoke over the phone, and the mobile signal deteriorated from time to time. I have edited out most of the interference, but there are a handful of patches where I’d like you to fill in a missing word or two. 

Listen to David talking about where and when the lighthouse service fitted in to his career. 

We’re keen to talk with other former light vessel and lighthouse keepers and crew - as well as others currently working in the lighthouse service. Again, you can email me at [email protected]. 

Please spread the word to friends and family who might be interested in listening. And do like, follow or subscribe to this podcast so that you are notified when each new episode is published. A comment or a splendid review on your podcast platform of choice would be very welcome and really helps us to get noticed. 

If you have an idea for a story you'd like us to cover, or an interesting person with a lighthouse connection we might interview, do please drop me a line. Or perhaps you are a fellow enthusiast and would like to contribute to the podcast either once or on a regular basis?

You can contact me at [email protected]. 

KEEPING WATCH is brought to you in association with the ALK - The Association of Lighthouse Keepers - a charitable trust in the UK dedicated to keeping lighthouse heritage alive. 

To purchase a copy of David's book, please contact me at [email protected].  Copies are £10 each, and all profits support MND sufferers and their families. 

Visit the Wick Heritage Museum: www.wickheritage.org

Visit the Association of Lighthouse Keepers: www.alk.org.uk