Today, guest blogger Ellie Ingram takes us on a journey back in time, with rockets, shipwrecks and some seriously impressive cloth caps. Enjoy!

In the 21st century we are used to seeing and hearing helicopters flying over Collieston and the Forvie NNR, mostly transporting personnel to and from the oil and gas rigs in the North Sea. Search and Rescue helicopters, although less frequent, often carry out training exercises in the area as well as actual missions. In the early part of the 20th century, however, the skies were much quieter and less busy as the oil and gas fields had yet to be discovered and rescues at sea were carried out mostly by lifeboats and coastguards.
Until the end of the 1920s the Rocket Pole stood at the western end of the old Coastguard Station (now Cluny Cottages) overlooking the Sand Loch, where it was used for breeches buoy practise by the Collieston Coastguard Company.
After the lease for tenancy of the Coastguard Station expired on Whitsunday 1930, new Coastguard houses were built in the village, in close proximity to the harbour. The Rocket Pole was relocated to a site on the Forvie Moors overlooking the Peerman (Puirman) Braes. As you can see from the photo taken in the 1950s, it was very popular with both children and adults for showing off their climbing skills – Merchant Navy headgear optional! I tried to climb to the top of the pole myself on a number of occasions but, having no head for heights, had to admit defeat every time.
Unfortunately you won’t see any sign of the Rocket Pole now as you walk along the coastal path, so what happened to it? Quite simply, old age took its toll.
As the years passed, the wooden structure began to rot inside. One day a couple from Collieston were out for their usual walk on Forvie NNR when something highly unusual happened. They stopped at the Rocket Pole to admire the view and, while the man was leaning against the structure , it suddenly toppled over and crashed to the ground, giving them both the fright of their lives.
Thankfully there were no injuries but, sadly, the Rocket Pole was no more.

The Collieston LSA (Life Saving Apparatus) Company are making their way back to the Coastguard Station from the Forvie Moors in the late 1920s. In the distance (top left) is Hackley Head. The life saving equipment is being hauled through the open gate which is still there today, well, maybe not the original gate, bearing in mind the fact that wood rots. Remember what happened to the Rocket Pole!

The Company held regular exercises on the Forvie Moors and near the Sand Loch to ensure that the equipment was well maintained and that the coastguards were kept up to speed with rescue procedures.


One such rescue in August 1947 involved the SS Holdernook which had run aground on rocks approximately a quarter of a mile north of Hackley Head.It looks like a beautiful ‘taps aff’ summer’s day in the photo but we all know how quickly the weather can change in north east Scotland and conditions earlier had been very stormy indeed.
As soon as the Collieston LSA Company received the alert that a ship had run aground they quickly rushed to the scene where they had to battle fierce winds to set up their rescue equipment. In fact conditions were so bad and there was such a heavy swell that the crew were reluctant to leave the ship by breeches buoy, preferring to stay on board and take a chance that the storm would abate. Thankfully the potential tragedy ended well. Sea conditions soon improved enough for the crew of the Newburgh Lifeboat to attempt a rescue. The crew on board the steamship were eventually rescued and landed safely at Collieston.
All photos and text (c) Ellie Ingram. Thanks Ellie!