There is a granite plaque at the Linn O' Dee near Braemar which stands as a memorial to the deaths of Gwyn Gatenby and Katie Todd who accidentally drowned there on 18th October 1927. She slipped on the bank and fell into the water and he went in to save her, drowning in the attempt. They were about to get married. My granny either went to school with Katie, or taught her, I'm not certain, but this plaque combined with the link to my granny made me very wary of the danger of the steep riverbank and the often raging torrent below.
When going through some of dad's photos, I found a newspaper article from 1927, with a photo of the local men, roped up, in the search for the bodies. A poignant reminder of that fateful day, and a cutting my granny must have kept. I've posted it in my 'odds and sods' album, for interest.
This is an image taken at Katie and Gwyn's grave in Echt, where she came from. The flowers seemed quite recent, perhaps placed there on the anniversary of their deaths? I wonder what the Huggate Club was ... just friends, or a hillwalking club, or something else? Not sure.
Interesting story. Yesterday we went by two granite plaques on the side of the mountain trail where we were walking. They remembered the deaths of more than 200 Austrian soldiers killed by avalanches that fell continuously during the terrible winter of 1917. Also many Italian soldiers died due to the unprecedented cold of that year. Not to speak of those who died killed by the arms of the two opposing armies. So sad
