He was born May 6th 1915 in Dornoch & married Edith Annie Johnston from Birsay in Orkney. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked on the Chr Salvesen & Co. whaling boats. During this time in the whaling industry he was sometimes stationed in Leith Harbour, South Georgia. For a time one of his brothers was there with him, it must have been nice to have a friendly face from home!