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Clan Munro USA
Genealogy Pages
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 1908 - 1998 (89 years)
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| Name |
William John Sime [1] |
| Born |
24 Jun 1908 |
, , , Scotland  [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
20 Jun 1998 |
Elgin, , Moray, Scotland [2] |
- News of Willie's death came in a letter to Neva and Jim Munro from Ina Donaldson, dated 8 July 1998. She said that he had been in Dr. Gray's in Elgin. The report in the paper said that there would be no service since he had gifted his body for medical research.
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| Person ID |
I46810 |
Munro |
| Last Modified |
2 Jan 2003 |
| Father |
John M. Sime, b. Est 1874, d. 1962, , , , Scotland (Age ~ 88 years) |
| Mother |
Jessie Munro, b. 13 Jul 1876, Grange, , Banffshire, Scotland , d. 28 May 1961 (Age 84 years) |
| Married |
11 Aug 1899 |
Urquhart, , Moray, Scotland [4] |
- MARRIAGE: Jessie's great grand daughter, Jayne Sime, told Neva and Jim Munro in e-males, 18 and 19 December 1998, that Jessie and John Sime were married 11 August 1899 at the Urquhart Free Church by Rev. A. Y. Smith. The Free Church of Scotland has 'fire and brimstone' and Old Testament style preaching. Jessie belonged to the Free Church, but John Sime belonged to the Church of Scotland. John was largely an agnostic and according to Willie Sime, Rev. A. Y. Smith did not like John Sime because the Reverend thought that John would take Jessie away from the Free Church. [3]
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| Family ID |
F10212 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- From a Scottish newspaper column sent by Ina Donaldson with letter postmarked 29 September 1998:
The Moray area lost one of its real characters this week with the death of retired police officer Willie Sime only four days before his 90th birthday. Willie was a no-nonsense bobby of the old beat. His verbal rebukes were always more effective than the handcuffs and the baton. His mode of transport was the bicycle and, during his lengthy spell in Findhorn over the war years, he was regarded as the chief constable. But Willie's favourite posting was Rothes.
When he was on late-night duty (which was more often by design then delegation), he made it his personal task to visit the town's various distilleries--just to check up on security, of course. It was only after he retired that he admitted: "On a caul nicht, you could aye guarantee you wid get a guid gargle."
Many is the good gargle I have had with Willie in Elgin's old Grand Bar (now long gone) during the 1960s and 1970s. He was a great storyteller. Trouble is, you had to take half the stories Willie was telling you with a pinch of salt. I'm sure the members of the old Scottish North Eastern Counties constabulary didn't get up to some of the antics Willie used to portray.
Here is another Willie Sime story:
From: "Alan C. Morrison"
To: "Jim Munro"
Between Jan 1965 - October 1966, I was a trainee manager in Woolworths in Elgin, Morayshire. I lodged with a retired policeman and his wife...YES Willie Sime! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I still can't believe it!
Willie was a hell of a man to drink, and many nights, when Jean was out, Willie would open a bottle of illicit booze he had acquired from a visit to Rothes. This spirit was clear in colour, probably over 100% proof. 2 glasses of that stuff, and you passed out! He had a terribly sore back, and he said that the whisky helped it. Every 4 weeks or so, he would disappear to Rothes for more supplies!
I left there to move to Glasgow, but every time we visited the North of Scotland, my wife and I would visit Willie & Jean in Abbeyfield House in Forres. They had their own room in this old people's home. I suppose that the last time I saw them was about 1991. I thought that they must be dead, because we hadn't had a Xmas card from them for about 7 years. Willie was one huge larger than life character, and was a fund of stories from his time in the police force in Rothes, Grantown, and Elgin. I was sorry to hear that he had passed away, but I shall raise a glass to him tonight. Alan
Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA [5]
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| Sources |
- [S57] Clan Munro files - Munro, James Ruben, James Ruben Munro, The Descendants of Munro, Wilson, Dustan, Allan, and Longmo re - compiled by James Reuben Munro - Oct 2000 - p. 24, 32 (Reliability: 3).
- [S57] Clan Munro files - Munro, James Ruben, James Ruben Munro, The Descendants of Munro, Wilson, Dustan, Allan, and Longmo re - compiled by James Reuben Munro - Oct 2000 - p. 24, 32- 33 (Reliability: 3).
- [S57] Clan Munro files - Munro, James Ruben, James Ruben Munro, The Descendants of Munro, Wilson, Dustan, Allan, and Longmo re - compiled by James Reuben Munro - Oct 2000 - p. 25 (Reliability: 3).
- [S57] Clan Munro files - Munro, James Ruben, James Ruben Munro, The Descendants of Munro, Wilson, Dustan, Allan, and Longmo re - compiled by James Reuben Munro - Oct 2000 - p. 24 (Reliability: 3).
- [S57] Clan Munro files - Munro, James Ruben, James Ruben Munro, The Descendants of Munro, Wilson, Dustan, Allan, and Longmo re - compiled by James Reuben Munro - Oct 2000 - p. 32-33 (Reliability: 3).
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