I see, that I have become more and more talkative, maybe it is caused by age, maybe I feel more and more at home with friends… So posting my comment below Steve’s story on the Fairhaven Smoke Shop I mentioned old envelope with address: Mr. Charles Rattray, Tobacco Blender, PERTH, Scotland. Encouraged by kind suggestion by Mark Domingues I am enclosing picture of this envelope.

Browsing on Steve’s blog I found with joy the publication of an old Rattray’s Booklet on Tobacco Blending https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/charles-rattrays-of-perth-catalogue/ So all the more I would like to continue with following story connected with Rattrays.

Rattray’s is known as a manufacturer of pipe tobaccos, which are now manufactured in Germany, but names of blends like Marlin Flake, Old Gowrie, Hal o’the Wynd remain the same. Beside this “tobacco aspect” Rattray is the family name of an old Scottish historical family, and their house is the Craighall Castle by the town of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The Craighall Castle like many other castles has a big clock in the castle’s tower. The clock demanded regular maintenance. In “my” time there this service was provided by clock and watch specialist – a watchmaker, whom I happen to know.

During one of my visits to Scotland this watch and clock specialist invited me to join him on his next visit to the castle. We entered the hall and I was surprised to see many photos of soldiers in uniforms with well known to me Polish distinctions and badges from the time of WWII. Soon I learned that the Craighall Castle, like many other locations in Scotland, was at the time of WWII converted to a hospital and convalescent centre for the Polish wounded soldiers. Many men in uniforms shown in photos were smoking short pipes – bulldogs or lovats, which, as I remember from stories, were popular with some military formations. On the wall there was a marble plate with the Polish Eagle, badges of some Polish military formations and words of gratitude to the people of Blairgowrie, Rattray and district, in commemoration of their hospitality.

Then our host – the Right Honorable Rattray appeared who, after complimenting my acquaintance for his clock service, kindly offered us a nice cup of tea. I was so surprised by seeing one more sign of Polish presence in Scotland that I simply forgot to ask our host, if his respectable family had any kind of connection with the well known tobacco brand.