Raasay Books - Whirligig Beetles and Tackety Boots
Whirligig Beetles and Tackety Boots
by Julia Mackenzie
2000,
ISBN 1 902838 07 6
Julia Mackenzie was born on 16th March 1923 on Eilean Tighe (island of the house) which lies off the north end of Raasay. She attended Torran School on Raasay and later Portree High School on the Isle of Skye. At the age of eighteen she joined the A.T.S., went to France and later to Germany with the 121 British General Hospital, visiting the notorious Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
In this book she returns to Eilean Tighe, now deserted, her early home a ruin. Julia describes her childhood life on the island - 'a happy carefree life' - and her subsequent adventures stepping out into the chaos of wartime Europe.
