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| Eddie and Helen on their wedding day |
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| Eddie (right) in his Royal Navy days. |
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| Eddie with sons Kenny (left) and Derek |
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Edward Gray Watson
1926-1994
Eddie was born in Garmouth on the 20th of June, 1925 to William and Annie. The family moved to Burghead in Morayshire when Eddie was still a toddler and they lived in the Coastguard Station, which is a landmark on the hill at the point of this seaside village. Eddie had two younger sisters, Nancy and Iris, and two older stepbrothers, Willie and Jim and a stepsister Sybil.
At the time Burghead was a prominent fishing village and, naturally, Eddie was drawn to the sea. On leaving school Eddie began working on the fishing boats until it was time for him to leave the village and complete his National Service in the Royal Navy.
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Helen and Eddie on Holiday.
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Eddie met his wife to be during this time and, on leaving the Navy, he moved to Edinburgh, where he married Helen Cairns McFarlane on the third of August, 1951. Eddie joined the Parks Department in Edinburgh and the couple began married life in a cottage in the Silverknowes area of the city. In 1955 their first son Derek was born and shortly afterwards Eddie became Groundsman at Arboretum playing fields and the family moved to Arboretum Road. At the time the weekly rent for the two bedroomed house was 15s 8d (approx. 78pence). In 1962 their second son Kenneth was born.
The family spent many happy years at Arboretum before the sad death of Helen in 1974. Eddie continued to work at Arboretum and in 1974 he became an Honorary Vice-president of Holy Cross Cricket Club in recognition of his work on improving the playing condition of the cricket square at the playing field. In 1977 Eddie was involved in a serious motor accident and although he returned to work, he never fully recovered his full fitness.
Eddie planned to retire to Burghead and bought a small cottage on the back shore. However, a leg injury received while running up a hill towards the coastguard station in Burghead while on holiday further hampered Eddie's mobility and he was forced to take early retirement in 1984.
Having decided he was not fit enough to make the move north, Eddie bought a house in The Green, Davidsons Mains, where he stayed until a stroke further hampered his health. Eddie spent his final years in the Royal Victoria Hospital until his death in 1994; he did, however, survive to see his first grandchild Emma born to Kenneth and wife Jane in the same year.
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