Page 4 - ZettaIntro
P. 4
Zetta’s desire to create poems and songs was overwhelming. It was a way for her to
express thoughts, opinions and emotions in what could be a repressive society.
In 1939 Zetta married
Bob Dyce and their first child,
George Sinclair, was born the
following year. In 1943, tragedy
befell the family when a second
child, Wilma, died at only a few
months old. Joy returned two
years later when another
daughter, Christine Mary, was
born and finally, in 1952, I
arrived and was named Isabella
Margaret but always known as Isla.
The second world war brought immense grief into Zetta’s life with the loss of both
brothers serving in the army, as well as the death of both parents and her baby, Wilma. In
addition to these family bereavements, Zetta suffered from serious bouts of ill health
throughout her life, including diphtheria in her early twenties. She found solace and peace in
nature, drawing inspiration from the fisherfolk community and the outstanding beauty around
her home in the Moray Firth as well as her growing personal experiences of life.
By 1948 Zetta’s marriage to Bob began to fail. To help revive their union they decided
to leave the Moray Firth for a different life in the south of Scotland. By nature, a quiet reserved
man, Bob was no match for his wife’s bright mind and vivacious personality and despite their
effort to find common ground they separated. Now, without Bob, my mother decided to start
a new life with her children in the tiny harbour village of Findochty just a few miles from her
hometown of Buckie.
We lived in a small house in Commerce street, opposite the Salvation Army Hall which
backed on to the picturesque Findochty harbour. Zetta now acquired a motorbike, and found
employment collecting donations for an Aberdeen based charity for the blind. It was indeed a
rare sight to see a woman riding a motorbike in the 1950s let alone one roaring around the
Highlands of Scotland.