If you have Scottish Traveller ancestors or are interested in their way of life, take a look at this debut novel – “Salvage” – from RTFHS member Mark Baillie.
Mark tells us that the story was inspired by the oral history he recorded from his Scottish Traveller grandad Matthew ‘Bing’ Baillie (1914-2007) not long before he died.
At the heart of the tale is an elderly Traveller who is trying to trace his sister. The context is the period before 1930 when – as some of you might have heard – authorities in Scotland had
a scheme to remove the children of Scottish Traveller families, often with little justification.
Mark adds: “In the final draft, the material I heard from my grandad is only around one-third of the novel but ‘Salvage’ wouldn’t have been possible without that starting point.”
