| Administrative History | The following was taken from Mr Waters obituary in the Northern Times dated 12th January 2007.
MOURNERS packed Thurso West Church on Monday for the funeral of long-serving councillor Falconer Waters. Mr Waters, who was also a prominent local historian, died at his home in the town on Friday. He was 55. His last years were dogged by a chronic degenerative illness, during which he was cared for by his wife Christine. Born and bred in Thurso, he was the youngest councillor in Scotland when elected to Thurso Town Council in 1974 at the age of 23. An eloquent advocate for the town, Mr Waters was returned a year later to Caithness District Council. During his time with the latter authority, he chaired the county's leisure and recreation committee and served a similar role during his subsequent six-year stint on Highland Council. He was vice-chairman of the economic development committee with Highland Council and also served as its Caithness area vice-convener. His municipal service was ended through ill health in 2001. Mr Waters was prominent in waging a campaign against under age drinking and later became involved in a one-man crusade to establish the cause of a childhood leukaemia cluster in Thurso. In the latter cause, he highlighted the potential role of a microwave beam from the former US Navy presence in the area, which bisected the Pennyland housing estate in Thurso where five of the six victims lived. He was later attracted to the theory that the cluster could have been caused by the effect of population-mixing in the wake of the large influx of people who came to work at the Dounreay plant. Mr Waters attended the West Public School, Miller Academy and Thurso High before attending Thurso College for a year. He then served his time as a fitter/turner at Dounreay, where he rose to managerial grade with the UK Atomic Energy Authority before taking early retirement in 1994. Mr Waters was a well-known local historian and wrote two books: Thurso Then and Now, and A History of Thurso harbour. He also wrote a guidebook on the town, as well championing work on the restoration of Old St Peters Church. He had an impressive collection of photos and films from a bygone age which he regularly displayed to local organisations and at public film shows. Mr Waters was a keen wrestler and helped to start up a club in Thurso in the 1970s. He went on to have a notable career, which included taking part in the World Student Games Championships in Denver. A British freestyle champion at his weight, he was also capped for Scotland against Poland. Mr Waters also had a keen interest in photography and foreign travel. His brother John said: Falconer was always ready to help anybody. He also had very strong convictions. If he thought something was wrong, he would do his utmost to make it right. During his spells on the council, he always did his best for the people he was representing. John Young, who was Caithness district convener during Mr Waters' council career, paid tribute at the funeral service to his former colleague. Mr Young said: As a councillor, he attended to the affairs of his electors most assiduously and made a formidable contribution to the business of the council. In his role as vice-convener he was very supportive, very willing to stand in for me at any time, and I could always depend on his complete loyalty. Mr Waters, he said, was a councillor of the old school. He took his responsibility to his electors very seriously. Falconer never said things just to hit the headlines, with the result that much of his work may have passed unseen by the public at large. He never let responsibility go to his head he remained a friend of everyone, young and old. Mr Young continued: He possessed the basic qualities that we look for in councillors: honesty, integrity and reliability. One always found him in the same good temperament, and he always gave everything to the task in hand. With Falconers passing, we have all lost a friend. We will remember him with fondness and admiration. Mr Waters of St Magnus Road, Thurso, is also survived by his other brother George. His death came days after that of a former council contemporary, Robert Durrand from Wick. |