MURDER - The Lighthouse - page 99

Dickson went on trial for murder and theft at the High Court in Dumfries on 27
November 1960. David Collin and his father were called as witnesses during the tri-
al. Whilst the evidence against Dickson was overwhelming, his defence was based on
his actions being due to his being a psychopath and verging on insanity. The point was
strongly made that he had severe adverse and abnormal reactions to stress. David Col-
lin mentions in his account that the line of defence was very well put and that it was
apparent to all the witnesses in court that it was an apt description of Dickson's beha-
viour. Nevertheless the jury found Dickson guilty of the charges and he was sentenced
to death (this was some time prior to the abolition of capital punishment) by the presid-
ing Judge, Lord Cameron. Collin notes in his account that as the death sentence was
beingmadebyLordCameron,inascenewhichcouldhavebeentakenfromaVictorian
melodrama, the courtroom grew darker and there was thunder and lightning outside. It
wasafittingendtoastrangecase.Howeveritwasnotquitetheend;fivedaysbeforehe
was due to be hanged on 21 December 1960, Dickson was reprieved. Two years later,
in prison, Dickson committed suicide by taking an overdose of drugs. As an endnote to
theaccount,Collinechoedsentimentsthatwouldbefeltbymanythat,althoughitwasa
sad case which involved murder and suicide, looking back many years later after auto-
mation, equally regrettable was the loss of the traditions and way of life of the NLB's
lightkeepers and their vigilance on behalf of seamen. 8
Another case 9 while not concerning murder, is worth looking at as an example of
madness or insanity overcoming a lightkeeper and the effect it had on him. Twenty-one
milesoffStDavid'sHeadinSouthWaleslaytwosmallclustersofrockwhichhadbeen
aconstant hazardtoshippinguntilalighthouse wasbuiltononeoftheclusters. Placing
a lighthouse there had been the inspiration of John Phillips, who invited designs for
the construction. The design he chose for the lighthouse had been presented by Henry
Whiteside, a music instrument maker from Liverpool. The two clusters of rocks, which
stood at most 11.5ft above sea level, were known as the Smalls and this was the name
given to the lighthouse. It was an isolated location and came under the jurisdiction of
Trinity House through an Act of Parliament in 1778, although they leased it to Phil-
lips for a period of ninety-nine years from 3 June 1778. The original lighthouse, built
in 1775-76, was constructed primarily of wood and cast iron, and after severe storms
in December 1777 Phillips had been forced to release the lightkeepers, as he could not
affordtorepairthelighthouse.TheinabilityofPhillipstoprovidethenecessaryfinance
for repairs and running costs had forced the intervention of Trinity House.
It was in the Smalls Lighthouse just before 1801 that one of the two lightkeepers
working there died, it is believed, of natural causes. The other lightkeeper was at a loss
about what to do initially. He felt that if he did the most sensible thing, which was to
commit the body of his deceased co-worker to the deep, he would have to explain what