David Waterson may have come across as grumpy from time to time as my old friend Les Skelton remarked when as a boy he would pass David on the Brechin Bridge, paint brush and pallet in hand, most artists display such characteristics when deep in concentration. Les did say that, at times when David had finished for the day and less absorbed in his work, he would often ‘pass the time of day’ with him and his young pals!
Les recalled the gypsy woman who lived in the hill wood where he used to play just beyond Brechin Bridge. The gypsy woman gave birth to a daughter and not knowing the identity of the father named the girl “Hilda Wood” because she was born in the hill wood!