Looking forward to the forthcoming Scottish Referendum vote on independence, I am reminded of my paternal family history.

Before the union of England and Scotland, my paternal great grandfather was a master mariner living in Haddington, East Lothain and shipping out of Leith. Due to increasing harassment of the Scottish Marine by the English Marine, he relocated to West Kirby, shipping out of Liverpool. He eventually moved down to Southampton on the Oporto, Portugal run.

My thoughts today are neutral but should I have been living in Scotland, my thoughts might have been different; who can tell?

Keith Pattison, Greenway Gardens, Trowbridge.