The history of this period in the community’s development is extensively documented and rather than repeat a well known story at length, this section contains some key facts and dates about the founders and founding years as a source of reference.

Eileen Caddy was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1917 and educated at a boarding school in Ireland. In 1939 she married Andrew Combe, an RAF officer and they had five children together. He became involved in the Moral Re-armament movement, and Eileen participated in some of their activities, although without enthusiasm. The couple first met Peter Caddy when they were stationed at Habbanya in Iraq. In 1953 whilst back in England, Peter and Eileen fell in love. Eileen’s request for a divorce resulted in her becoming completely separated from her children. Her life had ‘suddenly become a nightmare’. Shortly thereafter, Eileen first heard the inner voice that was to direct the rest of her life whilst visiting a sanctuary in a private house in Ashwell Lane, Glastonbury. The first words she heard were “Be still and know that I am God.”

Peter Caddy was born in 1917 at Ruislip, about 30 miles from London. Unlike Eileen his early life was steeped in esoterics, including the work of Helena Blavatsky and the Rosicrucian Order. His first spiritual teacher was a Doctor Sullivan, also known as Aureolis. He married Nora Meidling at 22 and soon after was commissioned into the RAF as a Catering Officer “having been turned down as a pilot because I was colour blind.” He was a champion middle distance runner and when posted to India he completed several Himalayan expeditions, including a trek to Tibet.

Shortly after the war he met Sheena Govan, and not long thereafter she became his second wife. Sheena was a strong-willed woman and a spiritual teacher with a Quaker background who trained Peter for the next five years – a training which continued after Peter and Eileen married.

Dorothy Maclean hails from Ontario, Canada, and had a Presbyterian upbringing. She attended a degree course in business at the University of Western Ontario. During the Second World War she worked for British Intelligence in New York, meeting Sheena Govan en route. Later, whilst in Panama she met and married her husband John, who introduced her to the teachings of a number of religious works including the Bhagavad Gita and those of the Sufi Order. Having moved to London they explored a variety of spiritual groups together. After they divorced Dorothy maintained contacts with one of these groups which was organised by Sheena.

It was at such a group meeting that Peter, Eileen and Dorothy first met. Under Sheena’s tutelage Eileen and Dorothy began to develop their skills in receiving and recording guidance, whilst Peter continued his own very different training in intuition and obedience. During this period Peter took on a catering job at an Air University at Hamble in England for a while. Whilst there he purchased a second-hand Bournemouth caravan for £650. Peter and Eileen’s first and second children, Christopher and Jonathon, were born during this time, but Eileen’s relationship with Sheena became increasingly strained. Indeed matters worsened such that Eileen even attempted suicide when Peter was away in Ireland. She was rescued by her brother and for a brief period was in contact with Andrew.

Peter continued his peripatetic lifestyle, finding employment in a variety of occupations, including that of a brush salesman in Glasgow. Dorothy was also in and out of work, often as a secretary. After a variety of happenings, including Eileen’s traumatic stay in Sheena’s cottage in Mull, and the unwelcome attentions of the press who scoured the Hebrides for stories about the ‘Nameless Ones’ [1], Peter finally applied for and obtained the position of manager of Cluny Hill Hotel. The three adults and two children moved there in March 1957.

Cluny Hill had been something of a white elephant, but during their stay they transformed the finances of the hotel, bringing it up to ‘four star’ standards in large measure by following Eileen’s guidance. Peter and Eileen’s third son, David, was born there. In their second season they were joined by Lena Lamont whom they had met in Glasgow, and who had also been part of Sheena’s group. Now separated from Sheena they nonetheless continued their spiritual development, and established telepathic links with centres around the world who were aligning to spirit – the Network of Light. One of their contacts was with Naomi Stephens whom Peter had met in the Philippines years before.

It is clear that they felt they were involved in important undertakings – Eileen’s guidance stressed this on several occasions. However, the management of the hotel chain were keen to see the successes at Cluny repeated elsewhere. It was therefore to the group’s great surprise that they were asked to move to another hotel at The Trossachs in Perthshire. Despite their protests Peter, Eileen, Dorothy and Lena were all transferred there early in 1962. These premises were known as the ‘graveyard of managers’ and it is clear they felt that some malign force was at work against them . Their achievements at Cluny Hill were not so easily accomplished there, and at the end of their first season they were sacked, without any given reason, and with four hours notice to leave. Peter, Eileen, Dorothy and the three children left for the Caddy caravan, which by then was located at Findhorn Sands caravan park.

On 13th October Eileen received the following guidance.
“My child, on no account are you to feel you have failed completely at the Trossachs. Many invaluable lessons were learnt. Always keep positive about your return to Cluny Hill, but not under this company.”
On 24th October she received:
“This whole caravan is becoming charged with the most tremendous power and when it reaches a certain strength, nothing will be able to stop the vibrations from going forth and linking and holding together the Network of Light as a whole.”

This site at Findhorn Sands was not available for residential occupation during the winter, and after a month’s searching they found a space in a hollow at Findhorn Bay caravan park. None of them were impressed by the quality of the environment, which was by all accounts a site next to a garbage dump and a broken-down garage surrounded by weeds and brambles. Nonetheless it was a case of any port in a storm, and they moved the caravan there on 17th November 1962. Light snow fell as they arrived.

 

[1] A title invented by a journalist frustrated by the lack of sensational copy to be had. The original story broke after one of Sheena’s followers left his wife in England. When asked the name of the group he was to join, the reply was of course that ‘it didn’t have one’, hence this unfortunate sobriquet.