William Hourston was born in Evie in 1895. He moved to Stromness in the 1930s and originally ran a billiard saloon and barber shop, but his true interest was photography. The raising of the scuttled ships of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow gave him an opportunity to exploit his photographic skills and he produced many memorable images of the work over the years.
William had a good eye for the picturesque and took many photographs of Stromness and further afield, producing calendars and postcards of his work. He had trained as a joiner and was able to make a lot of his own darkroom equipment. He was also, for a time, an occasional Lighthouse Keeper on Suleskerry, an isolated rocky outpost about thirty miles west of Orkney. Of course, he took along his camera and recorded the huge numbers of seabirds and seals that frequented the area.
William Hourston served in both World Wars, receiving injuries during the 1st World War that affected him all his life. He continued to live in Stromness, taking photographs late into the 1950s, remaining in the town until his death in 1968.
Robert Hay reading a local newspaper, Kirbister Farm, Birsay, 1954. 
Salvage work on the scuttled SMS Hindenburg in Scapa Flow. She was refloated by Cox & Danks Ltd. on 22nd July 1930 
An Aberdeen Airways De Havilland Dragon at Cumminess, Stenness c. 1930s. Second from right is Dr. Shaw, G.P. in Stromness, father of the actor Robert Shaw. 
Kittiwakes nesting on Orkney cliffs, c. 1950s. 
Gutting fish on board a fishing boat at Stromness pier, c. 1950s. 
A diving team at work during salvage work on the scuttled German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow, c. 1930s 
Feeding Light Sussex Hens, Voy, Sandwick, 1959. 
Orcadian artist, and Queen’s Limner in Scotland, Stanley Cursiter at Yesnaby, Sandwick, c.1960s. 
Graemeshall, Holm, c.1953. 
Professor V. Gordon Childe supervising excavations of the South East face of Maeshowe chambered cairn, Stenness, 1954. 
Stromness Hotel and pier head, c.1950s. 
Kenwood, Harray, 1956.