Wick suffered aerial bombardment very early on in WWII. The first daylight bombing on the British mainland occurred on 1 July 1940 when two bombs destroyed four dwellings and four shops; 15 people were killed. The site is now a memorial garden. Residents of Wick had been accustomed to the sights and sounds of aerial raids since April 1940 when 60 bombers unsuccessfully attacked Scapa Flow in nearby Orkney.

This spectacular WWII photo of Wick shows intensive use of the sidings beside the station. No herring were landed at Wick during the war so the wagons were in other use. However, even in the 60s fish was still carried by rail. Iain MacDonald, FoFNL Committee member and retired signalman well remembers the fish trains: There used to be one from Helmsdale at 03:05, I used to get a lift on it, and be handed the shovel to work my passage. That was in the early 1960's.

Woe betide anyone who slept in and delayed it, there was a telegraph message sent out to the offending station to explain the delay, it usually ended, "repercussions all the way to London".