Norman Shaw was the younger of twins born in 1909 to Malcolm Shaw and Isabella MacAskill of ‘house 30’ Backhill. Their mother passed away less than three weeks later and the children were cared for by relatives. Norman lived with his half-sister Marion and his maternal grandparents at 23 Borve.

He started attending Berneray School in 1916, a week before his twin brother John. He stayed at the school, where he had the nickname Nelson, because of the loss of one eye, until 1924. In 1934 Norman married Nellie MacKinnon in Edinburgh. He passed away in Tranent in 1975.