A story next from 1913, reminding everybody of the dangers of Blantyre Craig, the precipice overlooking the River Clyde which Blantyre Priory ruins rest on. In October 1913, a Colonel Ritchie of the Army Medical Corps was back in Scotland recuperating from an injury in India. Staying at Helensburgh, one weekend, he decided to visit […]
Glasgow Smallpox Scare, 1950
As the UK embarks on a massive programme of Covi19 Vaccinations, some of us of a certain age, may remember a time as a child where another programme of mass vaccinations was rolled out in Scotland It started in March 1950 when Indian Sailor Mussa Ali arrived in Glasgow, ill with suspected chickenpox. However, doctors […]
Mains Family, Blantyre
Reader, Rhona Johnsen shared this great photo and provided some narrative in relation to the MAINS family of Blantyre. The photo I think dates from around 1907 or 1908. John Mains (the tall boy at the back) was born on 29th March 1895 at Auchinraith, Blantyre. He was the eldest child of Robert Maxwell Mains […]
Telegraph Poles Fire
On Friday 24th October 1913, The Bellshill Division of the County Fire Brigade attended a serious outbreak of fire at High Blantyre. The location was at High Blantyre near Dalton junction on the road back down to Newton. On fire was an enormous stack of telegraph poles which had been lying in a field. It […]
Pickard’s Waxworks
This next article only briefly mentions Blantyre but stops to make you reflect. I found an advert in a December 1913 newspaper stating that “Great Attractions for the Holidays” were lined up at Pickard’s Waxworks in Glasgow. Amongst them, “The Blantyre Midget” and “The Wonder Cow”, quote unquote, “two of the most astonishing freaks on […]
James Reynolds, Tram Driver
Pictured is local man, James Reynolds in his Lanarkshire Tramways Company Uniform. James was a tram driver but later became an Inspector. It is safe to say trams were well used. In the New Year holiday period in just a few days in 1903/1904, over 106,000 people used the trams, bringing in around £200. Inevitably, […]
Boy & Girl in Field
1950 Stonefield Public Park
Going back 71 years now to 1950 and a photo taken in Stonefield Public Park, Blantyre. Following the success of winning the Scottish Junior Cup that year, Blantyre Vics sadly found themselves with very little money left to even go and properly enjoy a celebration. The Fifth District Council, still recovering from war years, similarly […]
George Cullen b1863-d1926
Alex Bowie once shared these two photos with me, which were simply marked, ‘George Cullen’. Determined to know more, I’ve now been able to add accurate detail. Whilst the Cullen Surname was present in Blantyre in the last 19th Century, it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th Century that we see George Cullen in […]