David Livingstone was born on this day March 19, 1813. He was a Scottish Doctor of Medicine, a Christian missionary and an explorer. Born and raised in the mill town of Blantyre, Lanarkshire in Scotland, by the age of ten he was working in a cotton factory on the banks of the River Clyde. However, […]
Recognise any wee faces here? Blantyre Summer Gala in Stonefield Public Park in June 1980. Councillor George McInally is on the far right. This was the winning decorated float by Blantyre Community Centre Coffee Bar.
It’s never nice to hear about divorce or the break up of a family home. This next story took place EXACTLY a hundred years ago today and seems appropriate to tell it here now. Let’s go to 19th March 1919. James Kelly Junior, miner lived with his parents at former Dixon’s Rows, just off Stonefield […]
Conditions in the mining towns of Lanarkshire in the immediate post WW1 years were about as bad as it could get. Infant mortality in Lanarkshire was astonishingly high with 22,000 children out of 188,000 born in 1918, dying before they even reached their first birthday! In Blantyre on average 143 babies out of every 1,000, […]
In 1910’s Blantyre, there was perhaps never a more awkward or problematic situation than being born in Blantyre to German’s immigrants and being forced to sign up for the army, knowing your parents had been imprisoned. Thats exactly what happened to William Siegel of Blantyre, a well known conscientious objector (unwilling to conscript or fight). […]
These Blantyre marching girls were out in force in June 1980 for the Summer Gala. These are the youngster of Mrs King’s High Blantyre Majorettes, the team being one of the highlights of the gala giving a brilliant display. Lots of Blantyre faces in there! Can you name anybody? Perhaps you remember this? Can you […]
Continuing a look at the remarkable collection of photos given to me recently. The photographer is Mr David Ritchie of High Blantyre who took many photos all over Blantyre between 1895 – 1920s. Many of them appear to have been turned into postcards. This is Auchentibber Gardens, at the edge of the Quoiting Green. Behind […]
Warning! This story contains narrative about cruelty to an animal! Read a your discretion. Andrew Dollochan was a miner, residing in Birdsfield Model Lodging-House, Burnbank, Hamilton. He was somebody the police often had their eye on and one day in August 1919, they absolutely WERE observing him! Andrew was observed mistreating a cat in Springwells […]