The two old photos are over a Century old. Both are school photos of children in Blantyre.
In previous years, girls and boys were separated at Primary school. They entered the building at separate entrances, sometimes marked on the building itself. In the extremely faded photo of 1910 these small children were dressed for a field outing. My grandmother Mary Danskin is apparently in the middle, with this photo passed down the generations.
In the other clearer photo from 1911, the school i think is HIgh Blantyre Primary. Pictured at the front right in the middle, is John Duncan, aged 4, my grandfather. The back of the photo says “the schoolhouse”. Grandpa stayed at this time in Greenburn Cottage, in Broompark Road (next door to the newsagents at the cross). It is likely his school was HIgh Blantyre, rather than Ness’s in Low Blantyre or Auchinraith that both also existed at the time. The adults are most likely the teacher and the headmaster. I know it’s not Major Ness, as Headmaster Ness died in 1908. I do think this is HIgh Blantyre Primary school, laterly known as the Annexe. The people may not matter much to our readers, but given the number of children here, it’s very possible many people today in Blantyre are related to them.