As elderly Mr Thomas Watson, sat in his Blantyre home at 72 Glasgow Road, on the evening of Friday 25th June 1949, a knock at the door startled the 80 year old. Upon opening the door stood a well dressed man also of elderly years. Neither knew each other.
It’s no small wonder. The person calling to Glasgow Road was none other than Thomas’s own brother who left the Blantyre home 45 years earlier in 1904 for a life in America. Matthew Watson had returned for a holiday and wanted to visit his family, his family home and original home town. It was the first time the brothers had met since he left. We can only imagine the catching up that weekend, taking in not only the family life stories, but encompassing the passing of TWO Great World Wars in that time.
The location of this old house is now gone, but was approximately at the position of the current Glasgow Road roundabout at the Lidl/B&M store at the corner of Whistleberry.
Ref: The Sunday Post and Glasgow Herald
Today’s location of 72 Glasgow Road