David Lamond Coal Contractors

This 1923 photo shows David Lamond Coal Contractors and has been kindly sent in by Australian man, John Maguire.

John writes, “This picture shows the coal lorry of David Lamond, contractor, Craig Street, Blantyre. It is typical of the coal lorries that used to deliver coal to the houses of Blantyre. A hard job. The young chap at the left is my uncle Joe Boyle, aged 19 in this photograph, which dates it at 1923.  You may use the photographs as you wish. Your Facebook page keeps turning up beauties that keep Blantyre alive in many minds as well as my own.”

Digging a little deeper, I found out the Lamond’s had their own buildings at Springwells. The lorry is clearly marked Craig Street, although I didn’t recognise the buildings in the background as being Craig Street. Margaret McCrory emailed me recently saying, “re photo sent by my brother John Maguire,  I think the photo of the coal lorry was taken at Hawthorne Place which was off Aucunraith Road near Elm Street”

The Lamonds lived at 33 Craig Street during the 1920s and 30s (about halfway down Craig Street opposite the Miners Welfare). I don’t have much information on the business, but I did find a traffic penalty imposed on David Lamond, and thankfully to save my embarrassment here, not against Joe Boyle! In the Dundee Courier on Wednesday 2nd October 1935, an article appeared, “Penalties of 20s were imposed upon David Lamond contractor, 33 Craig Street, Blantyre, and Edward Kelly, motor driver, Auchinraith Road, Blantyre. Lamond admitted that, on 20th July 1935, at The Porte, Burntisland., he failed to comply with the conditions of his B ” license by allowing twelve passengers on the back of the lorry. Kelly admitted that on that occasion he drove the motor lorry without a third party insurance policy in relation to himself.”