More old Blantyre photos today, courtesy of and with kind thanks to Anthony Smith.

Pictured is Juliana Kakta in October 1939 alongside her son. The photo was taken in the allotment at the bottom of Baird’s Rows, not far from the middle of Forrest Street. The fence being the boundary to Blantyre Celtic’s Park. Juliana was born in 1871 and passed away on 20th June 1949, aged 78 years.

The young man is Anthony’s father. Despite his smiles, I can’t help but wonder what was going through his mind that month. 1939, in October! Just a few weeks after war had been declared on Germany.

In October the last of Poland’s military had surrendered to Germany, Russia’s armies were on the move, the Nazi’s had already started rounding up Jews and back at home in Scotland, the war was unfolding closer than people would have cared for, with ships in the Firth of Forth coming under Nazi air attack. It would have been a frightening time and older generations like Juliana and her husband Nickodemus must surely have been making comparisons with the Great War of WW1 and what the 1940’s would bring.

On social media:

Mary Falco Did Anthony father either spoke of the sweeney who also lived in bairds row or the poles who lived there they gave my mother family different why of cooking

Margaret Liddle My mom and dad were brought up in Bairds rows, they both lived in the top row