All through Winter 1977 and into early 1978, searches through Blantyre’s dusty attics, garden sheds and farm buildings helped make a dream come true.

The dream was to collect relics from Blantyre’s past and put them on show in a new social history museum at David Livingstone Centre. So, an appeal went out in Autumn 1976 for any remains of Blantyre’s past industries, farming, cotton spinning and mining.

Soon, everything from Davy Lamps to Antique Farming equipment was handed into the Livingstone Centre and with the help of eager young researchers like James Dick and Moira Whitmore (Hamilton College of Education), these memories of the past were put on display for opening that summer.

Bill Cunningham, warden of the Memorial (pictured), said, “The response has been very good, but we do need more. People should know they can give us any item on an extended loan, if they don’t wish to give it away for ever. “

Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,

Elizabeth Dobson Grieve Wondering if the James Dick mentioned is any relation to me?

The Blantyre Project According to my notes, James Dick joined the Livingstone Trust as an assistant in November 1978, later that year, joining on the same day as the chairman retired after 25 years.

Elizabeth Dobson Grieve thanks for that Paul. Looks like I’ve some research to do to see if he’s connected but it can wait until after I get back