A remarkable coincidence occurred in the late 19th Century when Walter Loudon was living in the very same house his wife was born in! Walter worked in Earnock Quarries in Hamilton and lived in Auchentibber.

In 1910, he left Lanarkshire to seek work in Canada and was joined by his Auchentibber sweetheart Maggie Leitch in 1913, when she travelled out too. The timing was fortunate with troubles brewing in Europe. They may have considered themselves very lucky in making that move abroad. They couple married in Montreal on 13th August 1913, as pictured here:

Walter Loudon and Maggie Leith on wedding day 13th August 1913

Montreal was home for the Loudons until 1951. Mr Loudon retired that year after 28 years service with the Progress Spring Bed Ltd, first as assistant secretary and later as secretary-treasurer. However, before retirement, the couple decided to travel back to Scotland to Auchentibber to decide first if they wanted to move back to their birthplace and origins for the remainder of their lives. Needless to say, Auchentibber in the 1950’s may have been a shadow of the thriving community they would have remembered as children, with unemployment, and many of the old buildings gone. The pit bing at Sydes Brae would also have been a reminder of the mining days, perhaps one of the reasons Walter wanted a different life in the first place!

Maggie Leith , became Maggie Loudon in August 1913.

The couple returned swiftly to Canada to Victoria , further west and just after 10 days there decided that was where they wanted to spend their days. Walter and Maggie are pictured on their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1963.

Maggie (Leitch) and Walter Loudon 13th August 1963

Maggie Loudon’s grave is pictured in Canada 1887 – 1964 noting her as being a native of Lanarkshire, Scotland. With sincere thanks to Isobel Fleming in East Kilbride for sending me a package containing much of this information.