Canadian Don Adams contacted me recently with an interesting message. He owns a click from the early 1900s, which has a very specific Blantyre connection.
The clock is pictured and on the front has a plaque, which is inscribed with:
“Presented to Mr William Smith
By the teachers and senior pupils of
High Blantyre Public School
In Recognition of 21 years of faithful service as an Assistant
And with congratulations
On his appointment to the Headmastership of
Low Blantyre Public school
26th June 1908″
As we chatted back and forth, Don very kindly offered to bring the clock over to Scotland with him when he visits later this year on holiday. I was happy to meet up with him at the airport or some cafe and he was going to donate it back to Blantyre where the clock started out. However, as we chatted back and forth, and given how heavy the Edwardian clock is (14kg!) and the fact it wasn’t working, we decided against the plan.
Instead, Don removed the plaque and has posted it over to me, in return getting a copy of one of my books. A good swap, I thought.
Regarding William Smith….he was indeed a headmaster of Blantyre Public School right up until his very sudden death on Sunday 28th August 1921. He had taken over from Mr Ness and Mr James M Aitchison succeeded him.
Upon Mr Smith’s death, Rev Alexander Andrew said at the time, “He was a man who held the respect and love of all who knew him. He rendered excellent service in whatever work he put his hand to. Nobody ever passed away leaving a deeper feeling of respect and regret than did Mr Smith.”
At the Parish Council meeting at the time, on the motion of Mr Andrew, seconded by Mr McAnulty, a letter was sent expressing sympathy with Mr Smith’s family, and the Authority’s appreciation of the work he did in the interests of education.
William met with an untimely death. He had been visiting friends in Glasgow on the Saturday evening, and on arriving at Blantyre Station on the 10.15p.m. train, he slipped and fell between the platform and the carriage. He was so badly wedged in that the footboard had to be cut away before he could be extricated. With the assistance of a friend, Mr Smith managed to walk home, and medical aid was at once summoned. However, it was found that he had been badly injured internally. Shock intervened and he died at five o’clock on the Sunday night. William Smith had been a headmaster for thirteen years and had been under the Blantyre School Board as a teacher for thirty-two years. In his earlier days he played for the Old Cambuslang Football Club.
As with anything donated to me about Blantyre, I’ll make sure the history is attached to this little plaque and will keep the it safely together with the above snippet about William Smith and of course Don’s clock photos, so wherever it ends up in future, the history is preserved. For now though, a wee bit of Blantyre history has found its way back to Scotland.
I have an interesting photo of William Smith. He is pictured here in 1911 at Blantyre Public School. Incredibly, at the very front row, the little boy in the very centre is my grandfather, John Duncan. To think when this photo was taken, the clock would likely be above a fireplace at William’s home in the school grounds right next to this scene. Also, I wonder what William Smith would have thought if he knew the plaque on his gifted clock would eventually end up in the grandson’s home of a little boy 4 feet away from him, some 113 years later!! It is strange how these things come to be.
With thanks to Don for his kindness and efforts.
What a great story!