During February 1917, a very large number of people were transferring their savings at the post office into war bonds in aid of the war loan. Miss Stewart at the Blantyre Post Office and her assistants were kept extremely busy, forced to keep open the post office until late hours for much of that month. […]
On behalf of the following of this page, I went up to Auchentibber Memorial today and quietly placed a Blantyre Project ‘living poppy wreath’. It sits alongside the Auchentibber & Calderside Resident’s wreath. The Memorial is looking majestic after being renovated last year. The newly planted weeping willow, flourishing. Behind it, the outline of the […]
Many of us remember a time when floats featured in gala parades. It’s something which doesn’t happen much at all now in Blantyre, yet is still flourishing in other parts of Lanarkshire. In Summer 1967, Mr George Greenhorn, President of the YMCA felt it necessary to address complaints from members of the public who took […]
It’s Gala Day in Blantyre so we need a fitting post today. The annual children’s gala day hosted by Blantyre Co-operative Society (Ltd.) was held on Saturday 31st July 1917. The weather was ideal for such event and war in Europe did not hamper attendance to any great extent. Close on 7000 people most of […]
During WW1, a fete was held at Stonefield, at the large Curling pond, just off John Street. The location of this former curling pond is now where the fields are in the public park, where the modern summer gala is normally held. In Summer months, when the green was not frozen over, it was used […]
This was the Blantyre Community Centre youngsters on a float in the July 1980 Gala day. The youngsters were aboard their decorated float in a procession going through the town. Do you recognise anybody? These kids are all likely in their late 40’s, early 50s now. Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use […]
Conditions in the mining towns of Lanarkshire in the immediate post WW1 years were about as bad as it could get. Infant mortality in Lanarkshire was astonishingly high with 22,000 children out of 188,000 born in 1918, dying before they even reached their first birthday! In Blantyre on average 143 babies out of every 1,000, […]
Impressive Scenes took place at Blantyre on Sunday 31st August 1919. Almost one hundred years go, one of the largest parades ever seen in Blantyre took place that Sunday afternoon when a procession of military, demobilised men, Masonic Lodges, and Friendly Societies marched through the principal streets to the Parish Church at High Blantyre. A […]