Isabel Latch emailed me saying, “I have this picture of my aunt (Anna Bell) and Uncle (Robert Bell) from Craighead Cottage on the Whistleberry Road. Not sure of the date but would guess it was in the late 1940’s. My grandfather (Robert Bell) and family lived in a cottage next to the bing from 1925 […]
This Blantyre football team is photographed in the first decade of the 20th Century. At over 110 years old, the photo is remarkably clear and its highly likely these boys are the grandfathers and great grandfathers of some of you readers! Taken between 1900 – 1910 or so, this team is unknown to me and […]
In January 1917, during WW1, a police census was conducted in Blantyre to see what foreign population lived here. The results were somewhat unexpected showing the large figure of 575 Lithunians from our entire population of 16,903! Nearly 4%, or 1 in every 25 people were Lithunian with a further 55 Italians, 39 Belgians, 4 […]
In amongst all the horrific incoming news about WW1 deaths, was a local story worth celebrating in 1917. The Golden Anniversary of a well known Blantyre couple! In January 1917, Mr. and Mrs. John Arbuckle, who lived at 81 Glasgow Road, Low Blantyre celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in the Co-operative Hall accompanied by a […]
How strange it would have been to live in that “crossover” time where horses and carts were on the roads, but also, emerging were also mechanised vehicles and cars. A good example would have been in 1917, during WW1 when Donald McLean was driving his cart back from Cambuslang. He was stopped by authorities one […]
Mr William Smith was a headmaster of Blantyre Public School on Glasgow Road right up until his death on Sunday 28th August 1921. He had taken over from Mr Ness in 1908 and Mr James M Aitchison succeeded him in 1921. Following his death, Rev Alexander Andrew said at the time, “He was a man who held […]
George Park shared this photo a while back, which i’m only jus getting round to uploading. He says, “I have attached a photograph of my Grand-father, Robert (Bob) Forrest who lived at 11 Park Crescent, where he was one of the first tenants in this new housing in 1933. He had moved from the condemned […]
This is Miss Helen Begbie, whom aged 19 in April 1968, won the Miss SNP title at a dance in Blantyre Co-Operative Hall. Helen had previously won the title of Miss Blantyre SNP, but on this occasion she had advanced to the final, seeing off competition from other winners in local areas. The newspapers referring […]