In March 1917, local lady from Blantyre was awarded the Royal Red Cross Decoration. Margaret, M. Houston, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Houston. Nancevale Cottage picked up the distinguished award (Nancevale is now 162 Auchinraith Road). Sister Houston was trained in nursing in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and later served for three years in […]
I’m enjoying this feature and have learned a lot these last few weeks from you all on subjects I was “stuck on”. All your answers are being noted for future and fill in the gaps in stories I’ve prepared. Not a quiz, genuinely need your help. Here are this weeks quick questions. Thanks in advance. […]
You may have seen this postcard which features an Ambulance in Blantyre during World War 1. Information published by others has been incorrect in both a published book and online and I wanted to correct the detail here. From October 1914, Blantyre residents were engaged in raising money to build and equip a motor ambulance […]
Forget pandas, whales or rainforests. In 1940, Blantyre residents could “adopt a prisoner of war!” On 2nd December 1940, the Hamilton Advertiser ran with this story. I’m slightly amazed at how sporting the German officers were in allowing the parcels to be given to camps, and more than a little suspicious that all these […]
In July 1944, thirteen year old Kenneth Twaddle, of High Blantyre’s Priestfield Farm wanted to help the war effort by assisting the Red Cross. The story is told in the Sunday Post Archives. It wasn’t easy when you’re young and live on a farm. The first his mother knew about it, was when their milk […]
I’ve been recently asked a few times about the large house that used to stand behind Bardykes Farm, across the river, behind modern Callaghan Wynd, most recently by Blantyre project reader Gillian Cunningham. I’ve never posted about this house previously for although it was accessed from Glasgow Road, it was officially in the Parish of […]