A peculiar story happened in Blantyre in July 1906 which ended up being a waste of police resources and embarrassing for all concerned. On Sunday 7th July 1906, around 11pm a worried mother reported to police that her boy was missing and she feared he had drowned. The story given to police was that around […]
In September 1916, an anonymous volunteer involved in the rescue and recovery of people in difficulties in the River Clyde was concerned about the frequency of drownings in the Village. He wrote to the papers making an appeal, as follows word for word: “As I was one of the voluntary rescue party the recent drowning […]
By the evening of Monday 22nd October 1877, the scenes at the pithead at number 3, were such that would leave a deep impression on anybody who witnessed them. By contrast to the rain and clouds so prevalent during the daytime rescue attempts, when the moon arose, it illuminated everything it seemed in the District. […]
There’s a little known man from Blantyre’s history that deserves some attention drawn to him. William McCall (or McColl) was a Blantyre man who made many heroic river rescues and managed to save the lives of many people. His heroic efforts can be traced back as far as 1889 and were the admiration of the […]
A dramatic river rescue took place on Sunday 20th May 1923. The Auchinraith Silver Band, Blantyre had set off from Calder Street and had the luxury of travelling to Airdrie by motor bus that day. As they left Blantyre, heading down the Whistleberry Road towards Bothwell Bridge, the passengers heard screams coming from the […]
On Wednesday 31st January 1940, ten families were rendered homeless when a catastrophic fire ripped through Henderson’s Buildings. Glasgow Road. Blantyre. It originated the centre of the two storey tenement building of shops and flats, and the flames quickly spread to adjoining premises. After some hours the fire was under control just before midnight. However, […]