World War II followed which must have seen a slow down in local work. Upon the outbreak of war, many of the county’s housing construction projects were shelved indefinitely. Craters to the North of Crossbasket were subject to local rumours that the Nazi German Luftwaffe had tried to bomb the Castle on their route […]
This extract is taken fro the 1940’s from a Blantyre Gazette. I’ve transcribed it out here listing out the brave Blantyre heroes who had died in WW2 up until that point when it was published. Its hoped people will remember some of these name, or were related to them. Royal Navy I.T Robert Hendry, 24 […]
The Hamilton Advertiser of 13th May 1942 told of how a few local men were saved from a sunken ship in WW2. Thank you to Wilma Bolton for sharing here. “LETTERS were received on Wednesday conveying the glad tidings that, after some weeks on anxiety, three local young men who were on the cruiser “Edinburgh” when […]
Occasionally, I read about organisations that were short lived in Blantyre, or set up specifically for a cause during a short time. One such example of this was during WW2, when a women’s group was formed in Blantyre for the purposes of assisting with war efforts. I absolutely must include such commendable wartime actions […]
As Blantyre settled from the shock of World War II breaking out, life had to continue for our town, and that included children trying to enjoy themselves as best as they could. The Hamilton Advertiser told the story on 21st September 1940. A group of local children formed “The Thornhill Gang.” The boys and girls styled themselves […]
The “Arctic Convoys – Men and Ice” exhibition opens this Monday in Edinburgh and tells the stories of survivors of the Arctic Convoys. These were the brave sailors who worked in some of the harshest conditions of the war, on board ships, on frozen, icy waters in bitter cold Arctic winds, all the time fearing the German U-boats below. The […]
This poem was in all probability written by the brother of Robert Henry/Hendry one of Blantyre’s sons killed during the Second World War. Wilma Bolton has recently sent it over to Blantyre Project for archiving. BROTHER! How sorely we miss you— you so wholehearted and true; Sacrificed in the blast of war’s madness, when the stirring […]
On Sunday 18th January 2015, I was visited by George Park and his elderly mother and her sister at my home in High Blantyre. We shared a great afternoon where I was intrigued by some of the stories and tales they were able to tell me. George’s mother is in her 90s and originally from […]