Troon and The Great War by Gordon Hunter

Keen amateur historian Gordon Hunter has published what he describes as 'a weekly account of Troon during WW1, with everything from the weekly casualty lists, the huge amount of voluntary work, launches at the shipyard and rationing. I have also added some golf, bowling and football scores..'

Gordon includes items of interest such as adverts for films and concerts which he has found during his research in the Troon Herald, Troon & Prestwick Advertiser and Ayrshire Post. He has also researched Troon Burgh Minutes, Troon Dean of Guild Records, Valuation Rolls and Admiralty Records to produce his record of his home town during The Great War.

The book is available in Kindle for £7.99. If you go to either Kindle or Amazon and search for Gordon Hunter - Troon in The Great War you will find it should you be interested. You can have a free preview read !

The Ayrshire Experience of Gallipoli

Our final speaker, before the Christmas break, is Tom Barclay.  Tom is, I'm sure, well known to many of you and has certainly assisted many of our members in their local and family history researches.
Tom is the Local History Librarian at the Carnegie Library in Ayr and has an extensive knowledge of the history of our county.

Tomorrow night (Tuesday 15 December 2015) he will be speaking of the experiences of Ayrshire troops during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War 1.

British, Australian, New Zealand and French troops had landed on the Gallipoli  Peninsula in April 2015.  One of the aims of the campaign was to knock the Turkish Ottoman Empire out of the war,  open up Black Sea supply routes to Russia and gain access to Serbia along the River Danube.

Scottish troops of the 52^nd Lowland Division were heavily involved in attacking the Turkish defences at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula. These included the 4^th and 5^th Territorial battalions of the Royal Scots Fusiliers (Ayrshire’s county regiment).

Later in the campaign reinforcements for the 52^nd Division included men of the Ayrshire Yeomanry, Ayrshire's Territorial cavalry unit. They left their horses behind and served as infantrymen.

Most of Ayrshire's WW1 memorials carry the names of local lads who fell or died of wounds while serving in Gallipoli.

We look forward to hearing Tom giving us further information on this controversial action of the Great War

Robert Burns - John Wilson and The Kilmarnock Edition

Tonight's talk is 'Robert Burns - John Wilson and the Kilmarnock Edition' by John Burnett. 7.30pm at Kilmarnock College. Visitors welcome

Hugh Montgomerie - 12th. Earl of Eglinton

Hugh Montgomerie -  12th Earl of Eglinton
(5 November 1739 – 14 December 1819) 

Montgomerie was styled Lord Montgomerie from 1769, and sat as a Member of Parliament for Ayrshire off and on from 1780 to 1796. That year he became Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire, which post he held until his death.
In 1798, having previously succeeded to the earldom through his third cousin, he was elected a representative peer and moved to the House of Lords. In 1806 he was created Baron Ardrossan in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, enabling him to sit the Lords in his own right. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1814.
As large ships were unable to reach Glasgow due to silting of the River Clyde, Montgomerie promoted and partially funded the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal. However funds ran out and the canal was only constructed from Glasgow to Johnstone via Paisley. The Glasgow terminus of the canal was at Port Eglinton. Though the wharf is now filled in, the neighbouring Eglinton Street still bears his name. Preparatory work on the canal from the new harbour created at Ardrossan was used as the basis for Glasgow Street, which is the main thoroughfare of the town.
He is responsible for the erection of the Beacon Tower on Horse Island just outside Ardrossan Harbour, following a suggestion made to him by the Arctic explorer Sir John Clark Ross
Montgomerie was an amateur composer and cellist. His best known work is the dance tune "Ayrshire Lasses".

Belgian Refugees

Our speaker on Tuesday 30 October is one of our own members, Ian MacDonald.  He will be talking about Belgian Refugees in Ayrshire during World War 1.

Almost one quarter of a million Belgians fled to Britain after the German invasion of Belgium in 1914. The largest contingent of refugees ever to come here and their absorption into the host society was bound to be a complex process.

The Belgians were mostly assimilated smoothly into the local communities and they benefited at first from overwhelming public sympathy. Trade unionist fears that they would provide a pool of cheap labour soon dissipated as the war economy created conditions of full employment.

Much has been written about the conflict in Flanders and the numerous military battles, as the front line ebbed to and fro throughout the war.  Much has also been written about the terrible conditions in which the troops on either side had to live and fight; but very little is documented about the impact of the fighting on the local civilians.  Hopefully Ian will fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge as, appropriately, Armistice Day approaches.

 Belgian Refugees.