Alexander Brown Robertson (1884-1939) - can you help?

 We have received the following e-mail;

Hello. I am an amateur historian based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

I’m looking for a photograph of Alexander Brown Robertson, a noted mechanical engineer, who was born in Kilmarnock on 29 December, 1884. His parents were Andrew Robertson and Isabella Elizabeth Macalister. He attended Kilmarnock Academy from 1889 to 1900. 

Any leads for advice would be most welcome. Thanks

 Best wishes,

Kevin Burke   kburke9@mac.com

Please contact Kevin directly if you can help him out - thanks.

Can you help Ayrshire Magazine for an article on Kilmarnock's industrial past?

Ayrshire Magazine are working on a piece for the next issue of the magazine - deadline October 21- on Kilmarnock's industrial past.  They are looking, ideally, to speak with people who perhaps remember those days - 1960's probably to the mid 1980's and would be delighted to hear from anyone who has a tale to tell.

If you can help, please contact Sergio Burns at AM directly;

Telephone: 07711846258 

Email: sergio@ayrshiremagazine.com

Lest we Forget - Gargieston Primary School

Congratulations to everyone at Gargieston Primary School, Kilmarnock who were in any capacity involved in the recent production of their play entitled "Lest we Forget".
The play highlighted the activities in Kilmarnock during World War II and in particular some of the events that took place in Grammar P. S. , the forerunner of Gargieston P. S.
The performance, which was excellent, was in memory of all the local men and women who lost their lives during the conflict - in particular the 103 named on the Kilmarnock War Memorial and the
4 civilians, living in Culzean Crescent, who were killed by Luftwaffe bombs in 1941.
The show, although it had a serious message, was suitably interspersed with gems of appropriate humour to lighten the mood.
Performed with infectious enthusiasm by pupils of Primary 7, accompanied by a supporting choir of Primary 6, it provided a wonderful evening for a packed hall of appreciative parents, grandparents and friends.
Written and produced by P7 teacher Mrs Lawson the play not only entertained but also provided loads of local history information for the audience.

Well Done All of You !!!

Some photos of the evening can be found on the school blog at:-

Lest we Forget

Guided Heritage Walk - Tuesday 4th August @ 6.30pm

We will be conducting a guided walk around the Kilmarnock Heritage Trail on the evening of Tuesday 4th August 2015.
If you are interested in joining please meet at the new 'Killie Browser' bookshop and 'Storm in a Teacup' café on Platform 1 of Kilmarnock Station from 6pm onwards. We will start the walk at 6.30 and finish approx 8pm in or around Fanny By Gaslight - depending what kind of after walk refreshment you require !
The walk is free of charge but we would welcome donations (amount at your own discretion) towards KDHG funds.

Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928)

Tonight's talk is by John McHarg from Crosshouse, the village which was the birthplace, in 1862, of Andrew Fisher.  Fisher was a miner who emigrated to Australia, became involved in politics and rose to become Australia's fifth Prime Minister. He seems to have become somewhat forgotten in recent years in his native Scotland.

Andrew Fisher

The talk takes place in the Lecture Theatre of the Kilmarnock Campus of Ayrshire College, Holehouse Road and begins at 7.30pm 


Read more about Andrew Fisher here. 

Clydebank Blitz

Our final talk of 2014 is tonight (Tuesday 16 December) and is being given by David Carson, Chairman of Clydebank Local History Society.  His topic is the Clydebank Blitz.
Clydebank and nearby parts of Glasgow suffered the heaviest civilian casualties in Scotland due to Geman bombing during the early years of World War II. Many of our members, who were very young in 1941, can still recall hearing the Nazi aircraft flying overhead and being able to see the glow of burning fires away in the distance.
The only fatalities in Kilmarnock as a result of enemy bombing were killed in the early hours of Tuesday May 6 1941.  The 4 victims were living in flats in Culzean Crescent and the houses were struck by one bomb from a single aircraft, although the aircraft dropped 14 bombs in total, in a line from around New Farm Loch, across Kilmarnock Cemetery, Culzean Crescent and finally Riccarton Moss.

Kilmarnock in the 1960s and 1970s

It's the final talk of this session plus a very short AGM tonight.
Graham Boyd and Ross McGregor will be revealing recently discovered photographs of the Kilmarnock area taken during the 1960s and '70s.  They are keeping details very hush hush but assure us that it will be an enjoyable evening.

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

Town Trail for Primary Schools

Kilmarnock & District History Group has been heavily involved in the production of a new resource for Primary schools.
A new education pack, prepared by local teachers working with ourselves, provides Primary pupils and teachers with the resources to investigate  sites of significant historical interest around the town of Kilmarnock.  It also highlights some fascinating information about some of the local landmarks  and about some colourful historic characters such as "Fiftywaistcoats".

The guide is packed with photos and illustrations of 12 key sites, as well as quizzes and flashcards for teachers to use. There are also follow-up activities for classroom projects.
The trail  makes good use of Robert Burns’ connections with Kilmarnock. The children are able to find out about his visits to the town and have the chance to match up some Scots words the poet would have used, with their English equivalents.

The Primary Town Trail project was initiated by Graham Boyd,our syllabus secretary.
Graham said,  “Kilmarnock has many historic buildings in a part of the town centre that has been designated an Outstanding Conservation Area. Sadly, some buildings were falling into disrepair, but the Council’s Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) has helped to fund the repair of these buildings in a sympathetic manner, acting as a catalyst for regeneration of the whole town centre”.
Shona Simpson, of Kilmarnock THI, approached Graham with the idea of developing a town trail specifically for primary pupils, with the innovative Scottish Curriculum for Excellence in mind.
Schools in and around Kilmarnock have all received the Town Trail pack and eventually other East Ayrshire schools will also get copies.

Graham Boyd believes the programme not only has educational benefits – but will also increase young people’s respect for their home town.
He said: “We asked children what their perceptions of Kilmarnock were and some were rather negative. We checked again after they’d been on the trail – and in almost every case they had a greater appreciation of the town and how it had been shaped.”
Alan Ward, East Ayrshire's  Acting Head of Schools, said: “This education pack represents the very best practice in collaboration between schools and their community partners.
Councillor Iain Linton, East Ayrshire's spokesman for Lifelong Learning, said: “This new Primary Town Trail leads you on a fascinating walk through Kilmarnock’s rich, colourful past.

Frank Beattie & AGM

Our last meeting of this session will be held on Tuesday 19 March in Kilmarnock College.  There will be a very brief AGM at 7.30pm, followed by what should be a very interesting talk by Frank Beattie, erstwhile writer and sub-editor of the Kilmarnock Standard.  Now retired from his day job, Frank holds on his files masses of useful information about all aspects of Kilmarnock's rich history.  Come along and listen to him.  He might even plug his new book, "The Kilmarnock Fact Book".

Burns Night Celebration - Burns Monument Centre

 

Burns Night Celebration

 

Friday 25th January, 7.30pm, Burns Monument Centre, Kilmarnock

 

Join us for a Burns Night celebration in an evening of Scottish songs with Mezzo-soprano Anne Lewis and musician Bill Taylor.

 

The performance will include a programme of traditional Scots songs and airs, many of which are taken from the Scots Musical Museum, by James Johnson and Robert Burns, published between 1787 and 1803.  Other pieces in the recital will come from a variety of historical sources and include different melodies, lyrics and settings from 17th-18th century collections for lute, mandore, fiddle and keyboard.

 

There will be plenty of familiar Burns favourites and also some less well-known, along with some beautiful Scots airs played on the Highland wire-strung clarsach and a copy of an early 18th-century gut-strung hook harp.    

 

Tickets priced £10/£8 concession are available from the Dick Institute on 01563 554300 or the Burns Monument Centre on 01563 576695.

 

 

 

Ross McGregor

Heritage Services Officer

Library, Registration and Information Services

 

Burns Monument Centre

Kay Park, Kilmarnock

East Ayrshire

KA3 7RU

01563 553655

 

Blog http://bmc.burnsmonumentcentre.co.uk/

 

Website www.burnsmonumentcentre.com

Make It Kilmarnock

An excellent attendance last night to hear Lawrence Wyper talk about the "Make It Kilmarnock" project.  He supplied loads of info about future plans for the town, including a revision of our one-way street system.  But will it all come to pass?  Only time will tell.

You can get a copy of the Integrated Urban Development  Plan, which he mentioned at

http://issuu.com/eastayrshire/docs/kilmarnock_final_report_nov2011/1

Just copy and paste the URL.

The Sandbed - Thomas Smellie.

Kilmarnock Periodicals

Kilmarnock Periodicals (1815 – 1900) is one of the Burns Monument Centre’s Special Collections.

This is an almost complete collection of the periodicals printed in Kilmarnock from 1816 to 1900 (it also includes The Ayrshire Magazine and West Country Monthly Repository, which was printed in Irvine in 1815).

http://bmc.burnsmonumentcentre.co.uk/discoveries-in-our-kilmarnock-periodicals/




The early periodicals in particular provide an interesting view of the town’s literary scene at the time. Most of them contain original poems, stories, essays and reviews by writers with some connection to the area. For example, the Kilmarnock Annual and Western Literary Annual (1835) contains two songs by John Galt.
Some of the main printers of the town ventured into periodical printing at some stage. For example, H. Crawford (who was the town’s next printer after John Wilson left for Ayr), printed The Ayrshire Miscellany from 1817. A little later, James McKie printed a few titles including The Ayrshire Inspirer (1839). D. Brown and Company, who printed lots of Burns books from the 1880s until the 1900s, produced the Burns-inspired Auld Killie (1893 – 1898).

Maps of Kilmarnock

Tonight's(13 November) speaker is Paula Williams Senior Map Curator at the National Library of Scotland's Map Collections.  We are regularly asked questions about the location of particular long-gone streets in Kilmarnock or where a certain farm was situated.  So, if you have any questions of that sort, this evening's meeting just might be the opportunity to have them answered.
We meet in Kilmarnock College, Holehouse Road, starting at 7.30pm.  As always, if you want to be sure of a good seat, be there early.

Ayrshire Meetings 2012 - 2013

We've just received from Rob Close the diary of all history society meetings in Ayrshire from August 2012 until May 2013.

Diary of History Groups Meeting in Ayrshire 2012 – 2013

KEY

AA                          Arran Antiquarians.  Meetings in Brodick Public Hall, Brodick, at 2 p.m.

AANHS                 Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society.  www.aanhs.org.uk Meetings in Town Hall, Ayr, at 7.45 p.m.

AMC                      National Trust for Scotland, Ayrshire Members Centre.   Meetings in Education Pavilion, Burns Cottage, Alloway at 7.30 p.m.

ASA                        Alloway & Southern Ayrshire Family History Society.  www.asafhs.co.uk Meetings in Alloway Church Halls, Alloway, at 7.45 p.m.

BHS                       Beith Historical Society. Meetings in Our Lady’s Hall, Crummock Street, Beith at 8.00 p.m. (* 7.30 p.m.)

CHS                       Cumbrae Historical Society.  Meetings in Newton Lounge, Newton Bar, Millport at 7 p.m.

DHS                       Dundonald Historical Society.  Meetings in Dundonald Castle Visitors Centre, Dundonald, at 7.30 p.m.

EAFHS                  East Ayrshire Family History Society.  www.eastayrshirefhs.org.uk Meetings in Gateway Centre, Foregate Square, Kilmarnock, at 7.30 p.m.

FBC                        Friends of Brodick Castle.  Meetings at Brodick Castle,  Brodick, at 2.30 p.m.

FHS Joint              Joint Meeting of Ayrshire Family History Societies.  Gateway Centre, Kilmarnock, at 7.30 p.m.

KCCS                     Kyle and Carrick Civic Society.  Meetings in Loudoun Hall, Ayr, at 7.30 p.m.

KDHG                    Kilmarnock & District History Group.  www.kilmarnockhistory.co.uk Meetings in Kilmarnock College at 7.30 p.m.

Largs HH              LDHS Hakon Hakonsson Lecture.  In Vikingar!, Largs at 8 p.m.

Largs Jt                  Joint meeting of LDHS and LNAFHS.  In St Columba’s Session House, Largs at 7.30 p.m.

LDHS                     Largs and District Historical Society.  www.largsmuseum.org.uk Meetings in Largs Museum at 7.30 p.m.

L(MS)                    LDHS, Marine Section.  Meetings in Largs Museum at 7.30 p.m.

LNAFHS               Largs & North Ayrshire Family History Society.  www.largsnafhs.org.uk Meetings in Largs Library, Allanpark Street, Largs at 7.30 p.m.

PHG                       Prestwick History Group.  Meetings in 65 Club, Main Street, Prestwick KA9 1JN, at 7.30 p.m.

SHS                        Stewarton & District Historical Society.  www.stewarton.org Meetings in John Knox Church Hall, Stewarton, at 7.30 p.m.

SWT                       Scottish Wildlife Trust: Ayrshire Members’ Centre.  Meetings in The Horizon Hotel, Esplanade, Ayr KA7 1DT, at 7.30 p.m.

TAFHS                  Troon @ Ayrshire Family History Society.  www.troonayrshirefhs.org.uk Meetings in Portland Church Hall, South Beach, Troon, at 7.30 p.m.

WKCS                    West Kilbride Civic Society.  Meetings in Community Centre, Corse Street, West Kilbride, at 7.30 p.m.

August 2012
Mon 20th	AA	Tom Rees	The Archaeology pf Kilwinning Abbey
September 2012
Mon 3rd	SHS	Nigel Willis	Glasgow Necropolis
Mon 17th	AA	Sue Furness and Fiona Jackson	The Lost Village of Morlaggan
Tues 18th	TAFHS	Robert Faulkes	Census - Past and Present
Tues 18th	ASA	Alan Sorenson	Addicted to Ancestors
Tues 18th	SWT	Eric Scott	Land of Ice and Fire
Thurs 27th	BHS	Robert Ferguson	Dalgarven Mill
October 2012
Mon 1st	SHS	Ian Matheson	The Scottish and Ayrshire Home Front in the Great War
Mon 1st	KCCS	James Brown	Pilgrims’ Way
Tues 2nd	KDHG	Alex Lochrie	Never Too Old: The French Foreign Legion
Thurs 4th	PHG	Tom F Cunningham	Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Scotland 1891-92 and 1904
Mon 8th	CHS	Alex Hunter	The Greenock Blitz
Thurs 11th	AANHS	Gordon Riddle	Cape Verde Islands - In Search of Kestrels
Thurs 11th	EAFHS	John Hall	Personal Treasures
Mon 15th	AA	Ian Marshall	The Battle of Langside
Tues 16th	ASA	Chris Paton	Tracing Your Irish Ancestors on the Internet
Tues 16th	KDHG	Jim Steel	Laigh Kirk Session 1643 to 1900
Tues 16th	SWT	Jonny Hughes	Beyond Boundaries: The Future of Nature Conservation in Scotland
Thurs 25th	BHS	Ian MacCrorie	Calmac
Thurs 25th	AANHS	Derek Alexander	St Kilda
Tues 30th	KDHG	Ian MacDonald	Belgian Refugees in Ayrshire during World War 1
November 2012
Thurs 1st	PHG	Jean Lockley and Graham Humphreys	The Man who Made Glasgow
Mon 5th	KCCS	Tom Barclay	Kilmarnock Troon Railway
Mon 5th	SHS	Bill Fitzpatrick	The Beloved, The Damned and the The Forgotten - The Titanic, the Olympic and the Britannic
Thurs 8th	EAFHS	Frank Donnelly	Sir Alexander Fleming
Thurs 8th	AANHS	Fiona Watson	Taking Sides in the Wars of Independence
Mon 12th	CHS	Iain Wilkie	Lichens and Industry
Tues 13th	KDHG	Paula Williams	Putting Kilmarnock on the Map
Mon 19th	AA	John Inglis	Arran - Heritage and Identity
Tues 20th	ASA	Alastair Wham	Railway Ramblings
Tues 20th	SWT	Andrew Jarrott	The Habitats and Wildlife of Galloway Forest Park
Tues 20th	TAFHS	Irene O’Brien	Poor Law Archives from 1845
Thurs 22nd	AANHS	Nat Edwards	The Darien Expedition
Tues 27th	KDHG	Duncan Close	Sanquhar Post Office - The Oldest in the World
December 2012
Mon 3rd	SHS	Stuart Wilson	Kilmarnock’s Industries During World War 2
Mon 3rd	KCCS	Amy Miller	Amaz’d and Curious - New Discoveries from Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
Thurs 6th	PHG	David Rowan and Alisdair Cochrane	Sights and Sounds of Prestwick
Mon 10th	CHS	Brian Boyd	History of Kilwinning Archers
Tues 11th	KDHG	Allan Richardson	History of Beith Furniture
January 2013
Mon 7th	KCCS	Irene McMillan	Dundonald Castle
Mon 7th	SHS	Barbara Graham	Marie Curie: Her Life and Legacy
Tues 8th	KDHG	Lawrence Wyper	Make it Kilmarnock
Thurs 10th	EAFHS	Max Flemmich	Darvel Telegraph Museum
Mon 14th	CHS	Alastair Chisholm	The Bicentenary of the Comet Paddle Steamer
Tues 15th	ASA	Edwin Lawrence	All the Fun of the Fair
Tues 15th	SWT	Ian Cornforth	Bats and Windfarms - Sorting the Facts from the Turbulence
Thurs 17th	TAFHS	Chris Paton	Genealogy and Newspapers
Tues 22nd	KDHG	Annie McLauchlan	Portencross Castle
Thurs 24th	AANHS	Stephen J Reid	James VI
Thurs 31st	BHS	George Kerr	The Lure of Steam
February 2013
Mon 4th	SHS	Morag Smith	Womens’ History and Heritage at the Glasgow Womens’ Library
Mon 4th	KCCS	John Rattenbury	Clyde Lighthouses
Tues 5th	KDHG	Ian Matheson	In Search of El Dorado - the Spanish Conquistadors of the 16th Century
Thurs 7th	PHG	Alasdair J. Malcolm	Ayrshire Coastal Walk
Thurs 7th	AANHS	Karen Bowie	Ayrshire and the Making of Union, 1707
Mon 11th	CHS	Jean Leader	Lacemaking and Textiles
Tues 19th	ASA	Gordon Thomson	Ayrshire’s Railway Heritage
Tues 19th	KDHG	Jim Boyle	A History of the Royal College
Tues 19th	SWT	Roger Griffith	Galls; the Weird, the Wonderful and the Downright Peculiar
Thurs 21st	AANHS	Cjris Rollie	Robert Burns in England
Thurs 21st	TAFHS	Ian Kennedy	A Kirkcudbright Campbell in America
Thurs 28th	BHS	Hugh Kerr	Diasporama
March 2013
Mon 4th	KCCS	Euan Terras	Rights of Way
Tues 5th	KDHG	Jim Penman	The Genius of James Clark Maxwell
Thurs 7th	AANHS	Philip Robertson	Marine Archaeology
Thurs 7th	PHG	Members	Pot Pourri
Mon 11th	CHS	Jim Grant	Scottish Maritime Museum
Thurs 14th	FHS Joint	Margo Graham	100 Years of Lace
Tues 19th	KDHG	Norman Deeley	The Goatfell Murder
Tues 19th	SWT	Carol Crawford and Natalie Fleming	t.b.c.
Thurs 21st	TAFHS	Tom Barclay	The Franco-Scottish Wine Trade and Ayrshire Involvement
Thurs 28th	BHS	Elaine McFarland	John Boyd Orr: Ayrshire Man and World Citizen
April 2013
Thurs 4th	PHG	John Kellie	Ayrshire Miscellany, Part Two
Mon 8th	SHS	John Stevenson & Dan MacKay	Strang’s Foundry, Hurlford
Thurs 11th	EAFHS	Irene Hopkins	Belgian Refugees 1914-1919
Mon 15th	CHS	Robert Ferguson	The Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume
Thurs 25th	BHS	David Donaldson	The Taiwan Aborigines
May 2013
Thurs 2nd	PHG	Members	Blether of 2013
Mon 13th	SHS	Joyce Brown	Hamilton Palace