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 !

Battle of the Somme - Note Change of Venue

The Battle of the Somme took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on either side of the River Somme in northern France. It was one of the  largest confrontations of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

The first day on the Somme is described by some as the worst day in the history of the British Army, which had around 57,470 casualties, mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line. The British Army on the Somme at that time was a mixture of the remains of the pre-war regular army, the Territorial Force and the Kitchener Army, which was partly composed of "Pals Battalions" recruited from the same cities, towns or occupations.
The battle is also remembered for the importance of air power and the first use of the "tank" in warfare.

Our speaker tonight is former Principal Teacher of History, Bill Fitzpatrick who visited this battlefield area on many occasions when he organised visits for his pupils to the Commonwealth War Cemeteries.
We look forward to what will be a most interesting and informative talk.

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

Ayrshire and The Red Cross - 1918

Ayrshire and the Red Cross, 1918
 
This latest item in the digitised collections at the Burns Monument Centre is a very special book, edited by J. Arthur Findlay, and printed in Glasgow by F. F. & Arthur Wilson in 1918.
Ayrshire and the Red Cross: a record of a great work done by the people of Ayrshire for a noble cause,  lists the numerous Red Cross Divisions of Ayrshire, providing lots of detail and statistics of the work done by the various work parties in the towns and villages of the county. The book is highly illustrated, with photographs of every Division and their various work parties – made up almost entirely of women. The photographs also show the temporary hospitals and depots, for example the Dick Institute Hospital, Montgreenan Hospital, and Troon Hospital.
The book has been digitised and reproduced with the kind permission of the British Red Cross Museum and Archives.

Ayrshire and The Red Cross - 1918

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.

WW1 Christmas Truce - 1914

The centenary of the start of World War 1 is in 2014 and there are sure to be many events held to mark the occasion.  Here's an original idea from Des Brogan who runs Mercat Tours in Edinburgh. 

Many people, when they think about the first Christmas period of the Great War,  are aware of the famous truce which occurred along the Western Front and was characterised by the football match in No Man’s Land. 

Mercat Tours propose to commemorate that truce on the anniversary of its occurrence i.e. on Christmas Eve 2014 by organising a visit to the area.They have the support already of the Belgian Tourist authorities, the Town Councils of Messines and Ypres, PoppyScotland, the Royal British Legion and the Scottish and British governments. While details are still being worked out, they would like to  gauge the level of interest in the project.

At the moment they are only looking for interest in principle and in May next year this will be converted to a commitment by payment of a deposit. The intention is to travel by coach to Belgium and travel either by overnight ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge or by Dover/Calais or Channel Tunnel.
Meals, Christmas dinner etc will be included and although it is a little too early to provide an exact price, the intention is to keep prices to the minimum so that whole families and young children can take part and find it affordable.



The provisional general itinerary would be as follows:
December 23 Leave Scotland and travel either overnight by Hull/Zeebrugge  ferry or overland to Dover and    thence to Calais.

December 24:
Assemble in Ypres and in the evening at Messines for torchlight procession to site of truce. Service in No Man’s Land.
Midnight Mass in St Martin’s Cathedral, Ypres.

December 25 :Christmas Lunch. Commemorative Football Match in which everyone can participate for a few minutes, followed by a professional game.
8pm. Wreath laying Ceremony at the Menin Gate

December 26: Carol singing from scratch in the Great Square, Ypres.
Evening Concert Party in the Cloth Hall, Ypres.

December 27: Return home either by Hull/Zee or Dover/Calais.


Aim
1. To provide a dignified and appropriate opportunity for communities to mark an important historical event
2. To bring together in peace the former belligerents of WW1
3. To celebrate the joys of the Christmas Season

If you are interested in this venture, you can get in touch with Des Brogan at

Mercat Tours International Limited
Mercat House
28 Blair Street
EDINBURGH
EH1 1QR
Scotland

Telephone

0131 225 5445
International +44 131 225 5445

Email

info@mercattoursinternational.com