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

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.

Alexander Templeton - RAFVR

We received this e-mail from Belgium, seeking help in contacting any surviving relatives of a young Kilmarnock airman shot down and killed over Belgium in 1943, while serving with No.77 Squadron RAF.  Any help would be appreciated.


"My name is Christophe Mathy, I live in Belgium and I am part of a group that aims to honor the memory of airmen of the Halifax JD371 O KN-77 Squadron RAF.

We are looking for the families of these men died for our freedom or escaped on 28/08/1943 in Modave (Belgium).
We seek these families in order to invite them to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the crash that will take place this year.
We are already in contact with the families of A. Brannigan, Arthur Beard, William Catley, Peter Humphries, we expect news of the family of James Silver in Canada.

Unfortunately, we do not find the last 3 families. Namely, Ronald Rodgers Hanging Heaton, Batley, Yorkshire, Alexander Templeton from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire,Son of Gilbert C. and Ann Woodburn Templeton and

William (Bill) Palmer of The Yews, Berkswell, Coventry, Warwickshire, England.
That's all we know.

Maybe you can help us to find his family ?

Maybe you know this man or do you know a family member or the family of Alexander Templeton? We would like to make contact with them.
If you do not know, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Thanks in advance, Sincerely,

Christophe Mathy "

Possible Mass Grave - HMS Dasher

Work began at Ardrossan Cemetery on Monday and a team archaeologists began their excavation on Tuesday morning 23 October 2012 to try and resolve an unsolved mystery dating back to World War 2.  They are endeavouring to determine whether victims of a war-time sea tragedy are buried in a mass grave.

The aircraft carrier HMS Dasher exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde on 27 March 1943 with the loss of 379 of her 528 crew.  Of the 68 bodies recovered, 24 were buried at Ardrossan Cemetery and it is not known what happened to the other 44.  Local historian John Steele believes some of these missing 44 who perished in the tragedy may also be buried in the cemetery.  He persuaded North Ayrshire Council to petition a court for permission to excavate part of the cemetery suspected of being the mass grave.

Much secrecy still applies to this disaster and it's to be hoped that these excavations will go some way to answering some of the unresolved questions hanging over the event.

War Grave on Ben More

Wreckage from the Avro Anson near to the  cairn on Ben More that marks the war grave

Efforts are being made to contact the families of six airmen buried at one of the most remote war graves in the UK.  The crew from Scotland, England and South Africa died when their Avro Anson crashed on Ben More, a mountain in the north west Highlands, in April 1941.

It was almost a month before their bodies were found.

The crew were flying their twin-engined aircraft on a night-time cross country navigation exercise out of RAF Kinloss in Moray on 13 April.  They crashed at 701m (2,300ft) on Ben More, a Munro near Inchnadamph, in Sutherland.  Because of bad weather and the remoteness of the area, their bodies were not discovered until 25 May.
Those who died were: Pilot Officer William Drew, from Barrow in Furness in Lancashire; Sgt Jack Emery, of Trowbridge in Wiltshire; Flt Sgt Thomas Kenny, from Barnsley in Yorkshire; Sgt Charles Mitchell, of Aberdeen; Flying Officer James Steyn, from Johannesburg; and Sgt Harold Tompsett, of Croydon in Surrey.

The CWGC is writing to the last known addresses of the airmen's next of kin to try to let the families know that a granite memorial is to be placed at the war grave.  A stone slab for the memorial has been ordered. It will be placed over the grave to preserve its integrity.

At present he burial site is marked by a cairn and pieces of the wrecked aircraft can still be found nearby