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

Beith Furniture

A Very Happy New Year to all KDHG members and to all visitors to our Blog.

Our first talk of 2014 is tonight (7 January) in Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus at 7.30pm
Tonight's speaker is Allan Richardson from Beith.  He is speaking to us about Beith Furniture and he is well qualified to do so, since he started as a cabinet maker in Balfour's factory many more years ago than he cares to remember.  It should be a most interesting talk.

		Staff from Caledonia Works aircraft department in World War I

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We wish all KDHG members and visitors to our talks and website a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2014 when it comes. We look forward to seeing you all soon and are grateful for your ongoing support and interest.

Covenanters

Tonight's talk will be given by Dane Love from Cumnock.  Dane has been long interested in Scottish history and in particular the history of Ayrshire.  He published his first book in 1989 and since then he has written many more.  To learn more of Dane and his publications, visit his own website at:

Dane Love's Website 

Dane will be speaking to us about the Covenanters and Ayrshire and if you want to learn more about them, you coiuld do worse than visit the following sites.

Who were the Covenanters?

 Covenanters on Wikipedia

Important - Change of Speaker

Unfortunately, due to a bereavement, Professor Caroline Wilkinson will be unable to speak to us at our next joint meeting with KESS.  We are very grateful to Professor Danny Gorman for arranging an excellent replacement speaker at such short notice.
The speaker on Tuesday night will now be Alan Birkbeck.

On leaving school Alan went into Barr and Stroud’s and served his apprenticeship ending up in the tool room. On leaving Barr and Stroud he served for a number of years in HM armed forces before leaving and working in varied engineering fields from marine engineer on fishing boats to underground maintenance engineer. Finally, in 1976 he entered the University of Glasgow Mechanical Engineering Department and over the next fifteen years worked on materials testing at the Mechanical Engineering Research Annex and the last twenty years in the James Watt building, testing materials and high speed impact with the Ballistics and Impact Group. In 2011 upon leaving the University he started up Birkbeck Armoury, allowing him to carry on a lifetime’s interest in weapons technology and fortifications.
He will be speaking to us about a joint project with Dr Tony Pollard, Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University, initiated by the discovery of some “lead spheres” found on the Culloden battlefield site.

Depicting the Dead

Our next meeting, on Tuesday 12 November, is a joint meeting with Kilmarnock Engineering and Science Society so there should be a large attendance.  Get there early to be sure of a good seat.
The speaker is Caroline M Wilkinson, Professor of Craniofacial Identification at the University of Dundee

Professor Wilkinson is best known for her work in forensic facial reconstruction, and has been a contributor to numerous television programmes on the subject as well as the creator of a reconstructed head of King Richard III and more recently she brought the face of Mary, Queen of Scots, to life. Her depictions of faces from the past have featured on the BBC's History Cold Case, Show Me the Mummy and Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer.

Professor Caroline M Wilkinson

Spies of the Elizabethan Era

This week's talk is called 'Spies of the Elizabethan Era' and wil be delivered by Barbara Graham, KDHG member and highly regarded local historian.
7.30pm, Tuesday 29th at Kilmarnock College. Visitors and new members always welcome.