Thursday 22 October 2026 - Colin Turbett 0n Arran and The Firth of Clyde in WWII

 This week at KDHG we welcome Colin Turbett who will talk to us about Arran and The Firth of Clyde in World War II. We meet at 7.30pm in Open Space as usual.

Colin has a new book out called Witness to War and will bring some copies along. Members will be offered the book at a reduced price of £12.50 should they be interested in a purchase. Please try to bring the correct money along if you feel this might be for you.

First talk of season - Thursday 8th October 2026

 Thursday sees our first talk of the season when David Joyce visits to discuss the after math of writing his self published book on Bellfield House. 

We meet at 7.30pm in Open Space at Ayrshire College, Hill Street, Kilmarnock

2026-27 Lecture Syllabus

 Our 2026-27 Lecture Syllabus has been posted on the Lecture Programme page 

Our first talk will be on Thursday 8th October 2026. Please note that the programme is subject to change so please keep an eye on the News section and our social media channels. 

Do you have a family member or friend commemorated in Kilmarnock War Memorial? You might be able to help.

Kilmarnock War Memorial was officially opened on 21 May 1927. There are now 1070 individuals commemorated on the walls inside this magnificent building. 

As we head towards the centenary of the opening next year, a dedicated group have been gathering as much information on every person named as possible and, quite remarkably, have got to the point where they are looking for details on fewer than 30 individuals - these are listed below.

If you have any information on anyone, whether it be service information, interesting stories or employment details then the group would like to hear from you. Please contact David Finlay finlaydavid@sky.com or Frank Spence jfgspence@gmail.com in the first instance. It would be an incredible achievement to complete the picture by next May.

World War II;

JR Crawford Royal Air Force Regiment

J MacMillan Royal Scots Fusiliers

J Paterson Royal Scots Fusiliers

World War I;

James Connolly- Royal Scots Fusiliers

John Cowan Royal- Army Service Corp

James Cunningham- Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders

James Higgins- Royal Scots Fusiliers

J Home-Royal Scots Fusiliers 

Adam Johnstone- Seaforth Highlanders

William Johnstone-Highland Light Infantry

James Kirkpatrick-Royal Scots Fusiliers

William G Livingstone-Royal Scots Fusiliers

Alexander McCulloch-Regiment Unknown

John Meechan- Seaforth Highlanders (or John Meehan)

J Milloy-Royal Scots Fusiliers

James Morrison -Royal Scots Fusiliers

William Murray-Royal Scots Fusiliers

Hugh T Sharp- Highland Light Infantry

John Sharp- Royal Scots Fusiliers

J Slavin- Scots Rifles

David Smith- Royal Scots Fusiliers

Thomas Smith- Royal Scots Fusiliers

Robert Thomson- Royal Scots Fusiliers

John Walker- Royal Scots Fusiliers

James Wood-  Royal Scots Fusiliers

Final talk of 2025-26 session and AGM - Thursday 19th March

This Thursday sees our last talk of 2025-26 when the ever popular James Adams will tell us even more about Secret Kilmarnock.

The AGM will precede the talk at 7.30pm (should be less than 10 minutes). Open Space at Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock.

Visitors welcome

First talk of 2026 - Thursday 8th January

 Happy New Year.

We kick 2026 off with a visit from David Wilson who will talk about Robert Service.

7.30pm at Ayrshire College, Hill St, Kilmarnock

KDHG lecture programme can be found here

Final Talk of 2025 - Thursday 18th December

This Thursday sees Barbara Graham deliver her talk on Polar Explorers. 7.30pm start at Open Space in Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock. All welcome

KDHG Lecture Programme