Glengarnock Steel Works Staff Magazine 1922 – James McGinley

Profile on James McGinley, moved to Glengarnock from Coatbridge. on 2 pages.

Surnames: Henderson, Hynd, Martin, Aiton, McGinley, Anderson, Morrison, Barclay, Dumphy,  Richardson, Connell, Busby, McBride, Robertson, Wood, Ramsay, Stewart, McBlane,  Baxter, Reid, Clifford, Vann. (Please check for further names)

 

Poem by George Robertson,  Glengarnock, 1922

The need for Myth in Scotland´s Story of Independence

As we know, all good movements cannot simply be literal with facts and figures, we need a myth or a tale to reflect on what is happening to us. The Story of Scotland is no exception.

Daily we see words cast around between Westminster and Holyrood about facts figures, some hopeful others not. We seem to have lost the ability to tell our story in a wider way, a way which explains what is happening in the lives of the people. Today people laugh at stories but acknowledge there is power to change hearts and minds.

In Dublin, they used a statue representing the Children of Lir – an old Irish story of Children turned to swans by a wicked old witch and subsequently a poem was written to accompany this statue in the Garden of Remembrance by Parnell Square:

“We Saw A Vision”

In the darkness of despair we saw a vision,

We lit the light of hope and it was not extinguished.

In the desert of discouragement we saw a vision.

We planted the tree of valour and it blossomed.

In the winter of bondage we saw a vision.

We melted the snow of lethargy and the river of resurrection flowed from it.

We sent our vision aswim like a swan on the river. The vision became a reality.

Winter became summer. Bondage became freedom and this we left to you as your inheritance.

O generations of freedom remember us, the generations of the vision

 

It got me thinking if the Scottish Parliament will ever embrace our story, what that would look like and what Myth from our past will we connect with. Perhaps Robert The Bruce and the Spider or the Nine Maidens of Dundee who were all martyred by an evil dragon and finally slain by the hero “Martin”. (The dragon of course being Westminster)

It is sad that Religion has tried to stamp out mythology with a rather fierce literal interpretation of the Bible in the North and West of the Country. I rather fear that Art itself is something Scotland has yet to become once again comfortable with.

After years of grey buildings, designed to dampen our senses. I sincerely hope they find their way with a narrative, if Jews and Black People can adopt “Let my People Go” as a song (originally from the Bible Exodus 5:1) then surely so can we.

Or perhaps its time for a new myth, one that we can write to explain all that happened in the run up to our “freedom”.

 

 

Glengarnock Steel Works – Staff Magazine 1922 – Alexander McInnes

Page 1 –  A tribute to Alexander McInnes

Other names: William Brown

Page 2: Alex McInnes, Peggy Law, Jas. Gibson, poem by P. Milligan “Where Garnock Flows”

Page 3:  Robertson, Marshall, Reekie, Clifford, Glen, Gilmour, McMurray, Knox, Logan, Higgins, Ramsay, Aitken,  MacBride, Robertson.

Glengarnock Steel Works Staff Magazine 1924

 

Text of Page 1

Colville’s Magazine – Glengarnock Gleanings (January 1925)

We take great pleasure in presenting the portrait of Mr. Alexander Campbell, though it is with regret that we announce his departure from our midst. Mr. Campbell left for Wellington, New Zealand, on the 12th of February.

Continue reading “Glengarnock Steel Works Staff Magazine 1924”

Glengarnock Steel Works -Colville Staff Magazine from the 1940s

The first short article contains the names Breckenridge, Bell, Ferguson as well as a reference to the Ryeside Barracks in Dalry. This a bit of a stray as I was focussing in on the 1920s. I will get back to the 1920s shortly.

Robert Mathews, Drawing office, Glengarnock Bowling Club and some family outings in the 1940s. DK Glass making a presentation (I don´t think he worked at Glengarnock)

The sad obituary of Robert Gibson Boyce.

 

Glengarnock Steel Social Night – Whist Drive, 1921

Names in this article and likely in the photo: James Gibson,  Mary Steele, G Jaffray,  E.Pirrett, M.Martin, Alan Walker,  Ed Kellett,  G. Hamilton, Doris Gaze, D McKee, Margaret Fulton,  WI Thomson, Tom Davidson, M. Kircaldy, (mentioned in some football results elsewhere)  E Hamilton, J. Graham, Alan Hamilton,  John Archibald, Bert Smith, WM Baillie.

Glengarnock Steel: Third Annual Sports Day August 1922

Lots of local names including Margaret Johnstone´s Roselea troup of dancers…..  as well as other football and sports news:  George Dallas and AH Graham from Maryhill. Reverend Arthur R.  Wiseman, former employee of Glengarnock Steel on a trip home from Canada.

R. Taylor,  J. Harley,  R.  Sharp and R. Craig  seem to have been the winners of the day.

Lady Amy Janet Bilsland 1892 – 1979 was the Daughter of David Colville.

I was trying to figure out where Kersland Field was – from the picture it looks a lot like the football ground they have in Kilbirnie now, called Vale Park but yet Kersland was over beside Glengarnock.


Names: John Colville,  Steven Colville, Lady Bilsland, James Hamilton, Archibald Russell,  Margaret Johnstone´s Roselea troup, MB Walker, Ray Topping.

Fraser, McIntyre, Sutherland, Graham, Rintoul, Hutchison, Gordon, Wallace, Renfrew, Barry, Hughes,