I recently visited the Mitchell Library Glasgow where the entire collection of the staff magazines for Colvilles are held. For those of you who dont know, Colvilles owned not only these steel works at Glengarnock but many others across the region. They issued a staff magazine between 1920 and the 1960s. At which time it became British Steel. The continued with magazines which are likely around somewhere. These bound magazines can also be purchased if you google them, online.
The Colvilles magazine contains many bits of information, photos, stories and letters about and from the Glengarnock Steel works Employees. I started to collect some of these by using the camera on my phone before the library assistant stopped me and said I need to photocopy them instead. I am posting the ones I found which are a few extracts of the earlier magazines with news of Glengarnock. The early copies seem to focus a lot on regular contributors like William Allan or Allen who was a gifted poet and photographer, and Robert Stevenson, a photographer and writer who seemed to finally leave in the early days, both locals. There also common surnames like Blue (see May 1920), McTaggart, Milligan, Geddes, and many more in these 1920s editions. If you are researching a particular North Ayrshire name, tell me and I will try to help. They also talk about the social events which the employees went to, such as dances, talks and classes, particularly in the Orange Hall (now demolished) which if I remember correctly may have been owned by the Steel works or at least built on steel works land.
I will post each one separately, in the coming days to ensure I cover and transcribe all of the relevant information in there.
