Tag: kilbirnie

Poem for Hugh

This poem was written to remember Hugh “Curly” Brannan, an elderly #Kilbirnie man 1912-1990

No Internet nor mobile phone
Just Sitting by the view
His bible held fast in his hands
This was dear old Hugh

A sweat bead forms upon his brow
Complains about the heat
Drinks another cup of tea
And stares down at his feet

With a creed unshakable
He reads another line
Whilst shuffling his greying hands
comes tales of older times

Yearning thoughts of his dear wife
Guided by Psalmist´s tears
Here sat a man with watered eyes
Memories of blessed years

And comes a thought of happiness
Of meeting her and friends
On shores afar, his mind does go
and finds his time well spent

Guided by the written Word
He went on Wisdom´s way
He gave triumph to the Truth
His fears did melt away

May our gaze be ever dear
to Principle held true
living always by our Faith
Just like my dear friend Hugh

The Rowan Tree – A Poem

This one is about the Rowan Tree which was in my Grandfather’s garden in Castle Drive, Kilbirnie It is likely still there.

I wanted the poem to catch that idea that some people  relish the shade but then complain about the darkness 🙂

In the shade of Grandpa’s house
There stood a Rowan Tree
Where my Brother tried to climb
With Rosalyn and me

Every day my Grandpa came
Admired it´s towering boughs
While we as children playing there
Saw darkened twigs and crows

Shadows hung upon his life
With towering darkened power
Yet we as children plain could see
Their withering every hour

Its leaves held back the sunshine light
Its branches stern with years
Sitting with his chair and pipe
It calmed away his fears

Yet we as children playing in sight
Saw only twigs and leaves
Revealing more of sky to us
Than he could ever see

We pointed up at shafts of light
Throughout the darkened power
Whilst he preferred the shaded glade
To pass the wakened hour

We saw sun and endless days
Upon his chair he sat
Despite the passing years it stood
The tree was sound at heart
 

Glengarnock Steel Staff Magazine May 1922 – Peter Adamson Abernethy

A Steel work Employee who came from Linwood.

Other Names in this page:

West, Busby, Calder, Ferguson, McGhie, Aitken, Stewart, Drysdale, McBride, Graham, Clifford, Baxter, Clark, Vann, Kean, McBride, Anderson, Henderson, Martin, Robertson, Watson,

Picture of Leslie Martin, Miss H H Barclay, E C Stuart, W H Aiton.

Other names, McMinn

Leslie P Martin, HH Barclay, EC Stuart, WH Aiton.

 

 

 

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 Works: War Memorials unveiled (including Kilbirnie) November 1922.

 

 

To avoid confusion, let me explain:

  1. There was a Plaque for both wars  inside Glengarnock Church (demolished) and details can be found here on the Imperial War Museum´s site and it resides now in the Auld Kirk of Kilbirnie along with another plaque for their own Kilbirnie parishoners.
  2. A memorial for WW1 was a plaque attached to a building at the steel works.   I have seen it as a boy and I recall that it was on the back of one of the steel works offices. I do not know if that contained names of the second war also. The Colvilles staff magazines in the early 1920s contained a pull out glossy souvenir about those employees who died during the first world war. Details are on this site.
  3.  A new Plaque was unveiled at Glengarnock Primary School for WWII only but that school has since been demolished  – it may have been transferred to the replacement secondary school at Glengarnock. The outdated Imperial war museum entry is here for that one. 
  4. A separate war memorial exists in Kilbirnie at the park gate covering both wars for people who lived in Kilbirnie. The Imperial war museum reference is here.

Here is the roll of Honour from the staff magazine about Glengarnock with the Steel works Employee names on there:

 

“Memories of the Rows. The Fading Breath of The Past”. By John McFarland of 29 Long Row Glengarnock

Many of you are asking if I have this booklet which was originally written in the late 1970s I believe.  It captures many names of people and places which vanished in the 1930s but has information going back into the 1800s. There is a little extract of it which is still around and can be found at http://www.kilbirnie.uk.net/toppage4.htm

I do not currently have a copy of this booklet but it is still circulating within the town. I last came across an audio version of it back in the 1990s  which was being used by the local blind society as part of their library they shared with locals. If it got that far then I´m sure it must be around somewhere perhaps in the local history dept of North Ayrshire library.

If anybody has a copy, please send it to me and I will put it up here.  Use the “contact me” button on this site please.

thanks

Joe

 

 

Poem about Kilbirnie #NorthAyrshire: The Mossend Mine

The Mossend Mine

While walking near the Mossend mine
I chanced upon a flower
I stopped and stared at beauty spent
and passed away the hour

Her leaves were yellow daffodils
where bees would pass the time
watching men go underground
While entering the mine

Her stem did sway with summer breeze
she slumbered on the brink
like a burdened miner walks
whilst thirsting for a drink

Suddenly a voice I heard
transported back in time
young men with blackened faces walked
deep inside that mine

Awaking, flowers, buttercups
Blessed me on my way
Whilst haunting thoughts of distant past
I carried through my day

So if a flower does call you back
to places, lands of yore,
dwell not in the realm of dreams
take only what is yours

Perhaps your flower is yet to come
in mountain, thoughts or clime
ne’er mind the times of centuries old
now is your only time