Visit to Central Gurdwara, Berkeley Street, Glasgow: Tuesday 14th March 2023

In spite of the forecasted early morning fall of snow, 20 members of the Society made their independent way by public transport and by car to the distinctive flag pole at the front entrance of Central Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Berkeley Street, Glasgow for a prearranged tour. On arrival we were greeted at 11.00.am on Tuesday 14th March 2023 by our guide with whom the visiting arrangements had been made. These included a dress code of no tobacco, meat or alcoholic substances, and modest clothing to cover shoulders and legs if possible, and a head covering, although bandanas were also provided by the Gurdwara if required. Coats, shoes and socks were stored in lockers at the start of the tour.

The tour included two levels of the Gurdwara and consisted of an account of the origins of Sikhism in the Punjab region of the subcontinent of India in the mid-15th centenary and its subsequent evolution and development into one of the world's principal religions. The very important part played by its members in various military campaigns including both World Wars was also highlighted. Using plaques and charts arranged on the walls it was easy to learn of the history, articles of faith, practices and culture of Sikhism as narrated by the enthusiastic guide who, by a combination of teaching skills and good 'Glasgow' humour, held the attention of the group for some 90 minutes. The tour also included time to witness part of a religious ceremony and to take part in a period of meditation, all of which was accompanied with a background of 'live' music.

    

The Gurdwara's guide explaining the origins and beliefs
of Sikhism. (© I.S.Ruddock)

At the end of the tour, the group was invited to lunch, or 'langar' as the free food in a Sikh Temple is referred to, where we were served an appetising meal of chapati, curry sauce, pasta, French fries, a glass of water and tea. It was very evident why the hospitality of the Gurdwara is greatly appreciated as we learned it serves many hundreds of meals per day as a gesture to those in need and a contribution to the community.

    

Some of the Antiquaries members enjoying langar after the tour
of the Gurdwara. (© I.S.Ruddock)

As the group was gathering to leave, a vote of thanks was given to the enthusiastic, kind and very helpful guide whose skilled presentation gave us a much greater appreciation of Sikhism, and its involvement in Glasgow. Arrangements were also made for the Society to make a donation to the Gurdwara in appreciation of the success of the visit and in recognition of its humanitarian work.

David Graham

Scott Abercrombie: Alexander 'Greek' Thomson': 2.00pm, Thursday 23rd March 2023

Each year, Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries hosts an event in the programme of East Dunbartonshire's Local History Week or Month. This year, Mr Scott Abercrombie, Chair of the Alexander Thomson Society will speak on the life and work of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. 

Alexander 'Greek' Thomson (1817 - 1875) was a Scottish architect who was inspired by the style and motifs of Ancient Greece. His reputation suffered during the twentieth century along with that of other Victorian architects, but since the 1950s it has been restored, and his remaining buildings are now prized examples of Scottish architecture.

Thomson's Holmwood House, Netherlee Road, Glasgow, visited
by the Society on its 2016 Summer Outing. (© I.S.Ruddock)

The event will be held in The Park Centre, Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch on Thursday 23rd March at 2.00 pm and is open to all.

James Kennedy: 'It started with Rob Roy - film making in the Trosachs, 1911-53': Thursday 2nd March 2023

Lights, camera, action!...Rob Roy is one of the best known works of Sir Walter Scott and, since the earliest days of the motion picture industry, adaptions of it have been regularly filmed in Scotland, including on location in the Trossachs. In his talk, Mr James Kennedy, will describe the background to how these films came to be made, including some of the personalities involved.

Actor David Hawthorne as Rob Roy in the eponymous 1922
film on the cover of Bioscope, 21st September 1925 (from
the British Newspaper Archive).

James is a historian who lives in the Trossachs, and has recently researched its use as a location for film making. A detailed account has been published in Scottish Local History, the journal of the Scottish Local History Form of which he is a trustee. On his previous visit to the Society in March 2020, he spoke on the 1919 influenza pandemic, just as the reality of Covid was becoming only too clear a few days before the first lockdown.

The meeting will be held in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF at 7.30 pm. The annual membership subscription is £10 and visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening events.

Members' Night: 'A serendipitous discovery': Thursday 16th February 2023

The theme of this year's Members' Night is 'A serendipitous discovery', interpreted in whichever way the participants wish. In other words, the topic could be a person, a place, a historical fact or an artifact. The format of the evening will be as in previous years - each contributor has the opportunity of speaking on his or her topic for about five - ten minutes with or without illustrations.

If you are thinking of contributing, please let Ivan Ruddock know of your intention, and if you wish to have some images included in the composite PowerPoint presentation, please send them using the Society's email address that can be found under 'Contact Us'.

The meeting will be held in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF at 7.30 pm. The annual membership subscription is £10 and visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening events.

Grant Pinkerton: 'Records and research using the CWGC archive': Thursday 3rd February 2023

Almost everyone living in the United Kingdom is related to someone, however distant, who served and died in either of the two World Wars. That service man or woman is commemorated in perpetuity somewhere in the world by a headstone or memorial erected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), originally founded as the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1917 and renamed in 1960. 

Mr Grant Pinkerton's talk, entitled ‘Records and Research using the CWGC Archive’, will cover the origins and work of the Commission from foundation to the present day. He will introduce the archives held both in terms of casualties as well as the Commission's own papers which provide an insight into its early years and a number of the decisions made. Using the Casualty Archive, he will look at some of the individuals commemorated with connections to the Kirkintilloch area.

Grant is one of volunteer speakers and tour guides for the Commonwealth Graves Commission as part of the MacRoberts Trust Speakers Programme. His particular area of interest is the First World War but focusing more on the lives of those remembered from the greater Glasgow area.

Some of the documents that can be downloaded from CWGC for a WWI casualty, anticlockwise from top left: the medal card, his/her effects and their disposal, and the commemorative scroll. (© CWGC)

Some of the documents held by the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission. (© CWGC)

Some of the documents that can be downloaded from CWGC for a WWI casualty, anticlockwise from top left: the medal card, his/her effects and their disposal, and the commemorative scroll. (© CWGC)

The meeting will be held in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF at 7.30 pm. The annual membership subscription is £10 and visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening events.

Carol Primrose: 'The history of Mavis Valley – a mining village near Bishopbriggs': Thursday 12th January 2023

The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in what is now East Dunbartonshire saw a drastic change from a rural way of life to intensive industrial development, notably in mines and quarries. To service them, several new villages had to be built to house the workers yet within a century most of them had disappeared. One of them, Mavis Valley, has left enough of a footprint to suggest what life was like for the miner and his family. Surveyed and mapped in 2012, it is a rare survivor of industrial archaeology in West Central Scotland. In this talk, Carol Primrose will present the growth and decline of the Mavis Valley and describe what still remains to be seen at this location.

Mavis Valley (public domain)

Mrs Primrose is a former librarian who, started in Glasgow's Mitchell Library after studying French and German at Glasgow Univeristy, and retired from the latter's library after twenty-two years during which she focused on staff training and study skills and information retrieval for students. Her career also included spells at Strathclyde University and two years in charge of the St Andrew’s House branch of the Scottish Office library in Edinburgh. 

A subject specialism in archaeology led to a Certificate in Field Archaeology and membership of a number of archaeological societies including being President of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, Vice President of Archaeology Scotland, Chair of The Association of Certificated Field Archaeologists and Fellow of the Society of Antiquities of Scotland. She has taken part in several surveys and co-directed two in Arran, and, following retirement in 1998, she developed an interest in local history and directed a survey of Mavis Valley. She is currently Secretary of East Dunbartonshire History and Heritage Forum and a Trustee of Gavin’s Mill in Milngavie.

The meeting will be held in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF at 7.30 pm. The annual membership subscription is £10 and visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening events.