William B Black: "Frae a' the Airts": Thursday 7th January 2016

Our member Bill Black is a retired training officer who specialises in seeking out unusual "nooks and crannies" of local history. He has published a wide range of articles in different journals. His scope ranges right across the West of Scotland, but he always seems to find time to mention his native Maryhill. We can anticipate that this will be the case with his talk to our January meeting, a miscellany entitled "Frae a' the Airts".

Maryhill Barracks

Ivan Ruddock

Kirkintilloch on the BBC?

The latest programme in David Hayman's series on ships and shipbuilding is "Scotland's Vital Spark: The Clyde Puffer". It will be broadcast on BBC2 Scotland on Monday 14 December 2015 at 9.00 pm and will continue to be available on BBC iPlayer until 4 January 2016. It will hopefully feature the role played by Kirkintilloch and its puffer builders.

The launch of a puffer on the Forth and Clyde canal in Kirkintilloch.

A puffer under repair in Kirkintilloch.

Ivan Ruddock

John Hood: "The Carbeth Hutters": Thursday 3rd December 2015

John Hood is a long-standing member of Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries and has provided it with numerous talks over the years. During his working life he was Chief Librarian of the former Clydebank District Council, where he gained for his employer a reputation for publishing some outstanding local history volumes. In retirement he has researched and prepared many illustrated books for the well-known Stenlake Publishing series. One of these, on Old Drymen and the Blane and Endrick Villages (2000), included some annotated photographs of the Hutters' site at Carbeth; John's talk is an expanded version of this research on the Carbeth community that was created soon after the First World War. .

Carbeth (© Carbeth Hutters Community Company)

Carbeth, 1963 (© Carbeth Hutters Community Company)

David McVey: "The Thirty-Nine Steps: 100 years on": Thursday 5th November 2015

David McVey is an old friend of the Society and last spoke to it in March 2014 when his subject was Sir Walter Scott and the 200th anniversary of Waverley. This time, he will talk on John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps which was first published in book form in October 2015 and was the first of his novels to feature Richard Hannay as the hero.

Cover of the first edition, 1915.
 (© The Collectors Club of Great Britain)



David McVey writes both fiction and non-fiction and, as well as his writing, he currently teaches Communications part-time at New College Lanarkshire.

Jimmy Watson and Don Martin: "Thomas Muir 250 - celebrating a local hero": Thursday 1st October 2015

Jimmy Watson is Chair of the Friends of Thomas Muir, a Bishopbriggs-based group that has been leading the celebrations to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of 'The Father of Scottish Democracy' this year. He will describe the programme of events that is being organised and will also talk about some key events in Thomas Muir's life, especially the great significance of his trial, on charge of 'Sedition', in August 1793. Don Martin will complement this with an account of the circumstances that provided context for Muir's campaigns. Jimmy Watson is a haulage contractor with the Watson family firm in Bishopbriggs. His office is at Huntershill, just across the road from Thomas Muir's former home.

Jimmy Watson speaking on Thomas Muir.

This is the first meeting in the Society's 2015-16 session. Please note that meetings will once again be held on Thursdays and, although the Society is remaining in The Park Centre, it is moving to the MacKay Hall, i.e. the former church. Entrance to this hall is via the door on the right hand side of the premises. The programme for the year can be previewed here and an application form to join the Society can be downloaded from the Membership page.

Please be aware that parking in the Regent Centre (Tesco) car park is limited to two hours and that this restriction is now being enforced 24 hours a day by the company managing it.

Ivan Ruddock

A new session, an old night and the end of an era

The new session for Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries starts on Thursday 1st October 2015 when Jimmy Watson and Don Martin present "Thomas Muir 250: celebrating a local hero". An application form to join the Society can be downloaded from the Membership page.

Meetings will once again be held on Thursdays having been on Fridays for the past two sessions due to the availability of a suitable venue. The Society is remaining in The Park Centre but moving to the MacKay Hall. Entrance to this hall is via the door on the right hand side of the former church building. The programme for the year can be previewed here.

This session also marks the end of an era and the beginning of another following the resignation of Mr William 'Bill' McNeill as President at April's Annual General Meeting. A member of the Society for 37 years, he was the 11th President, although the 10th person to occupy the office from its foundation in 1933, and was the longest serving at 24 years. This period coincided with a strong increase in the membership from less than fifty to over one hundred but the choice of meeting night and venue was as much an issue at its beginning as at its end. In 1994 Bill introduced the very successful evening walks that for many years was the Society's contribution to Local History Week. When this April event was later moved to March, the Society's contribution has usually taken the form of an afternoon talk due to the shorter days ruling out an outdoor activity in the evening.



Bill McNeill

Bill's devotion to the Society is another example of his involvement in the community. It sits alongside being an elder in St David’s Memorial Park Parish Church, a patron of Kirkintilloch Players and a volunteer with the Seagull Trust and Strathkelvin Talking Newspaper.

His Presidency will be remembered for his low key style of chairmanship at meetings and the warmth of his welcome to all arriving. The members of the Committee are also grateful to his wife Jean for the lavish hospitality she provided as a reward for working through long agendas. The Society looks forward to seeing Bill and Jean at its future meetings, but now relaxing and enjoying the evenings’ proceedings.

Ivan Ruddock