Monthly Archives: February 2011

Buchlyvie War Memorial

Buchlyvie lies between the Highlands of Scotland and its more gentler Lowlands.  In years gone by the villagers would been wary of the ‘fowk from the Highlands’ who were known to come down and steal cattle from the local pastures.

Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh are within easy reach, as are the Trossochs and Aberfoyle.  Many inhabitants may commute to work but there are many who stay in the village and keep the services going i.e. The Buchlyvie Inn and the Rob Roy + the cafe, B & B, garage, shop, butchers and hairdresses to name but a few.

Buchlyvie War Memorial C Sklinar 2010

The War Memorial to remember  Buchlyvie men is situated on the edge of the village and sits proud in a small garden at a ‘T’ junction for all passers by to see.  The consists of a contrived rough cut stone set upon a few tiers with a wreath mounted above the names, surmounted by a cross.

So who is mentioned on the memorial ?  Robert Alexander ; Andrew McLaren (MacLaren) ; Willliam McLellan born in Huntingdon, Yorkshire and enlisted in Stirling ; Ronald J McOnie of Buchlyvie, with brown eyes and hair  and served with the Canadian Forces ; Archibald McVicar, son of Niven and Bessie and Alexander McIntyre who died of wounds and rests in one of France’s National Cemeteries.  I’ve only mentioned a few here but follow the link to read more.

Oh! and if you have any more information about these young men, please let me know and I’ll add it the the page.

To read more about Buchlyvie young men who fought and laid down their lives click here

Luss War Memorial

The village of Luss is known to many of us as it was featured in the 1980’s TV Soap ‘Take the High Road’.

Luss 2010 by K M Sklinar

Luss, in early records was known as Clachan Dubh, the dark village due to its mountain setting.  Many of the village cottages were originally built to house workers in the cotton mill and slate quarries of the 18th and 19th centuries.  The homes have now been fully restored and Luss is  now a designated Conservation Village.

I am pleased to say that Luss is now by-passed by the A82 making the village a very nice place on the banks of Loch Lomond.

The War Memorial on School Road is set upon three tiers of stone with a simple cross bearing a sword, surrounded by a low dry stone wall.

Some of the names set in stone are :- Ludvic Colquhoun ; James Colquhoun ; Archibald McBeth and Robert T Hamilton to name just a few.

To see Luss War Memorial click here

Rhubarb, Rhubarb and more Rhubarb !!

The Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb takes place on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 February 2011 – yes, this weekend.

Wakefield’s famous Yorkshire  Forced Rhubarb has now  European Protected Food Status, joining Champagne, Parma Ham, Cheshire Cheese and the Cornish Pasty

Whats happening this weekend then ?

Jean-Christophe Novelli, cooks for Wakefield Hospice – details here

Sean Wilson of Coronation Street fame – cooks in Wakefield Cathedral Precinct – more information

Wakefield Cathedral Precinct ‘foody festival’ on Friday and Saturday – entertainment, cookery demonstrations, walks and tours etc.


For a full list of places to stay, see and do during the 2 day event click here.

What are you waiting for, head into Wakefield on Friday or Saturday, but then why not both days and enjoy !!

Stow War Memorial

Stow, a village in the border region, a few miles from Galashiels.

The industrial revolution had a great impact on the area, changing the pace of life in Stow for ever.  Until the eighteenth century the area was a farming community, but the coming of the Turnpike road to the west of Gala Water in the 1750’s brought with it change and the village became industrious, mainly in the spinning and weaving sector. Following on in 1862 the railway came and made the area easier to get materials and people in and out.

The village has had a connection to the church since the 7th or 8th century with written records surviving and the Parish of Stow became one of three sactuaries in Scotland where there was safety from persicution.

The village war memorial is sited in the centre of the village and is a pleasing site with a small stone wall partially enclosing the memorial and has names of men from both wars carved upon it.

Who is mentioned on the memorial ? George Aitchison, born in Blackadder rests in Selkirk Shawfield Cemetery ; T E Thorburn Brown was mentioned in the London Gazette in 1914 and rests in Grevillers British Cemetery ; James Brydon served with the Canadians as he lived in Canada – a young man with blue eyes and brown hair ; Alexander and Archibald and Charles Chisholm, brothers who died months apart in 1915 ; James H Doig, also served with the Canadians and had gray eyes and black hair ; The Rev. J T C Ireland who died as a result of  HT ‘Transylvania’ being torpedoed  and many others who were sons, brothers, uncles and husbands.

To visit Stow War Memorial click here

Ancestry App for Iphone

You may not always have your family history information at hand on a normal day but you  nine times out of ten have your mobile phone.

If like me you have a lot of ‘stuff’ you need to carry, information wise, a specific ‘outing’ is needed to visit a library, archive or other repository.  If you are going about your every day life, you don’t keep this information at hand or have access to your Family History Diary – although an A5 Family History Diary, could be kept in your bag.

What do you do if you pass a village or house where family came from ? See a local war memorial with relatives names on or meet someone unexpectedly meet a relative or someone who knew your family ?

Normally, its rummage around for a scrap of paper, use a serviette or try and remember all the information.  Yes, done that before and you forget at least something.

Do you have an I phone ? If you do its good news as they have developed an App for such an occasion and it dosn’t cost that much, but could save you the embarrassment of trying to contact the person who gave this information or trying to retrace your steps to find the house or memorial – both time consuming and inconvenient.

I have not tried the App so can’t tell you of any hitches and glitches it may have, but one thing I do know is that as it is mobile phone driven it does need a good signal.  There is no point in getting very frustrated in a graveyard in the middle of nowhere when trying to add information if you don’t have a signal – now that is not the App’s fault.

Itunes store  – link here

www.Ancestry.co.uk

WDYTYA & Find My Past Discount

Good News, Find My Past, like many others will be having a stand at the Who Do You Think You event which opens its doors next the  Friday, 25th February 2011.

To promote this FMP they are offering,  for a limited period 10% discount – valid from 21st February to 4th March 2011.

To take advantage of this discount click on the Find My Past link below and enter the discount code when prompted in the payment section.

discount code     WDYTYA11


As well as Find My Past there will be lots of other well known faces there including :- The Society of Genealogists ; Ancestry ; Alan Godfrey Maps ; Archives for London ; Commonwealth War Graves Commission ; Parish Chest ; Scotlands People ; Various magazines and Publishers + over 100 workshops.

Tip :-  Take smaller denomination notes (£5 & £10) and £1 coins, don’t weigh yourself down with coins but it does make it easier for those smaller purchaces.

Tip :- Take copies of documents, don’t risk the chance of losing the originals.

Tip:- Make notes of the names, places, dates etc that you may need or put it all in a Family History Diary and have all your information in one place and at hand for those excursions i.e. a day out at WDYTYA or a visit to the Archives or Local Studies Centre.

Have a wonderful day

Family History Diary – click here to get your diary in a choice of sizes and colours – making it easier to follow your family.

Lumphinnan and Shandon War Memorials

A gazeteer entry for Limphanan describes it as follows :-

Lumphanan, a hamlet and a parish in Kincardine O’Neil district, S Aberdeenshire. The hamlet has a station on the Deeside section of the Great North of Scotland railway, 27 miles W by S of Aberdeen; a post and railway telegraph office; a branch of the North of Scotland Bank; an hotel; and fairs on the second Thursday of January, February, March, April, May, September, and December.

The village now has neither a church or a station but does have a golf course, a school and a fine War Memorial.

A Gazeteer entry for 1882 describes Shandon as follows :-

Shandon, “hamlet on north side of Gareloch, 5½ miles north-north-west of Helensburgh, Dumbartonshire. It took its name, signifying ‘old fort,’ from an ancient fortalice, now almost extinct; it has a post office, with money order and telegraph departments, under Helensburgh, and a Free church; and it is near the elegant modern mansions of Shandon Lodge and West Shandon. Pop. 291.

Shandon, however, just a few short miles from Rhu developed alongside similar settlements to form fashionable residential areas for the wealthy Glasgow merchants.  West Shandon House was one of these residences for Robert Napier and housed his vast art collection.  Another residence is Shandon House, built for William Jamieson c1849 and now a Grade B Listed Building .  The house and its grounds overlook Gare Loch – now owned by the MOD  the house has been a school –  a remand home.  But sadly the once grand fittings and plaster work are now in a sad state of decay as Shandon House has lain empty for many years.

The Shandon area is now, since the 1960’s, dominated by the Royal Naval Base at Faslane.

To have a look at the Lumphinnan War Memorial click here

To have a look at the Shandon War Memorial click here

Chantry Chapel, Wakefield – new events

Apart from the Chantry Chapel being one of the venues for the Wakefield Art Walk, which is held on the last Wednesday of alternate months from 5am – 9pm, the Chantry Chapel is a very busy ‘little treasure’.

In March, Kate Taylor, historian, writer and font of knowledge on  subjects including Wakefield and the Chantry Chapel, will be giving a series of FREE talks in the Chantry.

14 March The origins and growth of the Diocese
21 March Reorganisation, reordering and redundant Churches
28 March The changing role and status of women
Tea and Coffee are available and Donations to the Friends fund for maintaining the Chantry Chapel are always welcomed.

The month of May sees another series of FREE talks given by Kate

Mondays 14, 21 and 28 May 10.30am

A course of three talks on the History of the Diocese of Wakefield

In between all this there are a series of Open Days  – 25 April, 30 May, 29 August, 11 September from 11am – 3pm.  Interspersed with a Flower Festival and Cake Stall on July 9th from 10am – 4pm.

Dunbarton South African Campaign Memorial

The Second Boer War or South African War, was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902, between the British Empire and the Dutch-speaking Boer of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State.  The Union of South African then became part of the British Empire.

Robert Baden-Powell, Commanded the defense of the Seige of Mafeking, lasting 217 days

The First Boer War being fought from December 1880 to March 1881 – The Boer Wars.

It is a known fact that over half of the British Casualties during the war were caused by illness, particularly Typhoid Fever, enemy action being less of a cause.

The wars were also to be responsible for new words being added into our language, for example Kop, a well known term at football grounds and Concentration Camps.  The term was first used to describe camps operated by the British during this time.  The camps were initially refugee camps but later as numbers grew new ideas and tactics were introduced to stem the guerilla campaign.  Being poorly administered and overcrowded conditions became terrible for the internees.  Poor hygiene and sanitation, bad diet and lack of shelter only made a bad thing appauling.

So, who left the Burgh of Dunbarton to fight in South Africa, never to return home ? Well, Captain Peter Robert Denny ; J Ponsonby ; D W Moore to name a few.

To read the rest of the memorial click here

Further reading click here

There is an information sheet available from the National Archives – The South African War 1899-1902 Service Records of Other Ranks and NCOs   M11

Cardross War Memorial

The war memorial at Cardross is a very magnificent tribute to the men from the area, but I get the feeling that the placement could have been better.

Yes, the memorial is roadside for all passers by to see and acknowledge  the  loss of the area but I feel that putting the memorial in a small gardened area or in a park would have given the large memorial more impact – such a large memorial for 8 plaques.    Did Cardross want to ‘out do’ the other villages or where they so proud they wanted the world to know ?

I have seen one picture of the memorial will a row of trees in the background, probably before the buildings were there, which did make the memorial look more ‘cumfy’ in its surroundings and less stark.

But one thing they should be proud of is the fact that a Victoria Cross was awarded to one of their own – one W H Anderson.

Other names on the memorial area :-  Hugh Caldwell ; Malcolm McKillop ;  W Beardmore Stewart and Adam Umpherston, to name a few.