After his excellent talk on Alexander Greek Thomson, our speaker Iain McGillivray noticed that some of the castings at Kilmarnock station may well have come from MacFarlane's Foundry in Glasgow - where Thomson order much of his iron from.Iain says;'It was a serendipitous discovery for me,, though so...
Because our usual venue of Ayrshire College is closed next week we had, as intimated, changed venue to The Park Hotel, Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.However - the best laid plans and all that - Kilmarnock FC have been required to reschedule their Premiership fixture with Dundee FC for Tuesday 13th.It has t...
Happy New Year from KDHG. We hope everyone has a prosperous 2018.Our lectures resume on Tuesday 16th January when Andrew Dick will talk about Ayrshire Mining. This will be an interesting topic and will explore many of Ayrshire's lost mining villages and communities.We hope to see you then.Lecture Pr...
Book Week ScotlandCal Flyn & Karl Geary - Two debut authors, two mesmerising stories – a fascinating evening not to be missed. Mon 27 Nov 7pm Dick Institute, KilmarnockCal Flyn is an award winning freelance writer and reporter from the Highlands of Scotl...
Natalie Brownlie from Queensland Australia writes -My father Peter N Poole was evacuated to Kilmarnock during World War 2 from Newcastle on Tyne as a small child, along with his sister Nora. They were fortunate to live during that time with his Uncle & Aunt - his Uncle at that time was Provost -...
As part of an outreach programme by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Tom Devine will be giving a talk at Wellwood Burns Centre & Museum, 28 Eglinton Street, Irvine, on 9th November. This is a ticketed event but is free. If any members of the group are intereste...
Please note that Tuesday's lecture will take place at the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock. 7.30pm start....
Hugh Watson reports - In July 2017 Andy Colvin East Ayrshire arranged a visit to the Cooperative Hall which is part of East Ayrshire Council North Civic Centre in John Dickie Street Kilmarnock. The inside of the Hall has been well maintained by the Council especially the rich varnished wood paneling...
You should have received an e-mail advising of the opening lecture of the session being Tuesday 3rd October and including details of renewing your subscription.However, if you haven't can you please forward your up-to-date e-mail address to us at [email protected] to enable us...
Our Secretary recently received notification of the following presentation with Iain Ferguson of Scotland's People. It will take place at New Farm Loch Community Centre on Thursday 5th October.Can anybody interested in attending please advise Hugh on his e-mail [email protected] soon as poss...
Further to the request about information about the Blocks, we have received the following comments;I saw that someone was asking about the Barleith Blocks. I have some memories of them as I spent a couple of summers there with my Grandmother when I was around 7, which would have been 1959.My Grandmo...
We have received the following request from Janet Kirby in Germany.I am hoping you can help me. When I was a little girl my Aunt managed the Tanker Hall Children´s home on 79, London Road.Due to problems in my own family I lived there for a while. I was incredibly happy there and even though I was...
TIDELINES BOOK FESTIVAL 21-24 September 2017North Ayrshire’s only independent book festival will be held again at Irvine’s atmospheric Harbourside. 18 events over 4 days will be focused on the Harbour Arts Centre, but also taking place in Puffers Café, the Sc...
We have received the following request from Kilmarnock Academy who are seeking memories from alumni and alumnae - or perhaps their families. Can anyone assist ?Kilmarnock Academy, Elmbank Drive, Kilmarnock KA1 3BSTo capture memories before they are lost, we are looking for people in the categories b...
The syllabus for the 2017-18 session looks as if it is now complete. We are just waiting to firm everything up at our committee meeting in August.Some great looking talks including; Rudolf Hess, Alexander Greek Thomson, The Grammar School during WW2, Ardrossan Castle and stories from Rankin & Bo...
We have received a request for information about the Armour family in Kilmarnock.Gordon Armour left Kilmarnock for Australia in 1962 - his father was called William. We don't have his mother's name.We know that William was a Mason in Kilmarnock as was David Stephenson Armour (dob 03/04/1923)Can anyo...
Fancy a sneak preview of the Galston Heritage Trail?Click here...
We have recently uploaded over 600 images to our Facebook albumsClick HERE...
Further to our news articles of 2nd May 2017 ( see here and here ) we received the following reply;I know a little about Maclachlans - the family lived in Dundonald Road two girls, one being Jean, and a son, Scott. All went to the Academy. Jean was in my year and Scott a bi...
We have received the following message from Kerrie Bennett who is keen to trace the last resting places of some ancestors;Many generations of my family are from Riccarton and Kilmarnock. Whilst much information has been passed down and research completed no-one seems to be able to find the location...
We have received an enquiry from Graeme Symington in Australia -'I would be very interested to hear from any of your members who may have information about Catherine Young (maiden name Symington) 1826-1891. She lived in Titchfield Street, Kilmarnock.Her youngest daughter Agnes Young (1858-1927)...
Another request - this time about the 'The Blocks' or Railway Buildings at Barleith in Hurlford.Mary Mackay from Ayr has asked the following;- What was life like in The Blocks?-Some addresses have '1/2' eg. number two and a half A Block etc. Why did some addresses have the half?-What size were the h...
We received a request at the recent Family History Fair at the Grand Hall to ask any members or website visitors if they had any photos which show Wm MacLachlan's Bakers & Confectioners at 7-9 Titchfield Street, Kilmarnock.Can you help - or do you have any tales to share?Please contact us at &nb...
52 years ago today Kilmarnock Football Club defeated Heart of Midlothian 2-0 at Tynecastle to be crowned Scottish Football Champions. No team from outside a city has done this since - and may never again.Killie went on to play in what is now called The Champions League in 1966-67, drawing with the m...
Our friends at Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club will celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2018. They are the 4th oldest rugby club in Scotland and are planning a number of events throughout 2018 - starting almost as soon as the sound of the New Year Bells has softened.Bill Barnaby- probably well known...
