From the Archives of the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald published on June 18, 2008
100 YEARS AGO on June ??, 1908
MESSERS James Braid, Walton Heath, and J.H. Taylor, Richmond, the well-known professional golfers, paid a visit to Ardeer golf course on Tuesday and gave expert opinion on the merits of the course, which they considered needlessly easy.
IN the Brisbane Bursary Examination the successful candidates were Elizabeth Chalmers, Anderson Wilson and Tom Black, all of Saltcoats Public School. The College Bursary was won by Miss M. Wilson, a pupil teacher.
STEVENSTON School Board are indebted to James Coats, jun., of Ferguslie, Paisley, for two handsome bookcases which he has generously presented to their Stevenston and Kyleshill Schools. In both cases a large number of exquisite volumes accompanied the bookcases.
A junior competition under the auspices of Kilbirnie Angling Club took place on Saturday on the Garnock the prize winners being: -1, R. Hynd; 2. J. F. Morrison; 3. Jas. Gaffney: 4, R. Lauchland; 5, G. Tod, jun.; 6. Thos. Turner.
IN a bowling match between Ardrossan and Saltcoats, Ardrossan (J. P. Wallace, T. Guthrie, W. Tannoch) beat Saltcoats (J. Hamilton, jun., A. McIntyre, J. Morris and A. Wilson, D. Miller, J. Breckenridge) by 16 shots.
AT the annual meeting of Ladeside Football Club in Kilbirnie last Friday, office-bearers appointed were: - President, Mr Malcolm Reid; vice-president, Mr Daniel Cochrane: secretary, Mr John Whitelaw, treasurer, Mr Andrew Boyd.
50 YEARS AGO on June 20, 1958
MR Fred West, A native of Ardrossan and a member of the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed manager of the River's Realty, Ltd., branch office at Vancouver. The write-up, which includes his photograph, states that Fred has had many years experience of property sales.
TOMORROW (Saturday) six Sunday School trips will arrive at South Beach Green, Ardrossan, and the number of persons will be approximately 2510.
MR Howat (goods agent), Mr Whitelaw (chief clerk), and Mr Livingstone (cashier) were each presented with a gold wrist watch by British Railways on completion of 45 years' service. All are employed at the Ardrossan depot.
ON Thursday of last week a 4 feet motor boat was stolen from Largs and found ashore between Saltcoats and Stevenston. Two Glasgow boys, aged 10 and 12, who were reported missing, have been interviewed by the police.
ABOUT 10.50am on Monday, a motor lorry loaded with butcher-meat, weighing two tons 16 cwt., was stationary in Winton Pier Road, Ardrossan, when a train, reversing from no.2 platform, collided with the lorry and pushed it on to the rails where it overturned. The butcher-meat fell on to the railway and the lorry was extensively damaged. No person was injured. As a result of the accident the road and railway were closed to traffic for approximately three-quarters of an hour.
CAPTAIN Jack Bright, whose ship the Eagle oil tanker, 'San Flaviano,' was bombed in the Indonesian port of Balik Pagan on 28th April, has arrived at his home in Oak Road, Ardrossan. The genial captain is looking none the worse of his thrilling experience. At the time two tankers were bombed and the 'San Flaviano' was set ablaze, becoming a total loss.
Captain Bright expressed the view that the bombers must have known that his ship was a British ship, for he added. We were flying the British Ensign-a nine footer." The Captain paid generous tribute to his allBritish crew, who, when he was reluctantly compelied to give the order to abandon ship, displayed all those characteristics that have made British seamen honoured and respected all over the world.
LAST Saturday marked another chapter in the history of Park Church, Ardrossan, when the foundation stone of the new church buildings, now in course of erection at the junction of Dalry Road and Stanley Road in the new housing area, was formally laid, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Dr John Mauchline, principal of Trinity College, Glasgow
25 YEARS AGO on June 24, 1983
A young holidaymaker died tragically when her airbed was swept far from the Saltcoats shore on Tuesday...and the man who plucked her from the sea has called for an immediate inquiry into her death.
Beverly Dolan (14), of 23 Kendoon Avenue, Drumchapel, Glasgow, died after frantic attempts to revive her failed. Despite the efforts of a Saltcoats man, lifeboat, helicopter and ambulance crews, a medical assistant and police, she never fully regained consciousness.
Beverly had been on holiday with her grandmother at Sandylands Caravan Park, Saltcoats, when she and her brother Richard (15) decided to paddle around on "lilos. At 3.17pm Coastguards alerted Troon lifeboat and a helicopter from HMS Gannet, Prestwick, that Richard and Beverly were missing. But by that time two Saltcoats men and another man who had run barefoot from Stevenson to raise the alarm, were on their way out to where the teenagers had last been seen.
A businessman is gambling that rumours of an oil strike off the Ayrshire coast are true. Mr John Lynch has bought a Saltcoats Hotel to take advantage of the rich pickings he believes are just around the corner.
He has just bought the former Maple Leaf Hotel in Saltcoats Canal Street, re-naming it Hotel Sands and with an eye on the 'black gold,' he is ready to transform it into a luxury entertainment complex, complete with an extension, offering 50 bedrooms at a well-equipped four star level. I'm not dead certain about the oil, but my bank (Lloyds) feels the same about the area - and they also deal with Britoil. So far Britoil is the only company to declare any interest in oil fields in the Clyde.
It looked like a freak snow storm had hit Ardrossan during this week's heatwave. The bottom end of Glasgow Street was looking distinctly white on Monday evening. It was not snow, however, but white sand which spilled from a W.H. Malcolm lorry which was forced to brake suddenly. The lorry was on its way from the harbour carrying a load of 18 tons of powdered white sand. It was 300 kilos lighter after its emergency stop
Thanks to Tom McGrattan
for the original