Community

One of a number of beautiful Torrance Girl Guide related objects brought to Trails & Tales, in this case, a gift to Clara Gillespie, one of the 'Rangers'. It was a tradition set up by Miss Pirie - the much loved 'Captain' - that when any girl in the company was married, the other members of the group would make a hand made gift. In this case a beautiful patchwork quilt. Made from fragments of blouses and aprons, and other clothing no longer used. Miss Pirie worked to bring all the elements of the collaboration together, with added crocheting, backing and finishing work to form the finished piece. The word 'Captain' is clearly visible in the embroidery, along with the names of all the girls who contributed, including 'Clara' herself. The quilt was 60 years old on the 1st September 2016. Shena Pirie was the daughter of the artist Sir George Pirie and she lived in Wardend, Torrance - her memory and presence in the Torrance community extends beyond Guiding and she is warmly remembered by many. The Torrance Girl Guide log books have been accessioned into the Archive of East Dunbartonshire and offer amazing insight to the changing times and community of Torrance and the wider areas that the Guides explored.

The poster belonged to and was most likely made by Mr Julius Cook a resident of Torrance. Born in 1892 he lived in Torrance all of his life. Mr Cook was also the photographer behind a number of local Torrance photographs now in local studies, which document many local people, places and events. He also used to write reports about the village for the Kirkintilloch Herald, again related to what was happening in the village. He was involved in the Comforts Fund along with a number of other residents, including the school headmaster and minister amongst others. This group was instigated during the war years by the famous Torrance resident, Miss Shena Pirie. She served as a nurse during the war and encouraged the Comforts Fund group to raise monies to allow packages to be sent to the troops, and also to allow homecoming events and parties which would celebrate the return of people to the village and also provide them with a blanket and £5.00. The poster was brought to the timeline by Alison Graham, Torrance, who was passed the poster by Mr Julius's family.

Brought to T&T by Caurnie Angling Club Secretary Roger Hughes, the story of the Kirk Trophy starts with James Mathieson, who worked at the Lion Foundry, Kirkintilloch pre-WW1. James was the great uncle of Iain McNicol who handed over the trophy to the Caurnie Angling Club (CAC) in 2015. Iain wanted the CAC to retain the trophy - a trophy that his father, John McNicol, had won pre- WWII - and agreed that it should be awarded annually by vote of the committee, to a ‘worthy club member’ member, one who makes a significant contribution to the running of the club. The first recipient was John Harwood, of Milton of Campsie, who throughout the year, cycles daily to Antermony Loch, to clear the reeds and burns and undertakes other necessary maintenance work. Much of what Iain knows of the family history comes from his uncle Andrew who died in 2013 aged 101. The story starts with Iain’s great- uncle James Mathieson, who worked at the Lion Foundry Kirkintilloch pre-WW1. Iain believes that James was a member of the Kelvin Valley Angling Club (KVAC) and a founder member of the Caurnie Angling Club (CAC). His father John was a junior member of the KVAC. Iain also thinks that James was Secretary of the CAC before his death in 1930 and John was a member of CAC until war broke out in 1939. It is believed that in the late 1930’s, John had won the Kirk Trophy two times and, following the rules of that time, if he won it for a third time, he could keep the trophy in perpetuity. John did this in 1939 and so the trophy became his property. In March 1941, when John was an ack-ack gunner in Hastings and his wife Isobel was running a canteen for shipyard workers at Clydebank, her lodgings were bombed. Amongst the items recovered were the broken remains of the Kirk Trophy. The plinth with the engraved plaques was missing and the stem of the cup snapped in half. Isobel had one of the shipyard welders, Alastair McKissock repair this. Apparently Alastair was a well-known ’Red Clydesider’. When he returned home John replaced the plinth and proudly kept his trophy until his death in 1972.

James Foyer was a weaver from Campsie Parish. He was enlisted to fight in the Napoleonic wars and was killed in battle during the Siege of Burgos, Spain, in September 1812. During a battle to capture the Fort St Michael, Burgos on September 19th, Jamie was shot in the chest, and as he lay dying, he wished for a drink of water from Baker Brown's well in Lennoxtown. The Well was in Lennoxtown, down Well Lane, just off the Main Street, opposite the Health Clinic. However, despite the photograph of the well (in the Local Studies Collection of the William Patrick Library) and its known location, as well as an appeal for information, Don Martin's research of the site in 2003, revealed only a few stones, which may not even have been part of the original well. An unknown author commemorated the incident in a 19th C Folk song, based on the words of the dying soldier. It's noted in the Lennoxtown history pages that locals sang the song in the streets of Campsie, especially in front of a shop owned by Mr. James Jack, who usually rewarded the singer. The account also notes that in 1887, Mr. Jack told of two strangers arriving in Lennoxtown, looking for the well. They wanted to fill bottles of water to take with them to Spain, where they intended to drink it as near as possible to the spot in Burgos where Jamie died. 'Oh! if I had a drink of Baker brown's well, My thirst it would quench, and my fever would quell; But life's purple current was ebbing so fast That young Jamie Foyer soon breathed his last. They took for a winding sheet his tartan plaid, And in the cold grave his body was laid; With hearts full of sorrow, they covered his clay, And muttering "Poor Foyer," marched slowly away.'