New donations to Midlothian Archives 2012

Posted on December 24, 2012 by kenb

Midlothian Local Studies is a treasure house of local and family history. Based in Loanhead, it is run by Midlothian Council Library Service and is a unique collection about all aspects of Midlothian history and culture.

The collection is always growing and in 2012 many new donations were received from local people.

Amongst these were two collections of photographs about Loanhead. One was given by the family by the late Ernie Tiernan, a local shopkeeper, and the second from the estate of Jim Abbot, a professional photographer.

The photographs are a wonderful record of life in Loanhead in the twentieth century. They show streets, buildings, shops, people and events, including Gala Days and the Queen’s visit to Loanhead in June 1961. Each photograph is being carefully catalogued and local people are helping to identify them.

One fascinating photograph shows a women’s football team. There are no details with the photograph, but it seems to date from around the First World War and may show munitions workers either at Loanhead or Roslin gunpowder works.

Amongst other donations, Roslin Primary Schoolgave a large collection of class registers and photograph albums. These will be of great interest to genealogists in the future.

The family of James Braidwood of Bonnyrigg donated an Air Raid Warden’s notebook that he had kept during the Second World War. This shows regular nightly inspections of the local area to ensure that everybody was obeying the rules during the blackout.

Today’s news is tomorrow’s history. David Adams of Loanhead donated a set of photographs of the Olympic torch on its journey through Loanhead in June 2012, which was a memorable and historic event.

Penicuik Historical Society have recently undertaken a major project on papermaking and the Society gave Local Studies a series of transcripts of interviews with former workers in local mills. These are an invaluable record of a once thriving local industry.

Local Studies also received the records of the Pentland Conservation Group, a local environmental action group which did much valuable work to preserve historic Pentland Cemetery.

2014 will mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. One poignant donation was a memorial plaque, commonly known as a ‘Deadman’s Penny’, belonging to Private John Watson, a Bonnyrigg soldier who joined the Royal Scots and who died at the battle of Arras in 1917.

Midlothian Local Studies thanks everyone who has made donations in 2012. New material is always welcome. Any of the items mentioned here can be viewed at Local Studies which is located at 2 Clerk Street, Loanhead and is free to use.

Who’s that girl?

Posted on December 10, 2012 by kenb

Midlothian Council Local Studies and Archives recently received a large donation of photographs of Loanhead and area. These had been collected by the late Ernie Tiernan, who was a well known Loanhead character. His family kindly donated the collection to the Midlothian archives.

Amongst the collection are some fascinating images of life in Loanhead, a former mining village just to the south of Edinburgh. The collection includes some lovely photographs of Loanhead Children’s Gala Day and long lost buildings in Loanhead.

Also amongst the collection is this photograph of a women’s football team. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the photograph to identify the team, but it seems quite early, probably from around the First World War. It may show muntion workers from the Roslin area, as there was a large munitons work in the area. Curiously there only seems to be ten players. Perhaps nobody wanted to be goalie.

There is the same mystery about this photograph of a car smash somewhere in the Loanhead area. What is the story?

And also for this lovely picture of Girl Guides. Who’s that girl? Can anybody identify them? Please let us know.

Christmas Truce 1914

Posted on December 10, 2012 by kenb

Christmas Day Truce

On Christmas day 1914, opposing sides stopped fighting and met for a temporary truce in no-man’s-land. In this letter taken from the Midlothian Journal of 29 January 1915, a Loanhead soldier in the Scots Guards recounts his experiences.

It may interest you to know the manner in which we spent Christmas and New Year in these parts. On Christmas Eve whilst sitting in the trenches we heard a shout from the enemy’s trenches situated about 100 yards from us, “Englishmen, Englishmen.” On answering, two Germans proposed to come half way unarmed to speak to an equal number of us, as they wished to try and arrange a truce for Christmas Day. Two of our men immediately left the trench and met them half way.

The Germans commenced negotiations by offering our envoys cigars and then shook hands. They said, “If you do not fire to-morrow, our Christmas, we not fire New Year’s Day, when you Scotsmen hold feast.” They apparently knew well that the Scots Guards held the trenches opposite to them. A temporary truce was arranged until our people came back to consult the remainder, and as everyone was in favour of spending a peaceful Christmas Day, our ministers plenipotentiary were sent back to arrange the truce (quite unofficial) for the morning. At nightfall lights were hoisted in the German trenches about every 100 yards, in the shape of Maltese crosses, and Christmas carols were sung by both sides very heartily, and I assure you there were some splendid singers amongst the Germans. One in particular sang the hymn, “Nearer my God to Thee,” in English in a voice which would not have disgraced a first class choir.

On Christmas morning it was a strange sight to see men who, the day before, had been straining their eyes for an exposed head to send a bullet through it, climbing over the parapet of the trench and meeting parties of our friends the enemy quite freely, fraternising, exchanging “souvenirs,” a magic word in France, and acting altogether “Hail fellow, well met,” with men who they honestly intended to kill next day if possible.

The truce held good for that day, and at dusk with many hearty handshakes the parties separated to their own trenches, and at daybreak John Bull’s motto, “Business as usual,” was faithfully observed. I am sorry to say our “friends” the Huns did not keep their word for New Year’s Day, as they shot two of our poor chaps who were getting water from a spring, dead. During the conversations on Christmas Day, a great many of the enemy, Bavarians, I think, who spoke good English, declared they were “fed up” and if it lasted much longer they were going to finish it themselves. They asked us why we did not give in, as they had Russia beaten and France was nothing, we were the only obstacle. With the aid of a few English newspapers we managed to disillusion them somewhat. It appears all news as to the true state of affairs is being kept from them.

Our lives here at present are not all milk and honey, the trenches as a rule are from six inches to two feet deep in mud, which is made, I think, of nine tenths glue, one tenth clay, and to see the frantic struggles of some poor Tommy loaded with a big box of biscuits to extricate himself from the sticky mess, would remind you of the efforts of a gigantic blue bottle (khaki coloured) to free himself from one of our most adhesive patent fly papers.

Penicuik Co-operative Association War Memorial

Posted on November 17, 2011 by kenb

Penicuik Co-operative Association war memorial

Recently, there has been a lot of publicity about the theft and destruction of war memorials. Uncaring and unscrupulous people have been stealing memorials and selling them for scrap metal. This is a particularly insensitive crime which insults the brave men and women who gave their lives for our freedom and destroys irreplaceable aspects of our history.

Happily, it’s not all bad news and in Midlothian Local Studies we can report that a lost memorial will soon be returned to its spiritual home.

Some time after the end of the First World War, the Penicuik Co-operative Assocation unveiled a memorial plaque to a dozen of their workers who had lost their lives in the war. It seems that the plaque was originally sited in the Society buildings on Penicuik High Street.

Penicuik Co-operative Society building

Many years later the Co-operative closed and the building was converted into dwelling houses. During this time, the war memorial was removed and was almost sold for scrap when, by chance, it was rescued by a collector based in Leith. Via a friend-of-a-firend, the memorial has recently been passed to Midlothian Local Studies and will soon be re-sited in Penicuik with the help of the Penicuik History Society.

The memorial records tweve men from the Penicuik Co-operative Assocation who were lost in the war:

Peter Baxter
James H Cairns
George Downie
Robert F Frame
Thomas H Hamilton
David Jack
Henry Kerr
Robert Logie
William R McFeat
Andrew McNulty
William P Richardson
John Spiers

The memorial is made from solid bronze and is extremely heavy.

Midlothian Local Studies is pleased to rescue this important piece of local heritage and to prerserve it for future generations.

Midlothian and the First World War

Posted on August 25, 2011 by kenb

Bonnyrigg War Memorial in its original setting

Please help our First World War database.

2014 will mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. This promises to be a time of major national commemoration and reflection.

In preparation for this event, Midlothian Library Service and Archives has started a major research project about the local area and the war.

The research project has two aims:

To record all First World War memorials in the Midlothian area.
To research the individuals named on memorials with the aim of creating a Roll of Honour for Midlothian.

The First World War had an enormous impact on Midlothian. Almost every family was affected in some way and many local men and women lost their lives.

Both during and after the War, numerous memorials were raised to commemorate local loss. Some of these are well known local landmarks, such as the memorial in Dalkeith Public Park which lists over 170 names.

There were also many smaller and less well known memorials which were placed in local churches, workplaces, schools and clubs. Over the years, some of these have been moved or destroyed.

Midlothian Library and Archive Service is seeking information on any memorials to the First World War, especially less obvious ones which may be hidden away in buildings. Some people appear on more than one memorial whilst others were never recorded although their deaths were mentioned in local newspapers. The names listed on memorials will be added to our database of Midlothian casualties.

Loanhead War Memorial

Already we have recorded over 60 memorials in Midlothian and over 1800 names have been added to our database. We have rescued one memorial from destruction and plan to have it re-sited in the near future. We are also on the trail of several others memorials that have gone missing, including the Dalkeith High School memorial, the Penicuik Free Gardeners memorial and a framed series of photographs of Bonnyrigg soldiers.

The database will become a great resource for family history and also will help to preserve memories of the fallen.

The Library Service has produced a leaflet listing town and parish war memorials in Midlothian. Copies are available free of charge at local libraries.

Midlothian Councillor Peter Boyes said: ‘I hope that local people will support this project. The Library Service recently restored the Midlothian County Council war memorial. Originally, it hung in the Council Chambers in Edinburgh, but was put away for many years when the building closed. The memorial has been re-erected in Midlothian House, Dalkeith where it is a striking feature near the Council debating chamber.’

If you know of any First World War memorials in Midlothian, please contact Local Studies on 0131 271 3976 or email local.studies@midlothian.gov.uk.

Penicuik War Memorial

Surfing the New Wave

Posted on August 4, 2011 by emmap

This is blog written by Stephen Thomas. It has come to the point where we here at West Lothian Council Archive could not, nay dared not, ignore the growing wave of new and exciting ways to put oneself about. These so called Social Media Sites; where information about this and that can be Uploaded to be Downloaded to be Embedded, Shared, Edited, Trolled, Commented upon, Torrented and Uploaded again in the time it takes someone of my technological knowledge to work out how to attach a file to an email.

Bearing those limitations in mind we approached, with some trepidation, the bright and shiny new worlds of Twitter, Blogger, Twitpic, Flickr, YFrog, Hootsuite and Facebook. I am man enough to admit that there were tears, oh yes. Frustrations, rending of hair, slack jawed incomprehension and even the odd curse upon the Gods of technology and all their devious ways.

But as you are no doubt aware people who work in archives are patience and perseverance personified; they will happily wait for moss to grow on a stone so as to have a comfy seat. So, given time and restorative cups that cheer, the new media mountain was climbed and conquered.

Here are the fruits of our labour:

http://wlarchive.blogspot.com/

News, views, happenings and upcoming events. The blog is still very much in its infancy and not updated as regularly as one would like, but it’s getting there.

www.Twitter.com/WLArchiveRM

Various twitterings about projects as they happen.

www.Twitter.com/PoorInspector

Tweets as if from Councillor Alexander Smith, the Poor Law Inspector for the Parish of West Calder around 1896. Some license is used in regard to his thoughts on matters, but the information regarding names, dates and outcomes are all accurate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64453447@N08/

Our Flickr site where we upload pictures from projects and other more leftfield images taken around the archive.

www.Facebook.com

We also have a Facebook page; just search for the group West Lothian Council Archive.

Coming Soon – The blog of Private Peter Jack of Blackridge of the Lanarkshire Yeomanary charting a tour of duty from 1915-1916 which took him firstly to the Gallipoli Penninsula and later to Egypt.

Medal of Honour

Posted on October 28, 2010 by francesw

Roll of Honour

We’ve had a recent influx of donations here at East Lothian Archives which has kept us busy! Among material received from North Berwick High School was a framed Roll of Honour document.

This document lists the names of staff and pupils of the School who served in the armed forces during WW1. They were rallied by the threat to the ‘Scrap of Paper’. The scrap of paper was in fact a treaty signed in 1839 by major European powers which guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 and Britain entered the war as a result, the Germans commented that Britain were foolish to join the war over ‘a scrap of paper’. Though the reasons form Britain’s entry into the War was far more complex, the defence of ‘The Scrap of Paper’ acted as a rallying call.

Some were awarded the military medal or military cross for their service while some such as Ernest Lippiatt and Alex Denholm were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). The DCM was the second level military decoration after the Victoria Cross and was awarded for gallantry in the field.

As you can see from the pictures in the gallery below, there are a number of names underlined. Research has showed that these men are those who did not return from the war – 38 men from a roll of 168.

Echoes of War

Posted on August 11, 2010 by kenb

Penicuik Volunteers 1897

The Black Collection is a remarkable record about Penicuik and surrounding area from 1880 to 1930. It is named after James Black and his son Robert, who assembled a mass of material about life in Penicuik.

The main part of the collection is a series of carefully compiled scrapbooks on life in Penicuik. The subjects range from local industries, sport, clubs and societies, and biographies of Penicuik people.

In the 1970s, the Black Collection was gifted to Midlothian Library Service by James Black’s grandson, William. The originals have been indexed and microfilmed, and these can be consulted in Penicuik Library or in Local Studies at Loanhead.

Amongst the Collection is a fascinating photograph album about the Penicuik Rifle Volunteers. The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of Volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after 1881 before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908.

A Volunteer Battalion called the 3rd Midlothian Rife Volunteers was established in Penicuik in 1860. Several members of the Black family became members of the Volunteers. The Black Collection has nine scrapbooks about the individual Penicuik Companies.

'The Coming Volunteers'

The photograph album includes this small picture taken on Peebles Road, Penicuik in 1901. Captioned as ‘The Coming Volunteers’, it shows a small group of young boys who have formed their own Volunteer Company. They are standing to attention with their wooden swords and home-made helmets made out of cardboard. The photograph was taken during the latter stages of the South African War or Boer War (1899-1902). This was a very emotive period in British history when the country was caught-up in a distant war against an elusive but very determined enemy. The War engendered very strong feelings in Britain with many people strongly opposed it.

This photograph is interesting artifact of the time but it also has an extra, almost heart-breaking poignancy. The boys in the photograph are probably around 8-10 years old. Thirteen years after the photograph was taken the First World War started and these boys would be in their early twenties. Sadly we do not know the names of the boys but it is almost certain that most of them would be playing soldiers for real. One cannot help but reflect about how little they knew about what fate had in store for them or how many of them would survive the traumas ahead.

Boredom and Gunfire – Tales from a soldier’s diary

Posted on June 10, 2010 by emmap

Remembrance of war plays an important part in popular appreciation of history. Yet while the history books that fill the shelves of libraries and bookshops provide a detailed insight into the First World War, they do not allow us access to the minds and psyche of the soldiers who fought for our country.

Soldier’s diaries offer a unique first-hand account of war. Perhaps because of richness of content, these diaries were forbidden on the Western Front. Fortunately for the historian, there was less censorship in the Middle East. When Private Peter Jack of Blackridge went off to fight with the Lanarkshire Yeomanry on the Gallipoli Peninsula and later in Egypt, he was able to document the tour of duty in his diary, from departure from Cupar in the September 1915, to their return in December 1916.

Combat in Gallipoli was fierce; the Allies and Turks shelled each other’s trenches and there were many casualties on both sides. While Pte Jack’s entries are descriptive, they are often understated and confrontation is never glorified. On 15^th of October we had more artillery fire from the Turks and the KOSB lost a colonel and a lieutenant. A shell went right into the dug-out and blew them up in the air…Then on 17^th October we shell the Turkish lines with our artillery – my word it is just a pure hell.

The diary also offers insight into just how uneventful a soldier’s life could be; on the 21^st[Nov] they made another counter attack…repulsed again with losses. Things got quiet again on 22^nd Nov

Ditto 23^rd “

Ditto 24^th “

Life remained quite until the 7^th of December when a sniper was lost. Pte Jack does not use the diary to document his emotions but we can only assume that this quiet time must have been filled with reflection and boredom as well as anticipation for events that lay ahead.

Perhaps unexpectedly, Pte Jack’s diary also tells us about the sense of empathy he felt for his opponents; The Turk…has taught us to respect him for a fair and Brave fighter and a good bit better man than the fat faced Germans who are driving them on to our Trenches with their swords and revolvers. But we Bear Johnny Turk no malice for that.

Peter Jack emigrated to America in the 1920s, leaving his diary behind with his sister.

Click on the images below to see some of Private Jack’s diary entries.