A WALK THROUGH THE PAST Memories of Old Kilpatrick 1940s to the present day 2 Cover photo courtesy of West Dunbartonshire Council Libraries & Cultural Services This booklet was published by Action Old Kilpatrick with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. Published in June 2018 Permission granted for personal and educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring and lending is prohibited. Obtain permission before redistributing. Selling is prohibited. All images are copyrighted to their respective owners. 3 INTRODUCTION In March 2017 Action Old Kilpatrick see more images. The audio walks (AOK) were awarded funding by the will allow users to follow set routes Heritage Lottery Fund to undertake whilst listening to short audio clips an oral history project about the that let you ‘see’ the present as the history and heritage of the village past. In essence it will help bring the of Old Kilpatrick. Shortly thereafter past to life. a small group of AOK volunteers received training at the Scottish Obviously, any such project owes Oral History Centre, University of a debt of gratitude to many. We Strathclyde and began the process would therefore like to thank the of interviewing residents of the Heritage Lottery Fund for their village. In total, 27 people kindly support without which the project agreed to share their memories would have remained as a nice which were digitally recorded, idea. Of course, an enormous thank summarised and analysed. Birth you is owed to those who so kindly dates of the interviewees ranged agreed to share their memories from the early 1930s to the 1970s and photographs with us. Even which allowed an exploration of with financial support, without the how things used to be as well as contribution of the undernoted we recording the changes that have would have had no project at all. So occurred from the Second World thank you to: War to the present day. A selection June Alderdice, Anne Alexander, of edited memories can now be Florence Boyle, Evelyn Campbell, found in this booklet presented Carol Cummings, Jim Dunbar, Billy alongside fascinating images, Forstyh, Edith Girvan, Irene Howarth, many of which were generously John Hood, Sheena Johnston, Jim donated by the interviewees. For Kirkpatrick, Maggie Larkin, Carol those relatively ‘new’ to the village Mackenzie, Myra Mackenzie, Kenny we’re sure you’ll be amazed at the MacKenzie, Jim McCall, Eddie changes that have taken place. Who McDade, Lucinda McGinty, Maureen today would go for a swim in the McKeever, Kenny Miller, George Clyde? Mirren, Rona Mirren, Tom Morrison, In addition to this booklet AOK have Elma Robertson, Owen Sayers, David also created two audio walks and a Stormonth and Steve Woods. new website where you can hear the memories of those interviewed and 4 Photo courtesy of NCAP © HES 5 Situated between Clydebank and engaged with both young and old and are accessible using any Dumbarton, the village of Old members of the local population smartphone or mp3 player. A series Kilpatrick is bounded to the south seeking their assistance and of sound clips taken from the by the shores of the River Clyde participation in helping to create oral histories have been blended and to the north by the Kilpatrick a digital, historical legacy that will together with ‘voiceover’ sections Braes. Over the decades it has been now be made fully accessible for providing basic directions and witness to many social, economic use by anyone with an interest in the information that can be listened and cultural changes and yet retains history and heritage of the village to at various points or sections a distinctive ‘village’ identity. On its and its surroundings. Fully trained along well-established and safe outskirts it has a long history of rural volunteers digitally recorded the pathways. Significant points of life whilst its proximity to the Clyde, testimonies of 27 residents of Old local history and heritage include the famous shipyards, the Forth & Kilpatrick and used this primary the Forth & Clyde Canal, the Erskine Clyde Canal and a major railway source material along with other Bridge, a former bus depot (the line all signify historical links to its historical data to create a series of site of a Roman Fort), the former heavily industrialized neighbours. interesting and dynamic outcomes Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire The post-war decline of shipbuilding such as an audio walk, a new web- Railway, the current railway station and heavy engineering have now based database and this illustrated (formerly the Glasgow Dumbarton been replaced by smaller industries booklet. The project has also & Helensburgh line), local housing, whilst a rise in tourism and leisure delivered a new oral history archive shops and businesses, formal and pursuits such as walking and cycling which will be added to the existing informal play areas and the Glen and has brought many new visitors to oral history collections belonging Saltings; important natural habitats the area. to West Dunbartonshire Council and leisure areas. Unlike other more Libraries and Museums. The project traditional monuments, the audio This project, funded by the Heritage has therefore helped expand the walks will provide an immediate and Lottery Fund, was led by Action knowledge and understanding of the intimate experience of past events, Old Kilpatrick (AOK), a recently history and heritage of Old Kilpatrick helping to reinvigorate an interest in formed, fully constituted community to its own population as well as to the local history and heritage. The group of volunteers who are wider audiences. audio walks will also provide the actively interested in enhancing additional health benefit of taking the environment and celebrating Two audio walks link spoken exercise! the heritage of Old Kilpatrick. They memories with specific places The audio walks and more information about the project, as well as audio clips, photographs and other material we collected about Old Kilpatrick, its history and people can be found on the project website: www.awalkthroughthepast.org.uk 6 AUDIO WALK 1 The walk starts in the village centre and takes the walker along Dumbarton Road, to the Forth and Clyde canal, through the Saltings and up Ferry Road back to Dumbarton Road and to the start of the walk at the village shops. The walk is about 2 miles long and the route is indicated on the page opposite. The recording can be paused and restarted to fit with your walking speed. The points marked on the map give an indication of the topics you can read about in this booklet and hear in the recording. The audio walk recording can be downloaded from www. awalkthroughthepast.org.uk as an mp3 file and can be played on any smartpone, tablet or mp3 player. Photo courtesy of Robert Fleming 7 R o m A82 a n C r es ce nt 4 5 3 Dumbarton Road A82 START HERE 2 1 6 16 15 F or th Station Road a nd C ly de Ca nal 1. The village centre River Clyde 2. Dumbarton Road 3. Bus garage 14 4. Gavinburn school 5. Roman Crescent 6. The Forth and Clyde canal 7 7. The Clyde shore 8. Erskine Bridge 12 A898 Erskine Bridge 11 9. Erskine ferry 10 10. Scout hall 13 11. Old train station 8 12. Barclay church 9 13. Memories of the Blitz 14. Under the bridge 15. The Ettrick & the shops 16. The community 8 Just happy times. A nice place to grow up, Old Kilpatrick; people were friendly, people knew each other as well. VE day celebrations (photo courtesy of Robert Fleming) 9 THE VILLAGE It was an entirely The heart of the village is the centre with busy shops, pubs and a seating area with colourful flower beds. different village to In the 1960s, older two and three storey properties with shops what it is just now. underneath were swept away, some by compulsory purchase, in a wholesale redevelopment to create the shopping centre. This We just used to take created more open spaces and flats replaced shops. turns of going to OLD KILPATRICK ON TV everywhere you went. You’d go out each other’s houses. Jim McCall for 5 minutes and come back an So I got to know When they built Thistleneuk, hour later but nowadays… I suppose “ there was a popular television it’s changed, like everything else. people that way. programme – ‘Tonight’ on BBC. I don’t think there’s the same There was a gentleman called community spirit anymore. But then I started to Fyfe Robertson; and famously Fyfe AWAY OUT IN NO-MAN’S LAND like it. And when I Robertson did a piece to camera Myra Mackenzie at Thistleneuk for the Tonight When I told girls at work I was went further up into programme and it was to show how “ council housing was developed. going with this guy, came from Old Kilpatrick they went “Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow or Partick, IT'S CHANGE LIKE EVERYTHING do they still have the stagecoach I can’t suffer all this ELSE down there?” Because to us it was Irene Howorth away out in no-man’s land. But it noise, and trains and I don’t think it’s a village as such was just a lovely wee village to me, “ any more. I think just, you know, you know, and it was quite a nice buses and bustle. wee [village], and everybody knew folk come here to live but they No, I’ll just go back work in Glasgow, you know what I everybody and everybody was mean. You don’t know everybody related to everybody. So, I was just home. now like you used to. I mean I can a complete outsider.