Another object featured in our New and Unusual exhibition comes in to the category of favourite objects. It’s a memorial book with all the names of the crew who perished when HMS Dasher sank in 1943. HMS Dasher was a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier of the Avenger Class. She served in World War II. She was built by the …
A New and Unusual Exhibition
The following blog post was written by our Collections Officer, Louise. Our current exhibition is an eclectic mix of North Ayrshire’s history, with cases filled with objects from the North Ayrshire Collection. I got really excited when we had a break in our busy programme to show off our own collection, as I haven’t had the opportunity to do this …
World War I and Three Kilwinning Men
An Unsung Hero 53465 Sgt. Peter Edwards whose address was given as c/o Boyd, Corsehill Head, Kilwinning enlisted in the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery on 1st December 1908 at the age of 17. He became a Physical Instructor and by the outbreak of war in 1914 he had been promoted to Sergeant. He served throughout WW1 and was …
New and Unusual Exhibition Now on Display
Our latest exhibition is now on display at our North Ayrshire Heritage Centre in Saltcoats and it’s all about our own collection! Featuring a huge variety of objects from our own collections, the exhibition also features interviews with us, the staff, on what our favourite objects are! The exhibition is running into 2024 but we will be changing bits and …
Doors Open Days 2023
9th of September 10:00 – 16:00 It’s Doors Open Day time again! Another chance to showcase our current exhibition which is celebrating 10 years of the wonderful Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society . The volunteers work tirelessly all year round, to promote the history and preservation of the castle. This will also be the last Saturday opportunity to see the exhibition …
Kilwinning Heritage Publications
There are few small towns in Scotland whose name is more widely known than that of Kilwinning. What should be better recognised is the story of its once important abbey and in turn, its influence on the past. The medieval ruins and the 19th century tower that dominate the town attract a growing number of visitors wanting to see and …
Hidden History of the River Garnock
The following guest blog post has been kindly written for us by Heather Upfield of Kilwinning Heritage and it discusses the history of the River Garnock, which she has chronicled in a new article which you can download and read for free by clicking HERE. Kilwinning Heritage has just published a new text about the River Garnock, as it flows …
Soldiering On
We have another exciting blog post and this time it has been written by our Collections Officer Louise and is all about a little ‘autographs’ book which was recently donated to our collection. I love an object with a story to tell and this little book that was donated this month gives us so many little snapshots of lives gone …
New Donations at the Museum of the Cumbraes
Recently the Museum of the Cumbraes welcomed two beautiful donations. The first is a model of MV Ashton, which was commissioned by Jim Thomson who then very kindly donated it to the Museum where it is now on permanent display. The second is our current exhibition Song of the Clyde: the story of the Clyde steamers. This wonderful collection was …
HMS Fortitude Is Now In The Stories Section
During World War II, Ardrossan Harbour was requisitioned by the admiralty as a naval base and was re-named HMS Fortitude. “Following the invasion of Poland, Captain Henry Francis Waight arrived in Ardrossan on 27th August 1939 to take up command of the Ardrossan Naval Base, named ‘HMS Fortitude’. Within a few days of war being declared the first minesweepers arrived …