The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When Irvine Victoria were drawn to play at home against Cumbernauld United in the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup in 1967/68 they couldn’t possibly have known they’d be facing one of the greatest players ever to be produced in Scotland. …
New Exhibition: ‘They Wore It So Well’
We have a brand-new exhibition at our Heritage Centre in Saltcoats and it’s all about fashion! We are going back to the 60’s and 70’s for ‘They Wore It So Well’, an exhibition which celebrates the fashions from those two decades. The exhibition features a lovely variety of dresses, shoes, handbags and coats and it’s all from the collection of …
Willie Stewart: Brains in his Head as well as in his Feet
To generations of Irvine schoolchildren he was Mr Stewart the Maths teacher at Irvine Royal Academy, but Willie Stewart had a second career as a player in both Junior and Senior football. The boot was on the other foot recently, when one of his former First Year pupils was the one asking the questions. GMcC: You began your football career …
HMS Black Prince has Been Added to the ‘Stories’ Section
We have added an interesting little story in the history of Millport: the evening when HMS Black Prince fired it’s guns at midnight and woke up many residents of the island! To read more about this quirky story, click the link below!
Ardrossan War Memorial has Been Added to the ‘Stories’ Section
At the top of our ‘Stories’ section, is our list of notable ‘Buildings, Castles & Monuments’ throughout North Ayrshire. We are slowly, but surely, adding North Ayrshire’s war memorials to the list and we are pleased to announce the addition of Ardrossan war memorial! Unveiled in May, 1923, the memorial was designed by Dr Peter MacGregor Chalmers of Glasgow who …
Beith v The Buffs – It’s Raining Goals
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. Fans paying to get into Beith’s Bellsdale Park on 19th January 1952, were probably just glad that there was a game for them to go to. The wintery weather had left the park covered in a blanket of snow, which would …
North Ayrshire’s D-Day Roll of Honour
Have you seen the latest addition to our website? We have prepared something special to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings: North Ayrshire’s D-Day Roll of Honour. Our website now has a permanent page dedicated to those from North Ayrshire who fell during the invasion, whose names are on the British Normandy Memorial. The British …
John Parkinson 1874-1918, Poet and Writer on Islam
This blog post was kindly provided by Christine Watson from Kilwinning Heritage. Check out their website to plan your visit to the Heritage Centre at Kilwinning Abbey Tower. Or why not give them a follow on their Facebook page? As part of the Kilwinning Heritage Trail, there is a blue plaque on the Main Street at the entrance to Garden Square which names John Parkinson, …
The Stranding of the Mars
The paddle-steamer ‘Mars’ got into trouble off the Largs coast on the 10th of April, 1855 and washed ashore at the mouth of the Gogo burn! Sadly, it did not go well for the ship despite the best efforts of a passing carter who tried to help! Click below to watch the video and hear the full story. This tale …
Tammy and the Beast
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When Thomas Geddes signed for Irvine Meadow XI as a full back in season 1902/03, he no doubt had hopes of getting a regular game and of winning cups and medals. What he could not have expected was to play in …