North Ayrshire Council is proud to lay claim to a very special lady. Elizabeth (Betsy) Miller was born in Saltcoats on the 11th June 1762 and went on to become the first female sea captain registered with Lloyds Register of Shipping. From feedback received from Place Making consultations carried out by our Regeneration team, it was clear that many people …
Charles Miller Has Been Added to the Stories Section
Charles William Miller was the son of John Miller, who was born in Fairlie and emigrated to Brazil to work on the Sao Paulo railway. It was there that he met and married Carlota Alexandrina Fox who gave birth to their son Charles. Charles would go on to be credited with introducing football to Brazil, founding Sao Paulo Athletic Club …
The Passing of John McCallum
It is with a heavy heart that we would like to share the news on the passing of John McCallum, at the age of 97. John was recently at the launch of our new exhibition, ‘For Our Freedom and Yours‘, which includes a video interview with him and his son, Ian, where they discuss the crash of Whitley Bomber Z9362 …
Alan Johnstone – “A Natural Goal-Scorer”
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. There were barely five minutes played when Alan Johnstone gathered the ball in midfield and played it wide to Eric Morris on the left touchline. Morris beat his defender and raced towards the corner of the penalty box. He spotted Mike …
New Video Tour of Haylie Neolithic Tomb
We were recently at Haylie Neolithic Tomb in Largs for the unveiling of the new interpretation board which now sits at the site. The board tells the story of the tomb and was created in conjunction with Historic Environment Scotland, Archaeology Scotland, Forestry & Land Scotland, Largs Museum volunteers and the North Ayrshire Council Heritage Team. While there, we managed …
New Interpretation Board at Haylie Neolithic Tomb
On Monday the 19th of May, North Ayrshire Council Provost Anthea Dickson was joined by fellow councillors at Haylie Neolithic Tomb in Largs for the unveiling of a new interpretation board at the site. Created in conjunction with Historic Environment Scotland, Archaeology Scotland, Forestry & Land Scotland, Largs Museum volunteers and the North Ayrshire Council Heritage Team, the board tells …
Kenny Beaton – Another Kind of Hero
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When we read reports of Junior football matches we often encounter the term “hero” to describe members of Scottish Cup winning teams, goalkeepers who defy the odds in keeping a clean sheet or maybe saving a crucial penalty. Or perhaps it …
Gentleman George – “An Inside Forward of Sublime Skill”
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. Now that the dust has settled after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it seems appropriate to consider the contribution that Irvine meadow XI has made to the biggest football tournament on Earth. To be realistic, the “contribution”, such as it …
William ‘Bill’ Jolly
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When it comes to writing about the men who created the history of football clubs, attention is inevitably focused on cup-winning goal scorers James F Delury and cranky goalkeepers. But for every player who is singled out in this way, there …
Eddy Gemmell – “They Said I Was Too Wee”
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. Football fans throughout Ayrshire will recognise Eddy Gemmell from the excellent “Fitba’ Shorts” reports he and his enthusiastic team of young volunteers have been presenting on YouTube over the past few years. Eddy also does a lot of fundraising for charities …