The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:31 pm Post subject: Which memorial for Harthill?

Can anyone suggest which memorial would cover Harthill. I ask because I'd be interested to know if this chap with an interesting name and unit is recorded anywhere

NISBETT, NAPOLEON L.
Rank: Serjeant
Regiment/Service: Arab Levies
Unit Text: District Police (Instructor to Arab Officers of the Levies).
Secondary Regiment: Military Police Corps
Secondary Unit Text: formerly (P/11298, Lce. Cpl.)
Age: 29
Date of Death: 15/08/1920
Additional information: Son of Mrs. Charlotte Hamilton, of 72, Main St., Harthill, Lanarkshire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: VIII. M. 5.
Cemetery: BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY

ADP · Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 467 Location: Edinburgh

Harthill was in Shotts Parish, so that should be the first one to try if there is not a memorial in Harthill itself.

ADP

BJL · Joined: 03 Nov 2008 Posts: 10

I couldn't see any entries for the church memorial briefly mentioned here but please feel free to move if I missed it Smile

Harthill Parish Church has been renovated, and a double manual organ and war memorial installed, at a total cost of £905. Hamilton Presbytery on Tuesday agreed to congratulate the minister (Rev. J. Kennedy Adams) and his congregation on their enterprise. The organ, it is of interest to note, was supplied by the local firm of Messrs F. Mills & Co., Brandon Street. [Motherwell Times 1 February 1924]

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks BJL. There was a quoad sacra parish of Harthill and Benhar from 1878 and a parish church there.

See also this from the West Lothian archives:

http://wlhas.westlothian.gov.uk:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1A2V07H112724.4993&profile=main&uri=full=3100001~!100925~!712&ri=1&aspect=subtab14&menu=search&source=~!comres#focus

Newspaper: COURIER
Subject: CHURCHES : HARTHILL
Abstract: UNVEILING OF THE WAR MEMORIAL AT HARTHILL AND BENHAR PARISH CHURCH.
Date: 06 JUL 1923
Page number: 3
With photograph?: NO.

What I'm struggling to find is what has happened to the Harthill and Benhar parish church since 1923 and what has happened to the war memorial.

Adam

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1649 Location: Aberdeenshire

Scottish Monuments & Memorials

The link doesn't work. Error - Forum suspended or deleted.
_________________
Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:26 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jim, I must remove that from my signature. For some reason the text of my post wasn't appearing.

I've now amended it. I think it must be something dodgy about the URL I've posted above.

Adam

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1649 Location: Aberdeenshire

Adam

I thought the link was the post, I see the text details have appeared now.
_________________
Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

BJL · Joined: 03 Nov 2008 Posts: 10

There is this one in St Andrew Church, East Main St - can't see it mentioned here so would be worth recording:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=284232808282942&set=a.191697097536514.42638.171875676185323&type=3&theater

And to go back to the original post, your Napoleon Nisbett is recored here Smile

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:59 pm Post subject:

I removed the [URL] tags around the link and it has now made the text appear. I'm still no further forward trying to find out what happened to Harthill Parish Church and what happened to the memorial within it.

There is a Church of Scotland at Shotts (Calderhead Erskine Parish Church) and another at Kirk o'Shotts but neither seem to suggest that they took in the congregation of Harthill. Perhaps it dissolved rather than merge?

Adam

BJL · Joined: 03 Nov 2008 Posts: 10

I haven't been to the area for several years, but Google streetview from 2008 suggests St Andrews church (Church of Scotland) that I mentioned above was still active at that time

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=east+main+street,+harthill&hl=en&ll=55.860468,-3.748969&spn=0.003035,0.010568&hnear=E+Main+St,+Harthill,+Shotts+ML7+5QW,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=55.860468,-3.748969&panoid=IxUVFmcv_8eYmK6u0D0D5w&cbp=12,198.38,,0,1.58

But I don't know if that was the parish church.

HTH
Lindsay

Adam Brown · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:58 am Post subject:

Lindsay

From Google you can read the sign which says it is (was)

St Andrew's Church and Forrest Memorial Hall on East Main Street, Harthill

But I can't find anything out about that church. There are references to a St Andrew's Church in Eastfield along the road but have they both closed, moved, merged? The problem with looking things up on the internet is you can't tell how old or out of date they are.

Looking up the Presbytery of Hamilton website (last updated in October 2009) I can't see anything for Harthill or Eastfield which makes me suspect St Andrew's Church, Harthill is now closed.

The two nearest listed churches seem to be Kirk O'Shotts and Calderhead Erskine, Shotts but as above their websites ddn't suggest any mergers with Harthill oohurches.

However the Forrest Memorial Hall may still be open since communities still need halls even if they don't need churches.

Regards

Adam

dhubthaigh · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:48 am Post subject:

"The Harthill Free Church was formally opened on 20 July 1871 by Rev William Arnott of Edinburgh. In addition, Harthill also has several other churches, St Andrews Church Eastfield and Forrest Memorial Church Hall Harthill, St Catherines R.C. Church, Harthill Pentecostal Community Church, Benhar Evangelical, The Brethren Hall Victoria Street Harthill and Greenrigg Evangelical Church.
Reported in the Wishaw Press in 1877, the Harthill and Benhar parish church was opened. Costing £2,400 and seating 660, the opening ceremony was celebrated on the first Sabbath of April 1877 by the ordination of the Rev Alexander Watt the missionary to the charge of the new church. The Rev Taylor, Avondale preached and presided. In the afternoon a large number of Presbytery etc. dined together at the Residence of Sir William Baillie where the customary toasts were given.
In 1879 a decision was taken for Catholics in Harthill to meet and celebrate Mass in the Harthill public school. This continued until the establishment and a parish in the village. When a Chapel was eventually planned it was built just outside the old settlement boundary of the village. The planning of a first Chapel in neighbouring Whitburn seemed to follow a similar arrangement".

David McNay · Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:13 pm Post subject:

Harthill memorial now posted:

http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?p=56675#56675

I had been sent the image some time ago but had mislaid it in my move to a new PC.