The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:13 am Post subject: Kilmarnock G&SW Railwaymen

Anyone have details of men from the Kilmarnock (or wider Ayrshire areas) who were railway workers with the Glasgow & South Western Railway Company?
I have received the following from Stuart Rankin of the G&SWR Association.

Hi Ken

There is some developing interest in WW1/family history matters at the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust - where I now house the G&SWRA and my own collections of archives, - and of which I am a Trustee. If enough information may generate a display, funding is being sought for this. There would be especial interest in anyone on the Roll of Honour hailing from the Kilmarnock area who could be mentioned. Unfortunately, as previously stated, the railway documentation only records the railway departments where men were previously employed, and not the regiment nor town/village of residence. I appreciate it is early days in our contact, but I just wanted to flag up the Kilmarnock area if you come across any more records.

Besides the station itself, at that time an important junction, there were many more employees at Hurlford Loco shed, 2 miles south of Kilmarnock; and fitters, joiners and all trades at the G&SWR Kilmarnock Works, 1/4 north of the station. About 8 miles away there was the Carriage & Wagon works of the G&SWR, located on a greenfield site at Barassie; so that is another name for consideration. But many of Barassie's workers were from the Kilmarnock area, and there was a special daily workmen's train to take them to Barassie. At Irvine, about 10 miles distant, there were other railway company works for signalling & Telegraphy, and civil engineering maintenance; all of whose men may have felt the call of duty and some signed up. The lack of designation of railways as a reserved occupation had serious effects on the staffing and operation of the railways, on a national basis. All of these places, which I can name from local and railway knowledge, could appear in records.

I will leave my thoughts with you, pleased to hear from you any time.

I recently acquired, from the small collection of the late chairman of G&SWRA, the actual programme for the dedication of the Memorial at St Enoch in 1922; and I have scanned it this morning, all 24 pages of it; so attached are these pages. I suspect that it may have been passed to him in the 1970s by Mr. D.S. McDonald, personal assistant to David Cooper, general manager. but I never knew we had this until now.

Regards

Stuart

If you do have details of anyone, I'd suggest that you could post it on the G&SWR memorial thread.
http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=47

I will add some of the photos of pages from the dedication programme to that thread but if anyone wants to see all 24 pages then let me know.
_________________
Ken