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George Thomson

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A Doctor at Anzio 1944

A Doctor at Anzio 1944

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There are many accounts of the Anzio Campaign, but this is a personal account by someone who was there. Rather than a broad strategic overview of the campaign, it offers a worms-eye view of what life was really like on the ground.
James Thomson and his Native Family

James Thomson and his Native Family

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James Thomson was from the Isle of Lewis. He worked as a fur trader in the wild north of Canada. As well as his wife in Stornoway he took a native wife from the local Chipewyan (Dene) Indian tribe, and together they were alleged to have had a daughter.
Ancestor Chart
John Brown returning from Sweden

Sir John Brown, Naval Architect

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Sir John Brown, Naval Architect

John Brown returning from Sweden. Stock Image.
John Brown returning from Sweden. Stock Image.

Sir John Brown 1901 – 2000

Sir John Brown was born on 6 May 1901 and he died at his home in Broomhill, Glasgow on 27 December 2000, just a few months short of his one hundredth birthday. 

Sir John Brown was knighted later in life. Within our family he was always known as “Jack” Brown, or to be more precise “Cousin Jack”.

This photograph shows Jack returning to Heathrow from Sweden having just negotiated a multi-million-pound contract for John Brown’s Shipyard to build a new liner. I have started with this photograph as this shows Jack Brown as I remember him.

I remember him as a very kind man who was always smiling, and always pleased to meet family and friends. At the time that he was managing Director of John Brown & Co Shipyard in Clydebank, he always had time to talk to a young boy like myself, who was full of endless questions about how ships were built. I also recall that when I was a child, he always spoke to me as though I was an adult, rather than a child, and I liked that.

Jack Brown’s Parents

The illustration opposite is a page from the Brown Family Bible showing the birth of Jack’s father, John Brown, on 17 September 1871. Jack’s grandparents were James Brown and Janet Auld. You can read their story here.

Jack’s father, like his grandfather James, was a master lath-splitter. James had established his business as a master lath-splitter in Govanhill, Glasgow and employed several men. The late nineteenth century was a time of rapid expansion in Glasgow and there would have been no shortage of work for those engaged in the building industry. My grandmother was Agnes Auld Brown so Jack Brown and my mother were first cousins.

Jack’s parents, John Brown and Ida Stortz Hanbidge, were married in June 1900 and according to the 1901 Census and were living at 21 Westmoreland Street, Govanhill, Lanarkshire on 31 March 1901. Jack was born there on 6 May 1901. The family moved out to the leafy suburb of Muirend which had recently been developed and by 1905 when Jack’s sister Ida was born the family were living at 364 Clarkston Road, Muirend, Renfrewshire. His other sisters Dorothy and Mary (Maisie) were also born there.
 
 
Extract from the Brown Family Bible
Extract from the Brown Family Bible
Jack Brown. Image Courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.  This photograph was taken in 1919 for the Clydebank records.
Jack Brown. Image Courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.  This photograph was taken in 1919 for the Clydebank records.

In his own words

I started at Clydebank as an apprentice in the shipyard drawing office in 1919, and spent several years in the general drawing office. Having graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1923, I was then transferred to the ship design office as a naval architect, and continued there until 1927, when I was seconded to an associate firm in Spain under the direction of a former Clydebank man. 

I had two years in Spain as a designer, and as an estimator, coaching Spaniards. I returned to Clydebank where I was appointed Assistant Naval Architect. I served in that capacity from 1929 to 1949, which was a long haul. In 1949, I was made Naval Architect and Technical Manager in charge of the design and drawing office. From 1949 to 1959, I occupied that position, and then I was made Managing Director in succession to Sir James McNeil. I held that position until the end of 1963, when I handed over to John Rannie, with the idea that he would handle the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II. 

I had actually supervised the design in conjunction with Cunard, and supervised the tender which was eventually accepted. Since I was approaching retirement age, I was made vice Chairman, with a consultancy role, and stepped out altogether in 1967.

Dr. John Brown, John Brown, Clydebank. (2013). In A. Slaven & H. Murphy (Eds.), Crossing the Bar: An Oral History of the British Shipbuilding, Ship Repairing and Marine Engine Building in the Age of Decline 1956–1990 (Research in Maritime History, pp. 43-46). Liverpool University Press.

RMS Queen Mary

In 1919 Jack started a course in naval architecture at Glasgow University. He had hoped to find employment under the sandwich course scheme, but he found that a downturn in the shipbuilding industry meant that he had to accept a five year apprenticeship instead. He worked under Sir James McNeill at John Brown & Co and in 1923 he graduated with BSc and Distinction in naval architecture. In spite of sharing the same name as his employers, he was no relation.

Before leaving for his secondment to Bilbao, he became engaged to Elizabeth Wright. When he returned from his secondment, he married Elizabeth on 18 April 1930.

Undoubtedly the highlight of Jack’s career was his involvement in the design of the liner RMS Queen Mary for the Cunard Line. It was his first major project with John Brown & Co and the ship came to define his career.

The Queen Mary was launched from Clydebank on 26 September 1934 by Her Majesty Queen Mary. Work on the ship had been stopped because of the Depression and the consequent uncertainty in the shipbuilding business. The launch of the Queen Mary coincided with the heyday of shipbuilding on the Clyde.

 
Cunard Line Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary leaving Clydebank Dock.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Cunard Line Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary leaving Clydebank Dock.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Photograph of the Cunard Line ocean liner RMS Lusitania on the slipway of John Brown & Co, Clydebank while under construction.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Photograph of the Cunard Line ocean liner RMS Lusitania on the slipway of John Brown & Co, Clydebank while under construction.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.

John Brown & Co Ltd

John Brown & Co was a steel and armour-plate producer from Sheffield and they acquired the Clydebank business of James and George Thomson in 1890. The Thomson brothers left the business and the fortunes of John Brown & Co prospered as a result of international tensions with Germany. An arms race with Germany ensued, which led to increased demand for new ships.

As well as military competition with Germany, there was intense competition for the trans-atlantic liner trade. By the end of the nineteenth century, Germany enjoyed a dominant position in the translantic liner route holding the prestigious Blue Riband for the fastest crossing. Cunard responded by developing two new liners, the Mauretania and the Lusitania. 

The Lusitania was built at John Brown & Co. It was launched into the Clyde on 7 June 1906. I imagine that a young Jack Brown would have been well aware of the launch as it would have been the toast of Glasgow, but as he would only have been five years old, perhaps my imagination is running away with me. Sadly, the ship was sunk off the coast of Ireland by enemy action on 7 May 1915, resulting in the loss of 1,199 passengers and crew. She held the Blue Riband in 1908 and was briefly the world’s largest passenger ship before the launch of her sister ship the Mauretania.

John Brown & Co won their share of miltary orders, building several of the Dreadnought class of Battlecruiser for the Royal Navy, including HMS Barham, Inflexible, Repulse and Tiger. 

 

HMS Hood

Work on the construction of HMS Hood started in John Brown & Company on 1 September 1916 when Hull No 460 was laid down at Clydebank. As a result of the loss of three British battlecruisers at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, 5,000 tons of extra armour and bracing were added to Hood’s design, and she was the only Admiral Class battlecruiser completed. 

She was launched on 22 August 1918. I like to imagine that a young Jack Brown, about to embark on his studies to become a naval architect, would have found his way to the banks of the Clyde to watch the launch into the Clyde of “The Mighty Hood”, at the time the world’s largest battlecruiser.

Photograph of the Admiral Class battlecruiser, HMS Hood being towed out of John Brown & Co's shipyard at Clydebank shortly after completion.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Photograph of the Admiral Class battlecruiser, HMS Hood being towed out of John Brown & Co’s shipyard at Clydebank shortly after completion.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
The Empress of Britain 1931. Stock Image
The Empress of Britain 1931. Stock Image

The Empress of Britain 1931

By the late 1920s the outlook for shipbuilding on the Clyde was improving and Canadian Pacific commissioned several luxury liners including Empress of Britain which was launched in 1931.

Jack Brown

Jack’s wife Elizabeth died on 27 November 1953 after 23 years of marriage. He married again on 7 April 1956 to Isabella Munro Gibbon in Crieff. Isobel, as she was known, died on 12 May 1988. My mother always told me that Jack was the only man she knew who had celebrated two silver wedding anniversaries. Whilst not strictly correct, it is near enough.

Jack had lived close to my mother’s house in Muirend, until his wedding in 1930. He established a tradition of being a regular First Footer to the McCann household at Hogmanay. 

Many homes across Scotland, honour the tradition of First Footing as the New Year begins. Stemming back to the time of the invading Vikings in the 8th and 9th century, it is believed that the first person to enter a house, the “first foot”, can bring luck, or misfortune, for the year ahead.

In Scottish tradition good luck comes in the form of a tall, dark-haired man being the first footer. On the other hand, women, light-haired men and redheads were seen as harbingers of ill fate. The first footer would traditionally arrive bearing gifts to bring good fortune and health to the home. Gifts generally took the form of a coin, shortbread or something edible, a lump of coal or wood for the fire and a drink of whisky to represent prosperity, food, warmth and good cheer.

Jack continued this tradition throughout his life, visiting my mother’s sister who still lived in Muirend, until he was no longer able to make the journey across Glasgow.

Jack Brown giving a speech at the Queen Mary Anniversary.   Image Courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon
Jack Brown giving a speech at the Queen Mary Anniversary.   Image Courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon
Royal Yacht Britannia. Stock Image.
Royal Yacht Britannia. Stock Image.

Royal Yacht Britannia

Jack had been in charge of the design team for the two Cunard liners, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, which was launched in 1938. After the liners, Jack was involved in the design and construction of the Royal Yacht Brittania, which launched in 1953. 

When the Britannia was de-commisioned, I remember being told that he had been consulted about plans to moor the ship in Leith as a permanent museum. I was told that Jack had suggested that if the ship was no longer able to fulfil her function as a ship, she should be towed out into the Atlantic and scuttled. Apparently, he had tea with Princess Anne when Britannia was on the Clyde on her farewell tour round the British Isles and they both agreed it would be the best solution. He asked to be knighted by her in Glasgow and there were about twenty friends and family present instead of the usual small group.

Cunard Liner Queen Elizabeth 2

Jack had worked most of his career under Sir James McNeill, and when he retired in 1953, Jack took over as Managing Director. Nearing retirement, his final task was to secure the order for the Queen Elizabeth 2 liner. With the order secured he then became Deputy Chairman, handing over the reins to John Rannie in 1963, and finally retiring in 1967.

On 30 December 1964, Cunard placed an order for construction of the new ship with John Brown and Company, who would build it at their shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. The agreed price was £25,427,000 with provision for escalation of labour and materials increases, with an agreed delivery date of May 1968.

The keel was laid down on 5 July 1965, as hull number 736 on the same slipway where previous Cunard liners such as Lusitania, Aquitania, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth had been constructed.

Construction of the hull of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 at the shipyard of John Brown & Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Construction of the hull of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 at the shipyard of John Brown & Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Aerial view of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 under construction at the shipyard of John Brown and Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Aerial view of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 under construction at the shipyard of John Brown and Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth 2

The ship was launched and named on 20 September 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II, using the same pair of gold scissors her mother and grandmother had used to launch Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, respectively. After the bottle of champagne was smashed the QE2 stayed put on the slipway for 90 seconds before being let free.

The name of the liner as it appears on the bow and stern is Queen Elizabeth 2, with upper and lower case lettering and an Arabic numeral 2 as opposed to the Roman numeral II, distinguishing her from the monarch, Elizabeth II. Soon after launching, the name was shortened in common use as QE2.

Queen Elizabeth 2 – 25th Anniversary

Jack visited New York for the 25th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the QE2. He gave a talk without a single note just as he had done in 1993 on a trip to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California for the 59th anniversary. Maybe they were worried he might not make the 60th the following year, but he managed to live almost another decade.

 
Jack Brown presenting his drawing instruments to Queen Mary Museum. Image courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.
Jack Brown presenting his drawing instruments to Queen Mary Museum. Image courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.
Jack Brown being welcome aboard QE2. Image courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.
Jack Brown being welcome aboard QE2. Image courtesy of Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon.

QE2 Anniversary

Sir John Brown was awarded a knighthood in January 2000. He died at his home in Glasgow on 27 December 2000 at the age of 99.

 

Acknowledgements

This article has been based on personal recollections and oral tradition within our family. In addition I have used material from the abstract of the Papers of Sir John Brown, ref. UGC 092 at Glasgow University Archive Services, curated by Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon. Other sources include Ian Johnston’s Ships for a Nation – the history of John Brown & Co, Clydebank and the obituary of Sir John Brown in the Glasgow Herald, 30 December 2000.

I am grateful, also, to Jack’s niece Christine Schmitt-Mackinnon for her comments on the first draft of this article and for shared photographs.

 
Photograph of stern view of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 showing propellers during construction at the shipyard of John Brown and Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
Photograph of stern view of the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 showing propellers during construction at the shipyard of John Brown and Company, Clydebank.  Image courtesy of National Records of Scotland.
View Ancestor Chart
Janet Auld

James Brown and Janet Auld

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James Brown and Janet Auld

James Brown

James was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland on 14 November 1842. His parents were John Brown and Jeannie Porteous from Kilmarnock. Their story is told on a separate page.

Janet Auld

Janet Auld was born in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire, Scotland on 22 September 1847. Her parents were William Auld and Ann Walker of Auchinleck. Their story is told on a separate page.

Janet Auld
Janet Auld

Janet Auld

Janet was born and brought up in Auchinleck where her father worked as a wooden snuff box maker. 

Auchinleck is in the heart of the ancient Kyle district of Scotland. The place name means “field of (flat) stones” in Scottish Gaelic, from achadh (‘field’) and leac (‘slab’). The small locality of Auchincloich has a comparable meaning.

Although record of a community exists from as early as 1239, reliable records can really only be said to date from the arrival of the Boswell family in 1504. The barony of Auchinleck had been forfeited to the crown and was granted by King James IV to his “good and faithful servant” Thomas Boswell. Surrounding the village is Auchinleck Estate, centred on Auchinleck House, past home of the lawyer, diarist and biographer James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck.

The Boswells proved to be assiduous in their estate husbandry, and by the early 1700s a viable village community and a thriving estate had begun to emerge from the surrounding barren moorland. The New Statistical Account of 1837 documents early mining and quarrying in the area which was to become the impetus for the region to boom. By 1881 the parish population had blossomed and was 6,681, four times what it had been in 1831.

Birth of Janet Auld

The illustration opposite is a copy of the Parish Register for Births and Baptisms of Auchinleck Church.

The transciption reads as follows: 

“Auld – Janet, daughter of William Auld and Ann Walker was born at Auchinleck 22nd September and baptized in the church here on 17 October following, by the Rev James Chrystal, Minister of Auchinleck”.

Birth of Janet Auld at Auchinleck, 22 September 1847
Birth of Janet Auld at Auchinleck, 22 September 1847
Kilmarnock 1880, Park Street marked in red
Kilmarnock 1880, Park Street marked in red

James Brown

James Brown was born in Kilmarnock. The family lived in Park Street, which is marked red on the map opposite. The map is dated 1880.

Birth of James Brown

Opposite is an extract from the Supplemental Register of Births for the Parish of Kilmarnock.

It records the birth of James Brown and can be transcribed as follows:

“James Brown, fifth child and third son of John Brown, Accountant and Jeannie Porteous his wife at Kilmarnock, the fourteenth day of November 1842”.

Birth - James Brown 14 Nov 1842
Birth – James Brown 14 Nov 1842
The Cross Kilmarnock 1900
The Cross Kilmarnock 1900

Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock Scottish Gaelic: Cill Mheàrnaig, “Marnock’s church” is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland.

The first collection of work by Scottish poet Robert Burns, “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect”, was published in Kilmarnock in 1786 by John Wilson, printer and bookseller and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition. 

The internationally distributed whisky brand Johnnie Walker originated in the town in the 19th century and until 2012 was still bottled and packaged in the town at the Johnnie Walker Hill Street plant.

Marriage

According to the Register of Marriages, James Brown and Janet Auld were married in Auchinleck Church on 4 February 1869 by the Rev James Chrystal, the same minister that baptized her twenty one years previously. Janet records her occupation as a domestic servant.

James Brown records his occupation as a lathsplitter. Internal walls in houses were often constructed of lath and plaster. Walls were created by using 4″ x 2″ timber studs, the laths were then nailed to the timber studs with a small gap between each pair of laths. The resulting surface was then covered in plaster. The plaster oozed through the gap in the laths to create a mechanical key to hold it in position. The laths were generally cut from chestnut wood and it was a skilled occupation to provide the size and profile of laths.

Marriage of James Brown and Janet Auld 4 February 1869
Marriage of James Brown and Janet Auld 4 February 1869
Brown Family Bible
Brown Family Bible

Brown Family Bible

The marriage of James Brown and Janet Auld merit their own page in the Brown Family Bible.

Move to Glasgow

Some time after they were married James and Janet moved to Glasgow. They moved into what would appear to be an apartment at 21 Preston Street, in the Govanhill area of Glasgow.

James had established his business as a master lathsplitter and employed several men. The late nineteenth century was a time of rapid expansion in Glasgow and there would have been no shortage of work for those engaged in the building industry.

Census 1891 21 Preston Street, Glasgow
Census 1891 21 Preston Street, Glasgow
21 Preston Street, Glasgow, marked with a red cross. Image © Google Streetview.
21 Preston Street, Glasgow, marked with a red cross. Image © Google Streetview.

21 Preston Street, Govanhill

The door to 21 Preston Street is located centrally to the windows above, which suggests that the building was constructed with a communal entrance and staircase and subdivided into one or two apartments on each level.

The street is wide and it is located close to Queen’s Park, so it would have been quite a pleasant place to live.

38 Annette Street, Govanhill

By 1901 James Brown had moved his family of 10 children including my grandmother Agnes, to 38 Annette Street, which looks like a single house.

It must have been quite crowded in their apartment in Preston Street for two adults and ten children.

1901 Census, 38 Annette Street, Glasgow
1901 Census, 38 Annette Street, Glasgow
38 Annette Street, Govanhill, Glasgow. Image © Google Streetview.
38 Annette Street, Govanhill, Glasgow. Image © Google Streetview.

The Fire

My mother often told me the story of her grandfather’s timber yard. Apparently a ship carrying timber arrived early as the delivery had been scheduled for the following Monday, but it arrived in his timber yard on the preceding Friday. The insurance for the shipment had been arranged for the Monday.

Unfortunately, over the weekend, there was a large fire in his yard and the shipment of timber was destroyed and he was unable to claim on insurance. James Brown died of stomach cancer a few years after the fire, but he never recovered from the shock of the loss.

As a result of this story my mother and my grandmother were meticulous about making sure that all insurances were in place and fully up to date.

James Brown died on 10 September 1893.

Janet Auld

Janet Auld lived for many more years after her husband died, and moved out to the leafy suburb of Netherlee and Stamperland. She lived at 63 Stamperland Drive, Clarkston when she died at the age of 88 on 29 December 1935.

Death - Janet Auld 29 Dec 1935
Ancestor Chart
McCanns with Janet McCann

William McCann and Agnes Brown

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William McCann and Agnes Brown

William Gilmour McCann

William was born in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland on 15 June 1873. He was the son of William Gilmour McCann and Eliza McConnell who had emigrated from Ireland during the Great Famine. Their story is told on a separate page.

Agnes Auld Brown

Agnes was born in Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland on 11 January 1880. She was the daughter of James Brown and Janet Auld who had moved to Glasgow from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. Their story is told on a separate page.

Willam McCann and Agnes Brown, with her mother Janet Auld
Willam McCann and Agnes Brown, with her mother Janet Auld

William’s Early Years

William spent his early years in various locations close to the River Clyde. William’s father who had worked as a teacher in Belfast was now working as a timekeeper in the docks.

A timekeeper was the person responsible for ensuring that when a ship arrived in Glasgow, it’s cargo could be unloaded and any new cargo loaded as quickly as possible, to ensure that the time the ship spent in harbour was kept to a minimum. 

In addition to unloading and loading cargo, it was the timekeeper’s responsibilty to ensure that any provisions requested for the ship were available on the quayside and could be loaded at the same time as the cargo.

As most departures will want to leave on a high tide, there was very little scope for delay, which could be costly for the ship’s owners. The timekeeper was a responsible position in the docks.

William McCann Junior and his brother both took positions as mercantile clerks.

Birth – Agnes McCann

Agnes Brown was born at 21 Preston Street in Hutchesontown. Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district.

Following the Second World War, Hutchesontown was declared a Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) in 1957, in the aftermath of the Bruce Report. This called for the mass gentrification of the area which took the form of slum clearance and the replacement of overcrowded, insanitary tenement housing with new homes in high rise tower blocks. The area became almost unrecognisable from its previous appearance, with blocks of tenements swept away along with several Victorian and Edwardian-era churches and civic buildings which in later times would have been considered to be of architectural merit.

Hutchesontown was, in effect, used as a testing ground for similar schemes around the city. It was decided to divide the area into five “zones” which were given to different architects to implement a mixture of different schemes.

Birth Certificate, Agnes Auld Brown
Birth Certificate, Agnes Auld Brown
Birth Certificate, William McCann 15 June 1873
Birth Certificate, William McCann 15 June 1873

Birth – William McCann

As the son of immigrants from Belfast, William was born in the Kinning Park area, which was close to the docks on the River Clyde, which provided employment for many members of the family.

Kinning Park

From 1850, Kinning Park grew from a rural village to a busy centre mainly inhabited by artisans and labourers. Its principal industries were engineering, bread and biscuit baking, soap-making and paint-making. It also incorporates some of the most football-obsessed public houses in Glasgow, almost all of them favouring the nearby Rangers. Rangers once played at the Kinning Park ground in West Scotland Street from 1876 to 1887.

Kinning Park, Glasgow. Image © Google Earth.
Kinning Park, Glasgow. Image © Google Earth.
Shipbuilding on the Clyde
Shipbuilding on the Clyde

Glasgow’s Shipyards

In the nineteenth century, Glasgow as a thriving port and the River Clyde was lined with docks, shipyards and graving docks. 

After many years of dereliction caused by the decline of shipbuilding and the migration of Glasgow’s docks to the Firth of Clyde, since the mid-1980s the banks of the River Clyde at Glasgow have become a focus for property developers. 

Mirroring the London Docklands scheme, the old docks, and sites of old granaries, wharves and shipyards in Glasgow are being redeveloped into up-market residential apartments, office complexes and leisure facilities.

Agnes Brown

The photograph opposite looks like a candid photo and it looks to me as though it was taken in the back garden of their house in Ormonde Avenue.

I am sure that if my grandmother had known it was being taken, she would have insisted on wearing a hat and adopting a more formal pose.

Agnes Brown reading in the garden of 79 Ormonde Avenue
Agnes Brown reading in the garden of 79 Ormonde Avenue
William and Agnes in later life

William and Agnes in later life

William & Agnes

Agnes McCann was always smartly dressed. She had worked as a buyer in the china department of a department store in Central Glasgow.

This might explain why we seem to have inherited more china tea services than we could ever need.

William McCann was nearly always smiling, and I recall visiting Ormonde Avenue in the 1950s. In those days milk was delivered to each doorstep by the milkman. It was in the days before electric milkfloats and always remember my grandfather waiting for the horse and cart to arrive, with the milk. He would then rush out with a shovel to clean up any manure that the horse might have left to spread on his roses.

They were married on the 12 April 1910.

Agnes Brown

The photograph opposite is Agnes Brown’s visiting card. It shows that they named their house in Ormonde Avenue “Tordeevra”. I thought nothing of this at the time, but it provided the link to Northern Ireland when I was trying to trace my grandfather’s Irish roots.

Agnes Brown's Visiting Card
Agnes Brown’s Visiting Card
William McCann Second left at Scott & Rae Gathering

Scott and Rae

Having worked in a number of clerical roles for companies associated with shipping and the docks. William joined Scott and Rae a firm of monumental sculptors and builders located in Eglinton Street. He worked as a granite buyer and regularly travelled to Aberdeen to source the granite. He eventually became the firms Company Secretary.

I have a recollection of being told that the firm was involved in either creating or restoring the granite balustrade on Jamaica Bridge, Glasgow. I can find no official confirmation of this, so might have to just remain an unsubstantiated recollection.

In the photograph opposite from a booklet of Scott and Rae, members of staff pose for a group photo. William McCann was second from the left.

Largs

One of the few photos of William where he is not smiling. I don’t know the location for certain, but I believe it to be taken in Largs on the Ayrshire coast.

My mother’s sister lived with her parents and she told us that William and Agnes liked nothing better than a day trip to Largs. I recall being taken on such trips myself as a child. A visit to Prestwick to sit on the beach making sandcastles and watching the planes take off from Prestwick Airport. Then on to Largs for a walk on beach, finishing off with an ice cream at Nardinis. 

William & Agnes McCann on bench
The McCann Family
The McCann Family

The McCann Family

William McCann and Agnes Brown, with their daughter Janet McCann. My grandparents were always impeccably dressed. I particularly like the photo of my grandfather in top hat and tails, always smiling and standing with his feet in his hallmark “ten to two” stance. He even walked with his feet still set at “ten to two”, just like Charlie Chaplin but without the walking stick. Immaculately polished shoes, as always.

McCann Family Photograph

I would guess from the casual nature of my grandfather’s hat, that the McCanns were on holiday; they normally never ventured far. so probably Ayrshire coast but they did occasionally venture further afield to Dumfries and Galloway.

My mother, Betty McCann is sitting in the centre and my Aunt, Janet McCann is standing on the right.

The McCann Family on holiday
The McCann Family on holiday
McCann Family

Ormonde Avenue

Judging by the ages of the children I would guess that this photo was taken in the mid nineteen twenties, and it looks like the back garden at Ormonde Avenue.

The worry lines that furrow my grandfather’s brow perhaps portend the coming General Strike and financial crash of 1929, followed by years of hardship and recession in the nineteen thirties.

In spite of the troubled economic period, William was lucky to remain employed throughout.

79 Ormonde Avenue

The photograph opposite shows Ormonde Avenue today. The painted sign on the glass fanlight “Tordeevra” has now gone. The roses are gone too, that my grandfather so carefully cultivated with manure from the milk cart.

Agnes died on her eightieth birthday on 11 January 1960. My aunt told me that her father just gave up after Agnes died. He took to his bed and died within four weeks of his wife. She always said that he died of a broken heart.

79 Ormonde Avenue, Glasgow. Image © Google Streetview.
79 Ormonde Avenue, Glasgow. Image © Google Streetview.

The McCann Family

This short video clip shows William McCann and Agnes Brown visiting their daughter Betty McCann’s house at Glenroy, Stanhope in the early 1950s. Also present is Betty’s sister Janet McCann and their two grandchildren, myself and my sister.

 

Ancestor Chart
Ayrshire Lunatic Asylum

John Brown and Jeannie Porteous

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John Brown and Jeannie Porteous

John Brown

John Brown was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland in 1798. His father was James Brown and his mother was Janet MacLean.

Jeannie Porteous

Jeannie Porteous was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland on Christmas Day 1807. Her father was Alexander Porteous, a skinner, from Kilmarnock and her mother was Janet Wright.

Marriage 1833 John Brown - Jean Porteous

Marriage

The illustration opposite is an extract from the Old Parochial Register of Marriages. The transcription reads as follows:

“Kilmarnock 4 June 1833, John Brown in the Low Church parish and Jean Porteous in the High Church parish, after proclamation, were married”.

 

Map of Kilmarnock

The illustration opposite is a map of Kilmarnock dated 1880.

The Brown family lived in Park Street which is shown coloured red on the map.

John Brown’s occupation is recorded on the Scottish Census as a House Factor. He seems to also have used the phrase Accountant to describe his occupation.

In Scotland a house factor (or property manager) is a person or firm charged with superintending or managing properties and estates; sometimes where the owner or landlord is unable to or uninterested in attending to such details personally, or in tenements in which several owners of individual flats contribute to the factoring of communal areas.

Factors could be found in solicitors firms, employed by chartered surveyors, property companies and building firms. Property factoring has a wide range of responsibilities and roles. Typically, a person would encounter a factor when renting property or subcontracting for a building firm.

Kilmarnock 1880, Park Street marked in red. Image courtesy of National Library of Scotland.
Kilmarnock 1880, Park Street marked in red. Image courtesy of National Library of Scotland.
The Cross Kilmarnock 1900
The Cross Kilmarnock 1900

Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock Scottish Gaelic: Cill Mheàrnaig, “Marnock’s church” is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland.

The first collection of work by Scottish poet Robert Burns, Poems, “Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect”, was published in Kilmarnock in 1786 by John Wilson, printer and bookseller and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition. 

The internationally distributed whisky brand Johnnie Walker originated in the town in the 19th century and until 2012 was still bottled and packaged in the town at the Johnnie Walker Hill Street plant.

Death of Jeannie Porteous

Jeannie Porteous died on 22 August 1871 at the age of 65. Sadly her cause of death was described as “Idiopathic Insanity” and the place of death is described as the Ayrshire District Asylum. 

There is no way to tell whether this was a case of what might be known today as early onset dementia or whether she suffered other mental health problems.

Death Certificate Jeannie Porteous
Death Certificate Jeannie Porteous
Ayrshire Lunatic Asylum
Ayrshire Lunatic Asylum

Ayrshire Lunatic Asylum

The Ayrshire District Asylum is on the site of what is now the Ailsa Hospital. It is an austere looking building as were most nineteenth century asylum buildings.

Ancestor Chart