Stevenston - On This Day In History

Published stories from each town's past.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
5 APRIL 1883

DEATH

ALLAN: At Boglemart Street, Stevenston, on the 3rd instant, in her 78th year, JEAN, third daughter of the late James Allan.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
5 APRIL 1950

FOUR DIE IN EXPLOSION
TRAGEDY AT ARDEER FACTORY
I.C.I. STATEMENT

Four women employees, two of them married, were killed yesterday in an explosion in the blasting department of the Ardeer Factory (Stevenston) of the Imperial Chemical Industries Limited.

The explosion occurred shortly after 5 p.m. It shook the windows of houses for several miles around and a dense pall of yellow smoke went skywards.

An official of I.C.I. Limited announced that the following four workers had lost their lives:-

MARION HARRISON, 62 Montgomerie Terrace, Kilwinning;
LILY O’DONNELL, 3 Dykes Place, Saltcoats;
Mrs GALLACHER, 15 Reid’s Avenue, Stevenston; and
Mrs STELLA REID, 39 Ardoch Crescent, Stevenston.

The accident is believed to have occurred in a packing hut in which the four women were engaged in wrapping explosive sticks or cartridges. Only the four worked in the hut, which was a wooden building surrounded by sandhills as a precaution against fire spreading or blast damaging similar huts in the neighbourhood.

KILLED INSTANTLY

The hut was completely wrecked by the explosion and the women were killed instantly.

Mrs Reid, (20), was married and had only recently returned to work. Her husband, Mr Edwin Reid, was working about 350 yards away from the hut when the explosion occurred. He ran from the packing house where he was employed and realised at once that the explosion had occurred in the hut where his wife was working.

Mrs Reid and Mrs Gallacher, (20), would not have been working in the hut if they had not been doing relief duty for two other girls who were on holiday. They were sent to take temporarily the place of the other girls.

Mrs Gallacher, who was married about two years ago, had a 14-month-old baby son. She was considering leaving the factory after the summer holidays. Previously employed there, she re-started work only about three months ago.

Her husband, Mr John Gallacher, is also an Ardeer worker. He said that he was working about 200 yards away from his wife at the time of the explosion. He saw smoke rising from the hut but did not know that his wife was inside until he was told later.

PROCESS WORKER

Marion Harrison, (22), was a process worker who had been employed at the factory for about two years. Miss Harrison had twice been elected “Miss Kilwinning.” She was engaged to be married to Mr John Niven, an Irvine electrician.

Miss Harrison’s father is also employed in the Ardeer factory in the nitro-cotton department but at a considerable distance from the section in which his daughter was working. It was an hour and a half after he heard the explosion that Mr Harrison learned that his daughter had been involved.

Lily O’Donnell, (21), was one of a family of five. She had been employed at Ardeer for about three years and was a chargehand.

An inquiry into the accident will be held by the firm today.

The Ardeer factory is one of the biggest explosive works in Europe. Before it was taken over by I.C.I. it was Nobel’s explosives factory.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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Bloody hell what a terrible thing to happen and how their spouses coped with it I do not know. To-day they would be offered counselling and loads of help and huge compensation. Then I bet they got very little.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
6 APRIL 1929

SUDDEN DEATH

While attending a children’s cantata in Ardeer U.F. Church hall, Stevenston, on Thursday night, Mrs Rutherford of Moorpark East, Stevenston, became unwell and died. She had been an invalid for some time.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
6 APRIL 1927

STEVENSTON BURGH MOVEMENT

Before Sheriff Principal W. Lyon Mackenzie, K.C., in Kilmarnock yesterday, parties were heard on preliminary points of procedure in an application by certain ratepayers of Stevenston for the definition of a populous area with the view of a public meeting of ratepayers being called for the purpose of considering the advisability of forming the town of Stevenston into a burgh.

Objections have been lodged by Ayrshire County Council and the Northern District Committee, by Messrs Merry & Cuninghame (Limited), and by Patrick Warner Trustees.

Parties were agreed that a proof at the present stage was unnecessary, and suggested that his Lordship should visit the locus and inspect the proposed boundaries before issuing any order.

The Sheriff approved of this course, and fixed May 17 as the date for the inspection.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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SATURDAY 6th APRIL 1974

THREE GOALS IN FIVE MINUTES

LARGS THISTLE 2 ARDEER THISTLE 1

Three goals in five minutes was the scoring record when Largs Thistle met Ardeer Thistle in a league match at Barrfields on Saturday.

Following a goal-less draw in the first half, inside right Andrew Graham opened the Ardeer account in the 18th minute of the second term with a pass laid on for him by centre forward McLintock.

Largs launched a counter-attack, and one minute later right half John McIntyre headed in a cross from inside right John Fraser.

Largs had made an impressive start, with two corners in quick succession and had actually the ball in the net in the third minute, but the referee rightly gave an offside decision.

In the 25th minute, keeper Harkness of Largs was injured in a goalmouth incident and was forced to retire. His place in goal was temporarily taken by left winger Peter Valerio. However, Harkness had sufficiently recovered in seven minutes to take over again, and the front line was back to full strength.

Largs kept pressing home to attack, although their play was a bit too close and Ardeer keeper , Strain, was in top form. He saved danger shots from Cook and Fraser; while Wright crashed a free-kick against an upright. At the other end keeper Harkness was also operating very successfully.

Shortly after the interval, Largs brought on Morrow in place of Ballantyne; while Ardeer called off O'Neil and Pryce for substitutes Walsh and Kyle.

Play became keener on the sun-baked pitch, as both teams rallied to the attack. For Largs, Wright, Fraser and Logan hammered shots and Valerio faltered in front of an open goal, and Beggans crashed the ball against the crossbar.

Ardeer also had openings but failed to capitalise on them, in spite of the clever display by left winger " Tiger " Shaw, who could draw the defence.

The all-important winning goal was snatched in the 68th minute by right winger Jim Cook. It was a keenly-contested match , and although Ardeer opened the scoring, Largs fought back to merit victory.

Best for the winners - Harkness, McDonald, McIntyre, Fraser and Beggans; and for Ardeer - Strain, McCulloch, McCann, Kelso and Shaw.

Largs : Harkness; Flint, McDonald, McIntyre, Ballantyne, Wright, Cook, Fraser, Logan, Beggans and Valerio. Substitutes, Morrow and Wilson.

Ardeer : Strain; McMahon, McCulloch, O'Neil, McCann, Kelso, Pryce, Graham, McClintock, Mathieson and Shaw. Substitutes, Walsh and Kyle.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 12th April 1974


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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
8 APRIL 1882

BREACH OF CERTIFICATE BY A PUBLICAN

At the monthly Justice of Peace Court yesterday, in Saltcoats Town Hall, WILLIAM McCRONE, publican, Stevenston, was charged with breach of certificate by supplying a woman with a gill of whisky on Sunday, 19th March.

He pleaded guilty and was fined 25s.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
9 APRIL 1886

STEVENSTON PARISH CHURCH

No fewer than 39 candidates applied for the vacancy in the pastorate of this church, and the committee in charge selected 26 from this number.

At a meeting held on Wednesday night this list was still further reduced to 8, and this number will preach before the congregation and from among them a selection will be made.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
10 APRIL 1886

DEATH

SINCLAIR: At Breakplough, Stevenston, on the 8th instant, in his 70th year, WILLIAM L. SINCLAIR; deeply regretted.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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CASUALTY OF WAR
10 APRIL 1918

Died on service from wounds received in action, Private EDWARD BURNS McEWAN, 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers – Theatre of war, France and Flanders – son of Mrs Bernard McEwan, Woodvale, Moorpark East, Stevenston.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
15 APRIL 1879

THEFT

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court yesterday, ROBERT JOHNSTONE BARBOUR, described as a traveller, residing in Stevenston, was charged with the theft of a gold chain, in so far as on the 26th ultimo, he obtained the article on approbation from Mr James Brannan, pawnbroker, Bank Street, Kilmarnock, and on the same day pawned it for 25s in the office of Mr Robert Miller.

He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment.
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Re: Stevenston - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
16 APRIL 1888

EXPLOSION OF WASTE DYNAMITE

On Saturday morning at nine o’clock the inhabitants of Irvine were startled by an explosion which shook doors and windows, and made the walls of houses vibrate. To people inside the sound resembled that produced by the violent slamming of a door in a high wind, but there was no wind to speak of, and it was at once conjectured that an accident of some kind had occurred at Nobel’s Explosives Works at Stevenston.

This was so far confirmed by the appearance of a thick cloud of smoke, which was seen to rise above the sand hills on the north side of the river, and it was afterwards found that an explosion of waste dynamite had taken place.

It is the custom at Nobel’s Explosive Works to clear off on Saturday, when the employees are not at work, the waste products which accumulate in ponds between the sand hills.

The custom is to throw a cartridge into the pond to be cleared, but occasionally the effect intended is not produced and the explosive material accumulates.

On Saturday there had been an extra ordinary quantity of waste dynamite in one of the ponds, and the result was a rather alarming explosion.

In the town of Irvine it appeared to be quite close at hand, the sound travelling across the bay with almost undiminished force, and at Fergushill and other places several miles inland the effect of the explosion was both felt and heard; while oddly enough, in the village of Stevenston, which is only about a mile distant from the works, the sound was scarcely heard.

Fortunately no one was injured.
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