Welcome to Catrine
Ayrshire, I'm Rab your host. Just a few pages for anyone who has an
interest in the village of Catrine in Ayrshire Scotland. Once an old mill
town, now just a nice little corner of the world where you can still enjoy
a little bit of peace and quiet provided your neighbours are humanoid. Catrine
was a thriving mill town for nearly 2 centuries and had gas street lighting
before the city of London. Today it is more of a quiet residential area and not
the bustling mill town it once was. I was born here and I love this area for
it's natural beauty. The water systems that were created here to drive the mills
were always a thing of local interest and in recent years many local people have
strived to maintain what is left of them as a nature reserve. Local efforts are
being made to restore the weir and voes all the time and it is hoped that
Catrine will succeed in securing the funds to see it becoming a small part of
our National Heritage of which we can be proud.
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Click on any of the pictures below for a bigger view in a separate window.
Many thanks to Bob Meikle centre front row for this Catrine School photo from around 1928. All rows are named from left to right.
Back Row: Jock Paterson, Dykes Cook, John Brown, Tommy Maxwell, Jim Blain, Serio Sissi, Frank Patrick, Malcolm Kidd, John Hilditch, Davie Ferguson, George Meikle [teacher].
2nd from back:: Jim McPhee, ---, Cissy Armstrong, Mary Brown, May Cook, ---, Nettie Hare, Ellen Murray, Jemima Elliot, Netta Mitchell [?], Matt Taylor.
3rd from back: ---Paterson, May Nimmo, Lizzie McDougall, Mima Inglis, Joanne Cross, Lizzie Fram, ---McPhee, Annie Archibald, Kitty Ramsay, Margaret Gordon [?], ---.
4th from back: Marion Park, Madge Edmondson, Annie Gemmel, ---.
Front Row: Bill Trusdale, John Weir, Dick Roxburgh, Bob Meikle, ------, Willie Fowler, Davie Hamilton.
Many thanks to Elizabeth Duncan for the above photo and another 2 school photos from 1954 and 55 I have put into my School photos page.
Catrine
Primary 1950, Miss Begg
top row: pamela brown, netta
standring, muriel stevenson, christa bergmann, kathleen boyle
middle row: len anderson,
harry rodgers, ian hall, iain mcrae, victor clark
bottom row: alan gardiner,
betty gardiner, angela gemmell, irene davies, beryl duncan, margaret finnie,
sheila pullar, mary duncan, betty sayers, alex kyle
Catrine School 1922-1923 (possible names in no particular order) Lairdy Davidson, Mary Brown, Jean Paterson, Dick Roxburgh, Miss Mackay [teacher], Miss Milne [teacher], Margaret Gordon [?], Willie Duncan, Frank Patrick, Tom Aitken, Cissy Armstrong, ---Cross, Duncan Brian, Annie Gemmell, Kitty Ramsay, Marion Park, Mima Inglis, Bob Meikle(in Sailor suit)
Ayrbank again with Alex Niven, Davy Johnston, Tam Elliot, Jimmy Thomson, Andrew Cook, Jim Blair, Jock Paterson, Pat McGary, George McDowall, In no particular order.. Can you name the rest?
Catrine School 1922. [Some names we do have, no particular order] Willie Paterson, Davie Johnstone, Miss Milne [teacher], Willie Archibald, Alec Niven, Matt Taylor, George McDowall is second left in the front row and we know he was born in 1911. So we are guessing he is about 11 here.
J McDowall loaned me this picture of an event in Catrine's Wilson Hall in the 50's. Anyone remember this do? According to Billy McIlveny from Canada his mother and father are there and it was a Masonic dinner and dance.
Ballochmyle workers have a day at the shore.
Some Shawlands Street faces here. Bob and Ada and Robert Paterson. Bob used to run the buses to the Blackpool illuminations and the Glasgow Kings and Alhambra theatre's and Ayr Gaiety, Mr and Mrs McDowall and John and May Fulton, Mrs Tannock.
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Catrine School Staff from 1950 So far these names have been suggested but still to be confirmed. Back row left to right Mr Caine (woodwork teacher nicknamed Tubal), ?, Mr Wilson, Rose Wallace, Mary Anderson, Jean Provan, Isabell Scott, Mr Devlin, Betty Cameron, Tam Elliot. Front row left to right Mr Lawson, Maizie Neilson, Miss Begg, Mr Thomson, Mr Smith (nicknamed big Alkie), Miss Buchanan, Nora Fryer (Mauchline minister's daughter.) Many thanks to Inglis Thomson for the photograph of the Catrine Junior Secondary staff when his grandfather John Thomson was headmaster. And also for the Church Elders. Inglis father John Thomson was the church organist for 55 years. Thanks also to Anne Kerr nee Robb and Margaret Steele nee Nelson for helping to name the people in the picture. Margaret also points out that Mike McLuskie's picture was from a school play called Briar Rosebud which took place in the Wilson Hall around 1954. And thanks to Scott Thomson for naming the woodwork teacher Mr. Caine and to Millie Rankin who gave me the rest of the names for the 1950 Catrine school staff photo. Just one to go and we'll have them all. Who is the lady on the back row second left?
Anyone know anyone in this picture. Scott Thomson sent me from the 1940's
Back row: ?, Sandy Gillies, George Mackay,?. Front Row: ?, ?, ?, John Hogg. |
Catrine Orchestra 1907 kindly donated by Alex Mackay. Back Row from Left: W. Cairns, W. Etherington, Bill McDuff, Andrew Cook, Bob Gillies, George Mackay, David Brown. Middle
Row from left: Charlie
Parker, Willie Carson, W. McNulty, Harry Hair, Jimmy Miller, Charlie
Barbour. Front Row from left: Sam Pitt, James Gibb, Bob Meikle, George Meikle, John Patrick Bob Meikle 94 named them all for me and his father of the same name and his uncle George Meikle are there in the front row. He calls it the Charlie Parker Orchestra.
Catrine Parish Church Elders ( around 1950) In order of appearance (top left to bottom right) Bert Liddle, Mr. Reid, Willie Carson, Mr. Peden, Jack Jackson, Mr. Park, Alex Kerr, Hugh Poole jnr, Hugh Poole snr. Sam Hilditch, George Park, Rev. Campbell, Mr. Buck, John Thomson.
Thanks also to Mike Mcluskie for this picture. Briar Rosebud at Catrine Primary 195? Well what's your guess 54 , 55, 56? |
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Back row left to right: Sergeant Wilson, Billy Herbertson Front row left to right: ?, Barnie Mcluskie, Bert Anderson.
Mrs. Herbertson, Billy Herbertson, Mrs Anderson. Remember the Wilson Hall. Click here to view my new photo album from Catrine. Click here for a video of Catrine in the snow.
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Left to right: Billy Herbertson, Billy Anderson, Dick Clark, Jim (Trick)Nicol. 1949
Catrine's skiffel days with Bill Park Click here for all the old Catrine School photographs to date. I hope to see you again soon. Please sign the guest book before you leave. |
According to Alex Mackay who sent me this picture this was the town band getting ready to March 'round the 'Four Fields' when it was declared a right of way by the House of Lords. Now Catrine Scheme.
