IS it my imagination or is the chap holding the wooden stake looking a bit nervous? He is, in fact, the Secretary of State for Scotland, Arthur Woodburn, marking the start of East Kilbride’s first housing development after it had been designated Scotland’s first new town in 1947.
The hammer-wielder in the field at Whitemoss is Elizabeth Mitchell, a keen town planner who was a member of the new East Kilbride Development Corporation.
Looking a bit more comfortable, as he believes he is out of hammer range, is the first chairman of the development corporation, Sir Patrick Dollan, who had previously been Lord Provost of Glasgow.
East Kilbride’s swimming pool is named after him.
The then Lanarkshire village, just 10 miles from Glasgow’s city centre, was made a new town so that new industries could be sited there, staffed with workers moved out from Glasgow to help alleviate the city’s poor housing and overcrowding.
It was all new and exciting, although some will argue that denuding the east end of Glasgow of its skilled workers has led to many of the area’s social ills.
East Kilbride, which piloted walkways separate from roads in order to improve road safety, is marking the 70th anniversary of its New Town designation with the project 70 Voices recording interviews with residents. There will also be an exhibition in the town’s main library.
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