IT'S a sight unlikely to be repeated - a fleet of aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers anchored in the Clyde. This is the Home Fleet, the name given to Britain's Atlantic fleet, viewed by sailors from the Lyle Hill viewpoint overlooking Greenock in June, 1938. The Home Fleet was visiting the Clyde as part of the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow, and the town was crowded with sightseers, many of whom were taken out to some of the ships to see round them.
The ships that arrived included the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Courageous, battleships Nelson, Rodney and Royal Sovereign, cruisers Glasgow and Newcastle and destroyers Fortune, Fury, Foxhound, Fame and Foresight.
Just over a year later of course the ships would be in the thick of action when World War Two was declared, and Greenock itself would be a key naval base, welcoming thousands of troops from America before the D-Day landings, as well as the Free French fleet. The Germans knew of the importance of Greenock and it was bombed in May, 1941, over two nights, when 271 people were killed and over 10,000 injured.
Lyle Hill itself is well known for the panoramic views it gives down the Clyde and across to Dunoon. A war memorial to the Free French forces who fought in the war stands on the western brow of the hill.
The Glasgow Herald at the time noted that the weekend was marked with almost constant rain, but it did not deter thousands of people who wanted to see the ships, and take advantage of the chance to go on board.
THESE are some cracking boots these lads are making. Wouldn't mind buying a pair myself. The boys are pictured working at St Mary's Approved School in Bishopbriggs in 1948, although no doubt it was described as training rather than working. Actually there are modern echoes in what they are doing as Timpson's, the most well-known firm of shoe repairers, make a point of recruiting former offenders to give them a second chance.
St Mary's still exists although it has been rebuilt, and is known as St Mary's Kenmure, with the title "Approved School" no longer in use. Looking at their website it looks a far more inviting place than this raqther grim looking shoe-makers.
IT was a fashion for some pop stars to go all rural. This is Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson in June, 1980, after he had bought a 15,000 acre estate on Skye pictured in front of the 14-room Victorian shooting lodge which was part of the Strathaird estate where he lived for a while with his wife Shona and children James and Gael. He also invested money in salmon farms, so could never be accused of being as thick as a brick.
He sold the estate to the John Muir Trust in 1994, for around £750,000.
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