Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
War heroes tribute
Club artefact rediscovered after 49 years
A tablet containing the names of all the Drumpellier Golf Club members who served their country with great distinction in the First World War has been unearthed after nearly half a century.
The historical artefact was originally unveiled by Mrs Buchanan of Drumpellier Estates in Coatbridge and dedicated by the Reverend Robert W. Rutherford, minister of Gartsherrie Church, way back on September 3, 1921.
The tablet – which had not seen the light of day for 49 years – was placed back in the golf clubhouse by Campbell Denholm, whose grandfather’s two brothers are named on the object after being rediscovered in the Drumpellier Avenue venue.
Following a short ser vice of remembrance, the tablet was rededicated by Reverend Robbie Hamilton, minister of New Wellwynd Church in Airdrie, as Drumpellier Golf Club members including president James M. Smith and captain Derek Totten looked on.
The plaque now takes pride of place at the entrance to the clubhouse thanks to the hard work of the golf club’s Lindsay Freeland, a military researcher and Lanarkshire Family History Society member.
Lindsay read a copy of a book written by fellow club member Peter Drummond entitled Drumpellier Golf Club 1894-1994, One Hundred years down The Fairways and, intrigued by the chapter on the First World War years, took note that it made reference to members who lost their lives in the conflict.
Lindsay approached Drumpellier secretary Alex Stewart and asked if anything was known about those who died and he revealed that their names were on a tablet that hung above the fireplace in the old Mansion House clubhouse.
Lindsay said: “When Mansion House was being demolished in the 1950s, the tablet was placed in the loft of the greenkeeper’s house for safekeeping.
“After the new clubhouse was completed it should have been transferred, but apparently it wasn’t.
“After hours of searching in the archives of the present clubhouse, I found the tablet, covered in grime and dirt.
“The tablet is 24 inches in width, and 15 inches high. Among the 49 names of those who served, are seven ladies, and importantly the seven soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“The seven names of the servicemen who fell have been researched; six have been identified and their military and family histories uncovered. The seventh, James Hamilton, has not yet been positively identified.
“Past president of the golf club, John Irons, made his copy of the book Coatbridge and the Great War, written by the Reverend Samuel Lindsay, minister of Coatbridge Parish Church, available for the research, which proved to be invaluable.”
To further research the names on the tablet, the club is asking for anyone with knowledge of the soldiers’ military, social and family histories to get in touch.
Details can be given by contacting Lindsay by phone on 01698 425182 or email at l.freeland@btinternet.com, or Drumpellier Golf Club secretary Alex Stewart on 01236 424139.