Industry suffered because of high wages and lack of labour

Looking back over the year just gone, the Observer noted that industry most adversely affected by the war was construction.

Before work of any magnitude could proceed a certificate had to be obtained from the Ministry of Munitions, and these were hard to get. In addition, the cost of materials was “prohibitive” and wages were high due to the shortage of labour.

“In Stirling, as elsewhere, this has practically put a stop to new work,” said the Stirling Observer.

However, a licence for the continuation of the work to build Stirling’s Municipal Buildings, Corn Exchange Road, was obtained and construction, which started before the war, had proceeded “as well as could be expected given the labour available.

At the time of writing, work to build the tower was well underway.

Looking at the work of public bodies in the town, the newspaper noted that the horrors of war had impinged on the intensity of debate among members of Stirling Town Council and other forums.

The Stirling Observer said: “There has been little disposition on the part of members of public bodies to indulge in the protracted and sometimes personal discussions that used to be more or less a frequent occurrence and the meetings during the year, with two or three exceptions, were characterised by the decorum that makes for business efficiency, albeit a lot is lost in piquancy and interest from the newspaper reader’s point of view.”

In Dunblane, an accident occurred on the rail line immediately above the cathedral city when the engine of a goods train was detached to pick up wagons from a siding at Haugh, near the river.

While the wagons were being drawn up, the rest of the train broke away on an incline and smashed into the engine and wagons it was collecting.

Although the engine was unaffected by the collision, several of the wagons were thrown across the track, blocking both lines, and the guard’s van was left upside down.

Breakdown gangs were sent from Stirling and Perth to clear the track.

The Stirling Observer reported that the noise of the collision was heard all over the district and a large crowd gathered at Old Doune Road footbridge to watch the clearup operation.

No-one was hurt.