Historical talks to raise funds for war memorial
Two fascinating pictorial talks on the history of Pirnmill are to be given by village resident Fiona Laing, who is raising funds for a First World War memorial.
The memorial will be for the eight soldiers - three of whom have never been commemorated before - who left Pirnmill to fight for their country and never returned home.
Utilising an extensive photographic collection by business owners, the Anderson family, Fiona provides a detailed and illustrated historical account showing the development of the village from the 1890s through to the 1920s and beyond.
Fiona said: ‘Pirnmill is an oft overlooked village, but like Arran’s other villages, has a rich history of its own dating back thousands of years. The village has been the site of discoveries of Bronze age axe heads and gold artefacts linking the area to Ireland and the Kingdom of Dalraida, with its seat of power at Dunadd in Argyll.
‘Saint Columba, Robert the Bruce, the Clark’s of Paisley and the suffragette movement all have links with Pirnmill and its surrounding area. Steamers called almost daily from the 1880s through until the outbreak of the Second World War and in the 1920s the village garage became established as the Ford dealership for the whole island, having introduced the first hire car to the island in 1913.’
As part of the village fundraising efforts for the memorial, old pictures, historical artefacts and local anecdotes will enable Fiona to portray a powerful and interesting talk on the history of Pirnmill and the surrounding area.
The talk has already been given twice to great acclaim and due to popular demand will be repeated in Pirnmill Village Hall today (Saturday) at 7pm and then in Brodick Library on Wednesday February 21, at 2pm. Entry is by donation to the Pirnmill memorial fund.