No.26

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 For many years Kirkintilloch district had three institutions for mentally deficient people. The earliest was Woodilee Hospital, known to us as “the asylum” which functioned from 1875 till 2001. Then came Waverley Park Home 1906 -1993, and from 1936 till 2002 Lennox Castle Hospital.

I knew Waverley Park well, for I entertained there on many occasions. When it opened, its purpose was to provide for the “Care of Defective and Feeble-minded Children.” In practice it was a home for girls and women, though I suspect that the women had been in the home since they were quite young. 

The girls were always thrilled when visitors came to entertain, and enjoyed taking part. A church dramatic club which always performed comedy plays was very popular, and four pupils from Lenzie Academy including myself on piano provided music between the acts.

A few of the girls who were more intelligent worked outside as domestic helps, and one in particular was employed by a local doctor for many years. All of them went out en masse each week, on Sunday mornings to church, and to the cinema on Saturday afternoons. 

I used to dread meeting them in the street. They walked in a long line two by two, and, if they happened to see me across the road, they would nudge each other and point over to me. If I saw them before they saw me, I would take avoiding action by darting into a close, and wait there till they had passed by. Remember - I was probably aged 15 or 16 at that time.

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The title of this blog seems a misnomer today, for it is certainly not my delight in recalling this sad story.

THE TRAGEDY OF THE SS DAPHNE

On the 3rd July 1883 there occurred in Glasgow what many believe was the worst accident ever on the River Clyde.

The launching of a ship was always a great event attracting many sight-seers, and this occasion was no exception. Some of the tradesmen were still working on the vessel when the launch took place, and others had come on board just to experience the thrill of it.

Going down the launching pad, the ship seemed to keel over, and on striking the water capsized and sank immediately. The death toll was 124 men and boys, and some families lost both father and son.

Among those drowned was a relative of ours, John Murrie. He was in his mid-twenties and on the 9th June the previous year he had married into our Graham family when he took as his wife Isabella Graham (1852-1936).

Although the subsequent enquiry failed to find any criminal negligence, recommendations were made which led to important safety regulations in shipbuilding.

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This is Jean, myself, Fiona, Lesley and Margaret after Jean's graduation at Callendar Park in 1968.

Jean had always wanted to be a teacher but financial circumstances in her family meant that, on leaving school, she had to go to work.

Once our children were a bit older and we were able to engage someone to look after them, Jean was able to satisfy her ambition.

As a primary school teacher she had many amusing tales to tell of classroom incidents.

At one stage of her career she was teaching a beginners' class. They had started numbers by learning about Number One and the children had been pointing out things in the room of which there was only one of each. From there, they moved on to Number Two and each child saw and pointed to things like eyes, hands, legs, etc. As she walked among the pupils, one little boy stood up and, with a finger from each hand pointing to her chest, said, "Two bosoms."

Nowadays, the same wee boy might have unknowlingly made use of alliteration!

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