Some Duntocher laddies

[maggiepiano]

my gillons are in antrim and sligo in 1801. i have discovered several different spellings - gillan, gillen. But because there are lots of gillons in scotland and the name is french originally I though they might have come over in the 1500s and then went to ireland after the act of union in 1701. If you read the history of scotland- there was a lot of ill feeling because it basically removed all power from the scottish parliament and lots of people emigrated to the us and ireland after that- any thoughts?

[allan.coyle]

showed these photos to my grandfathew William John Connelly who recognised the two Thomson brothers and believes one of them later moved to Aukintoshan av and may have died there. He also recognised the tallest guy second from the right back row as Borland Black, a well known chap who can be seen taking centre stage in the second photo. The guy on the far bottom right is one of the McKinleys who stayed at Hornes land.

He recognises the back court of the cottages that used to line the north side of dumbarton road where the shops at the cammeron house now stand, which would tie in nicely with the Quoiting club explanation. The remains of the quoiting green and clubhouse can still be seen hidden amoungst the trees.

Has anyone heard the legend of the Black diamond club in duntocher ?

It may have been secritive and would have had a Grand Master and pecking order etc. Little is known about this, but older relatives may have heard of some of the violent initiation ceremonys.

Cheers

AC

[Marie Kelly]

Don't think I could recognise anyone in this photo but would love to know if my Grandfather, Patrick Kelly, is in it. He was born in Duntocher around 1901, married to Agnes Cassidy about 1932, they had 2 sons and 2 daughters. He later died in 1941.
Any help would be appreciated. My Dad died last year and I would love to know more about my family.

[allan.coyle]

I know of Cassidy's and Kelly's that still stay in the village but will ask My grandfather about your other family members. He should know them, the village was pretty tight before the 50's and 60's

Cheers

AC

[Gillan]

Hugh Gillan was my grandfather.  My father was William Brown Gillan (b.5 May, 1892) and died on 29 Dec.1945.  He is buried in the British Cemetery in Mexico City along side his older brother Hugh.  My father's brother Nicholas remained in Glasgow and later raised Hugh's two sons (who were born in Mexico).  Sister Mary also remained in Glasgow, but another brother (Frank?) was in Coventry at the time of the notorious blitz of that city.  Keep in touch!

David Gillan (U.S.A)

[allan.coyle]

There are also Gillans still living in the village. Im assuming that your Father/uncles etc were from the village ?

[Gillan]

Hugh Gillan's marriage certificate indicates that he resided in Renfrew.  His son William was born in Renfrew...so there might not be a direct connection with the Gillans in Duntocher.

David Gillan (U.S.A.)

[griogair]

Sorry to take so long in replying. Many thanks to everyone who has posted on this thread and especially to Allan Coyle who mentioned the names of a couple of boys in the photos. I would also be intrigued to find out more about the "Black Diamonds". I must ask my dad when I speak to him next. I was wondering Allan, if you would mind showing another few photos to your grandfather. They were among my gran's photos, so there will definitely be a Duntocher connection - she died about 10 years ago and no-one in the family now knows who the people are in the pictures. It's a long shot maybe but you never know. I'll post the pictures on this thread later once I've scanned them.

Many thanks,

Griogair

[allan.coyle]

No problem Griogair,

We might as well put his village cliquishness to good use while we still can. Anything from the 20s onwards.

As for the "Black Diamond", I did manage to find some info on this. It apparently started amongst a group who worked and frequented the old Hibs park.
It was initiated by a well known village character called "William"(I think) Boyd, a well known village prankster and major player in the parks construction during the depression.

It was apparently started as a kind of mock Masonic club for a laugh and took place in the hibby groundsmans shed. The entrance fee was a piece of coal which would have been stolen from the adjacent primary school bunker, hence the "Black Diamond".
There was a pecking order with Boyd as chairman and another guy as Grand Wizard ! Outside the gathering they would mix in the pubs and shops as normal with no mention of the club. If someone was said to have spoke of the club or the grand wizard was physically touched by a member during the day or in the pub, that member would face a kangaroo court at the club that night, where Boyd would wear a knitted wig and dish out some kind of painful or embarrassing punishment in front of the other members.

This might all seem like a bit of a laugh, but I know for a fact that the "black diamond" grew to a point where there were new larger premises rented to fit all members.
The BD lasted for decades I'm told.
I know many of the names of members and rented venue which still exists today but many people still seem to be unwilling to talk about it. One old guy even advised me "Don't ask daft questions about stuff that's long dead son".

This has left me even more intrigued.

The badge of the "new" duntocher hibs juniors has a Black diamond as part of the motif, I think there is a misconception that local fans were so poor that the would gain entrance to the games with a lump of coal. This was never the case as poorer fans would have been allowed in for free.
does the "Black Diamond " still have an influence ??