A&C Mclennan Spittalfield

[dumork]

Does anyone know when this bus firm was founded, and what A and C stand for?

[bleckie]

Hi dumork

Try an email to the archives at the AK Bell library in Perth

This Company was alway's known as McLennans I even worked for them for a while in the early 70s
never knew what the A&C stood for.

Yours Aye
BruceL

[dumork]

Thanks, Bruce! The archivist found an obit for Alex McLennan, d 1972 age 64.
Almost certainly first cousin of my wife's granny! She also outlined
some census data that had eluded my searches, which was a bonus.

[bleckie]

Hi dumork

Thinking around this one I believe McLennan's also had a funeral business in Stanley.
I seem to remamber a job coming into the body shop at Perth and one of the panel beater's hand rolled new wings for the hearse this would be 1969 or 70. I believe a Mrs McLennan stayed somewhere in Stanley.

Yours Aye
BruceL

[scotty3]

The A stood for Alexander, although he was known as Sandy. My grandad William Armstrong started the garage in the 1920s/30s, but when he retired none of his children wanted to take over, so he made it over to Sandy McLennan.

[brucem2000]

Hi Dumork,

Could you please confirm or otherwise that he was born 1909 in Coupar Angus? That McLennan was registered as Kenneth Alexander McL.

Might we be able to obtain the obit?

Kind wishes,
(another) Bruce

[dumork]

It turns out that Alexander McLennan is not my wife's granny's cousin ... hence may be born in Coupar Angus. The obituary in question is in the Perthshire Advertiser, in May 1972. I didn't pay for it, having found my mistake, so don't know his parentage.

[brucem2000]

Thanks for your quick reply.

I did a search on www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk for an Obit in the Perthshire Advertiser, May 1972, but nil results. Might there be a better place to look?

BTW we have quite a big database for Clan MacLennan members at www.clanmaclennan-worldwide.com/genealogy - a large percentage of all Mac/McLennans born in Scotland before 1900.  Perhaps this will help you.

Best wishes,
Bruce

[G Martin-Bates]

A stood for Alexander.  C stood for Catherine, his wife, although she was usually known by her middle name, May.   She died in 1970 and he remarried.  The Mrs McLennan who is mentioned as living in Stanley was Mabel his second wife whom he married in 1971.  Alexander (Sandy) died in  May 1972. I have a newspaper cutting - possibly The Courier.   Mabel died a few years ago.   Alexander was the son of Alexander McLennan of Clunie, near Blairgowrie.  There is a family gravestone in Caputh cemetery.

There is a lot of false information out there about A & C McLennan, even in published books.  Graham Martin-Bates probably has the most accurate information still available.

William Armstrong's Spittalfield to Perth service is recorded as starting in 1923. He then had services to Blairgowrie via Lethendy, via Clunie, via Essendy and the long way via Dunkeld & Butterstone.   The Clunie and Essendy routes were given separate licences in 1931 but very soon were put on one licence. McLennan was engineer / driver and purchased the business on 1st April 1945.
Armstrong's garage was always at Spittalfield (and became McLennan's), NOT Caputh as suggested in some publications.

Other bus operators taken over later were Allan & Scott, Stanley and Errol (1946), Hunter, Scone (1959), Christison, Blairgowrie (1960), Smail, Blairgowrie (1960), Keiro, Kirkmichael (1963), Harper's Garage, Blairgowrie (1964), McLachlan, Bridge of Cally (1967).  At least two of these were continued under their previous name for about a year.  Also the Errol to Errol Station service of McIntosh, Errol was purchased around 1948.