Scottish Book Trust - Volunteer Opportunities

To involve communities and encourage participation in Family Legends, the Scottish Book Trust is running a national story writing project in partnership with BBC Radio Scotland. They're looking for 6 Volunteer Community Ambassadors from across Scotland, based in Aberdeen, Ayr, Inverness, Melrose, Oban and Orkney respectively.  The 7 month placements are supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund – to get involved with their national writing and heritage project, Family Legends.

Volunteers will receive training and support to carry out outreach activities in their communities and the time commitment is approximately one day per week, flexible to suit individual needs

The placements will involve a wide range of activities and experiences, including organising events, new media skills, interview and transcription training and press and media training.

These opportunities are unpaid, though they say travel and agreed out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed.

Appointment is subject to securing enhanced clearance from Disclosure Scotland.
More information and online application form.

This could be a very interesting project for those who can afford the time. I was involved in the visionary Memory Bank project both as the Council's project manager managing the development of the Memory Bank website  and on the Then as Now project, taking photos of current views corresponding to historic views of old Borders locations, mainly on postcards.

Another project run by the Memory Bank was Millennium Memories, which produced a very popular CD containing a selection of 40 personal stories collected from Borders folk and spoken by them and thus a chance to hear Border accents and dialects. For more information see this review.

We have a few of these in stock, at a special price of £9.95 plus postage.
To buy one, please contact Mary Thomson on our Contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications.

New Monumental Inscriptions for Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church

  Only 2 years in the making, from planning to publication, we are pleased to have completed the Monumental Inscriptions for Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church.  With almost 3,300 gravestones in Eastlands, the recording has been virtually the solo effort of a very dedicated volunteer, and long-standing member of the Society, Cyril Corcoran. The checking and photography of all gravestones, carried out by Society members and friends, has been both challenging and interesting.

Opened in 1863, Eastlands is typical of so many cemeteries of the late 19th and the 20th centuries, where the Victorian fashions dominate.  Many large mural monuments and plaques are found around the perimeter walls, memorials to the manufacturers and merchants of the town.  Large stone and granite obelisks are found throughout.  The white marble and limestone memorials, many with intricate carving, were favoured in the 1920s and 1930s and into the 1950s and although blackened over the years, remain in excellent condition to this day.  Lead lettering used on many 20th century stones is disappearing, leading to difficulties in reading the inscriptions.  Some stones, which have fallen from their original position, have been reset directly into the ground and the lower part of the inscription is buried and unreadable.  The trees and bushes planted throughout the cemetery are cut back regularly but the regrowth doesn’t take long to hide the stones again.

There are many stones that have been placed by fellow workers, friends and neighbours of the deceased. Some remind us of the dangers of working in industrial environments as in the case of one young man "killed accidentally at Dalmeny Oil Works".  The mills, the foundation of the town, are recorded on many of the memorials, not only for the mill owners and managers.  Small memorials have been placed by workers from several of the mills in memory of their colleagues. One, which appears to be the only memorial on the grave, simply says "From the neighbours".  Many of the graves remain unmarked. 

Memorials in the burial ground that lies to the south of St Peter’s Episcopal Church have also been recorded.  This small, peaceful area, with less than 30 stones is a haven for wildlife.  St Peter’s has an unusual memorial window, which includes an infantryman, a kiltie, an air force subaltern and a chaplain to the Forces in memory of the members of the congregation who fell in the 1914-1918 war and of their own Rector.

Transcriptions of the Galashiels War Memorial, together with War Memorials in Galashiels Academy, St Peter’s Church and the Old Parish and St Paul’s Church, have all been included in our publication.

There are over 1,360 different surnames included in the inscriptions on the gravestones for the Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church Monumental Inscriptions CD, and they are: Ackroyd, Adam, Adams, Adamson, Addie, Addison, Affleck, Aikman, Aimers, Ainslie, Aird, Aiston, Aitchison, Aitken, Alison, Allan, Allison, Allister, Alstone, Amos, Anderson, Andison, Andrew, Andries, Angus, Archer, Archibald, Armitage, Armstrong, Arnot, Arnott, Arrol, Arthur, Ashton, Assman, Atkinson, Auchincloss, Babington, Baillie, Bain, Baird, Bairstow, Bak, Baker, Balfour, Ballantyne, Balmer, Banks, Baptie, Barbour, Barker, Barr, Barrett, Barrie, Barron, Barrow, Bartlett, Batchan, Bateman, Bathgate, Baxter, Beaton, Beattie, Beck, Bedford, Begg, Bell, Bennet, Bennett, Benzie, Benzies, Berg, Berry, Bertram, Beveridge, Biggar, Birbeck, Bird, Birnie, Bishop, Bisset, Black, Blackie, Blacklaw, Blackley, Blacklock, Blackstock, Blackwood, Blaikie, Blain, Blair, Blake, Blakie, Blanch, Blyth, Bohmke, Boland, Bold, Bolton, Bookless, Booth, Borthwick, Boswell, Boudrea, Bowers, Bowes, Bowie, Bowman, Boyce, Boyd, Boyle, Bradley, Bradly, Brady, Braid, Bramhall, Brand, Brander, Brannan, Bremner, Briggs, Broad, Brockie, Brodie, Brogan, Brotherston, Brotherstone, Brotherton, Brough, Brown, Brownlee, Bruce, Brunton, Bryce, Bryden, Brydon, Bryson, Buchan, Buchanan, Buckham, Bulloch, Bullock, Bunyan, Burgess, Burian, Burn, Burnett, Burns, Burnside, Burrell, Burton, Bushfield, Butler, Byers, Cairney, Cairns, Calder, Caldwell, Cameron, Campbell, Candlin, Cannon, Cardno, Carlyle, Carney, Carr, Carradice, Carrie, Carruthers, Carss, Carter, Carver, Cass, Cassie, Cavine, Cessford, Chalmers, Chamberlain, Chambers, Chapman, Charters, Chesney, Chirnside, Chisholm, Christie, Christopherson, Chrobak, Chruszcz, Church, Civis, Clancy, Clapperton, Clark, Clarke, Cleeson, Cleghorn, Clelland, Clerk, Clinton, Close, Clubb, Clyde, Clynick, Cochrane, Cockburn, Codd, Coldwell, Cole, Collier, Collins, Collyer, Colquhoun, Coltart, Colthard, Coltman, Combat, Common, Compton, Conacher, Connell, Connelly, Connochie, Connolly, Connor, Conroy, Cook, Cooper, Corcoran, Cornish, Cornwall, Corry, Cossar, Coulthard, Coutts, Cowan, Cowburgh, Cowe, Cowie, Cox, Crabb, Craig, Craighead, Craigie, Craise, Cramb, Cramond, Cran, Cranston, Crawford, Creamer, Crerar, Cribbes, Crichton, Croan, Crombie, Crooks, Crosart, Crosbie, Cross, Crossan, Crossart, Crowe, Crozier, Cruickshank, Cuerden, Culbertson, Cullinan, Cumming, Cunningham, Curle, Curran, Currie, Curtis, Cuthbertson, Dalgetty, Dalgleish, Dalgliesh, Dalglish, Dallas, Dalziel, Daniel, Darling, Darnley, Darrie, Davidson, Davie, Davies, Dawidowski, Dawson, Deans, Dees, Delgaty, Dembinski, Denby, Denham, Denholm, Denoon, Dew, Dewar, Dewing, Dewison, Dewsnap, Diaz, Dick, Dickie, Dickinson, Dickson, Dilger, Dillon, Din, Dinnell, Dixon, Dobbie, Dobson, Docherty, Dodds, Doherty, Doig, Donachie, Donald, Donaldson, Donalson, Donochue, Donoghue, Doogan, Dorward, Dotherty, Douglas, Doull, Dove, Dow, Downie, Drum, Drummond, Dryden, Drysdale, Du Bois, Dudgeon, Duff, Dumble, Dun, Dunbar, Duncan, Duncanson, Dunlop, Dunn, Dunnachie, Dunnett, Dunse, Duthie, Eakron, Easson, Easton, Eckford, Eddington, Eden, Edgar, Edington, Edmunds, Effingham, Eggie, Elder, Elliot, Ellis, Elwes, Emmerson, Emond, Emslie, Entwistle, Erskine, Espie, Esson, Euman, Ewart, Faichney, Fair, Fairbairn, Fairgrieve, Fairley, Fairweather, Falconer, Faragher, Farish, Farrell, Farrer, Faulkner, Fenton, Fergus, Ferguson, Ferrier, Fiddes, Findlay, Finlay, Finlayson, Finney, Finnie, Fisher, Fitch, Flach, Flanders, Flannaghan, Fleming, Fletcher, Flucker, Flynn, Foley, Forbes, Ford, Forrest, Forson, Forsyth, Forsythe, Forte, Fortune, Foster, Fowler, Fox, Franck, Fraser, Frater, French, Friel, Frier, Frost, Fulton, Fusciardi, Fyfe, Fyffe, Gall, Galloway, Gardiner, Gardner, Garnock, Garrett, Gash, Gass, Gavin, Gear, Gebbie, Geddes, George, Gerrard, Gethin, Gibb, Gibson, Gilchrist, Gilday, Gill, Gillan, Gillespie, Gillie, Gillies, Gilmartin, Gilmour, Gilroy, Girvan, Given, Gladstone, Glen, Glendinning, Glover, Godwin, Gold, Goodbrand, Gooder, Goodfellow, Goodman, Goodsir, Goodwill, Gordon, Gorman, Gotterson, Gourlay, Graham, Grahamslaw, Grainger, Grant, Gray, Green, Greenwood, Gregory, Greiner, Grey, Grieson, Grieve, Grosart, Grossart, Gueldner, Gulland, Gunn, Gunter, Guntert, Gurr, Guthrie, Haberstein, Haddow, Haig, Haigh, Hainsworth, Hair, Haldane, Hall, Halliday, Halliwell, Hamilton, Hancock, Hannah, Hannan, Hannay, Hardie, Hardy, Harkin, Harkness, Harley, Harrison, Harrower, Hart, Harte, Hartey, Hartley, Harvey, Hastie, Havery, Hawkins, Hay, Hayward, Hazard, Heaney, Heard, Heatley, Heatlie, Henderson, Hendry, Henry, Henson, Hepburn, Herbert, Herbertson, Hercik, Hermiston, Heron, Heslop, Hessel, Hewat, Hewitson, Hewitt, Hey, Hilbert, Hill, Hinchcliffe, Hincklieff, Hislop, Hitchins, Hobkirk, Hodge, Hoey, Hogarth, Hogg, Hoggan, Hoggarth, Holmes, Home, Homson, Honig, Hood, Hookes, Hope, Hopkirk, Hopton, Hopwood, Horsburgh, Hossack, Housler, Howden, Howie, Howieson, Hoy, Huck, Hudson, Hughan, Hughes, Humble, Hume, Hunter, Huntley, Hurst-hodgson, Hush, Hutcheson, Hutchison, Hutton, Hymers, Hynes, Hyslop, Illingworth, Illis, Imrie, Ingles, Inglis, Innes, Ireland, Irvine, Irving, Iwasiow, Jack, Jackman, Jackson, Jaffney, Jagger, Jameson, Jamieson, Jardine, Jaworski, Jeffrey, Jenkins, Jobson, Johnston, Johnstone, Jones, Jordinson, Juler, Kay, Keaney, Keddie, Keen, Keith, Kellock, Kelly, Kemp, Kennedy, Keppie, Ker, Kerr, Ketchion, Kidd, Kigie, Kilburn, Kilcannon, Kimber, Kimberley, King, Kinghorn, Kinnaird, Kinnear, Kinross, Kirkpatrick, Kirkwood, Kitching, Kittel, Kivlichan, Klein, Knowlson, Knox, Knuth, Kozakiewicz, Krzeminski, Kuzmierkiewicz, Kyle, Lacon, Laidlaw, Laing, Lamb, Lambert, Lambton, Lamont, Lanchbury, Langford, Langsdon, Lassen, Latham, Lauder, Laurie, Law, Lawman, Lawrence, Lawrie, Lawson, Layzell, Lazzari, Leadbetter, Learmouth, Leask, Lee, Lees, Leeson, Leete, Leid, Leighton, Leishman, Leitch, Leithead, Lennox, Leslie, Lethbridge, Lewis, Liddle, Lillico, Lillie, Lind, Lindley, Lindores, Lindsay, Linton, Lister, Litster, Little, Livingston, Livingstone, Locke, Lockhart, Lockie, Lockwood, Lofthouse, Logan, Logie, Lorimer, Lorraine, Lothian, Lough, Lountain, Love, Low, Lowe, Lowes, Lowrie, Lucas, Ludlow, Lugton, Lumsden, Lunn, Lyall, Lynch, Lynn, Lyon, Lyons, Mabon, Macari, MacDonald, MacDougall, MacFarlane, MacGilvray, MacGown, MacGregor, MacIntyre, MacIvor, Mack, Mackay, Mackenzie, Mackie, Mackintosh, Mackison, MacLachlan, MacLachlin, MacLaren, Macleod, MacNab, Macnamara, Macnaughton, Macphail, Macpherson, Macrae, Madder, Magee, Maguiness, Maguire, Mahon, Main, Mair, Malley, Manderson, Manderston, Mann, Manson, Marchbank, Mark, Mars, Marshall, Marshall-roberts, Martin, Mason, Massie, Mather, Matheson, Mathew, Mathieson, Mathison, Matthew, Matthewson, Mauchline, Maule, Maxwell, May, Maywood, Mcadam, McArdle, McArthur, McAulay, McAuley, McBain, McBride, McCafferty, McCaig, McCall, McCallum, McCann, McCartney, McClory, McCord, McCormack, McCracken, McCready, McCrirrick, McCubbin, McCudden, McCuire, McCulloch, McDonald, McDonouch, McDougal, McDougall, McDowall, McElroy, McEwan, McFadyen, McFadzean, McFarlane, McGee, McGennis, McGhee, McGill, McGillivray, McGinniss, McGirr, McGlasson, McGliskie, McGlynn, McGregor, McGuire, McGurie, McInnes, McIntosh, McIntyre, McKay, McKean, McKellar, McKendrick, McKinney, McLachlan, McLagan, McLaren, McLauchlan, McLauchlin, McLaughlan, McLaughlin, McLay, McLean, McLeish, McLellan, McLelland, McLeod, McMahon, McMillan, McMorran, McMorrin, McMurdo, McNab, McNairn, McNeill, McNish, McPartlin, McPherson, McQueen, McQuillan, McRae, McRay, McRobie, McRuvie, McSeveney, McVinnie, McWalter, Meadows, Mearns, Meenan, Meikle, Meiklejohn, Meiklejon, Mein, Melchers, Meldrum, Melrose, Melville, Menzies, Mercer, Messer, Methven, Michie, Middlemas, Middlemass, Middlemiss, Middlemist, Milivoyevich, Mill, Millan, Millar, Miller, Milligan, Mills, Milne, Milroy, Milven, Mirtle, Mitchelhill, Mitchell, Moffat, Moir, Moncreiff, Montgomery, Moodie, Moody, Mooney, Moonie, Moor, Moran, More, Morgan, Morison, Morris, Morrison, Moultrie, Mowat, Mraz, Mucklie, Mudie, Muir, Muirhead, Muldoon, Mulligan, Mulvie, Mundle, Munro, Munsie, Murdie, Murdoch, Murphy, Murr, Murray, Mycock, Myles, Nairn, Naismith, Napier, Naylor, Neil, Neill, Neilson, Nelson, Nemeth, Ness, Nevin, Newbigging, Newlands, Nichol, Nicholson, Nicol, Nimmo, Nisbet, Niven, Nixon, Noble, Norrie, Notman, O’Brien, O’Donnell, O’Hara, O’Kane, O’Malley, O’Neill, O’Reilly, Oakley, O'Donoghue, Officer, Ogilive, Ogilvy, Ogle, Oldham, Oliver, Ormiston, Orr, Outerson, Ovens, Owen, Owens, Padkin, Paisley, Park, Parker, Pastor, Paterson, Paton, Patterson, Pattie, Pattison, Paull, Payne, Peacock, Pearson, Peden, Pegler, Pender, Penman, Penny, Pentelton, Pentland, Pepler, Petisme, Petrie, Philips, Phillips, Philp, Phimister, Phin, Pietrzak, Pirie, Pirrie, Pitman, Pittar, Pittillo, Playfair, Plenderleath, Plenderleith, Plummer, Pocknall, Poddubecki, Pollock, Polson, Porteous, Potts, Poulton, Poustie, Pow, Power, Prentice, Preston, Pretsell, Pringle, Prior, Pritchard, Proctor, Proud, Proudfoot, Pryde, Pudlik, Purdom, Purves, Quarry, Quinn, Rae, Raeburn, Ragg, Raley, Ralston, Ramage, Ramsay, Rankin, Rankine, Rathie, Rattray, Rayner, Reavely, Redpath, Reed, Reid, Reilly, Rendall, Renney, Rennie, Renton, Renwick, Riach, Richardson, Richter, Riddell, Riddle, Rieple, Rigg, Rintoul, Ritch, Ritchie, Roach, Roalfe, Robb, Roberts, Robertson, Robeson, Robinson, Robson, Rochford, Roddan, Roden, Rodger, Rodgers, Rodgerson, Roebuck, Rogerson, Romanes, Romanis, Ronald, Rooney, Roseburgh, Ross, Rothschild, Rowan, Roy, Royds, Runciman, Russell, Rutecka, Rutherford, Ruthven, Salton, Salvesen, Samolej, Sanderson, Sands, Scholan, Schulze, Scott, Screen, Segesdi, Selkirk, Semple, Senior, Service, Sewell, Shand, Shanks, Shannan, Sharp, Shaw, Shearer, Sheldrick, Shepherd, Sheridan, Sherriff, Shiel, Shields, Shiell, Shiels, Shillinglaw, Short, Shortreed, Sibbald, Sidell, Silver, Sim, Sime, Simpson, Sinclair, Sinton, Skea, Skene, Skillen, Skinner, Slack, Slater, Slight, Smail, Small, Smart, Smellie, Smibert, Smith, Smyth, Sneddon, Snowden, Sojka, Solan, Somerville, Sommerville, Souter, Sowman, Spalding, Sparks, Speed, Speirs, Spence, Spiers, Spouse, Sprat, Spratt, Spreng, Sprott, Squair, Stalker, Stanners, Stark, Stavert, Steel, Steele, Stein, Steinbach, Stenhouse, Stephen, Steven, Stevens, Stevenson, Stewart, Stillie, Stimson, Stirling, Stobie, Stoddart, Storie, Story, Strachan, Strang, Stratford, Stronach, Stuart, Stubbs, Sutherland, Swan, Swanson, Swanston, Swatton, Sweeney, Swinton, Syme, Symington, Tacket, Taddei, Tait, Taket, Taylor, Telfer, Telford, Temple, Templeton, Tennant, Tereszczyn, Terry, Tetulics, Teviotdale, Thom, Thomarson, Thomas, Thompson, Thomson, Thorburn, Thripland, Thwaites, Thwaits, Tilston, Tinlin, Tinline, Tocher, Tod, Todd, Tomlinson, Tomsett, Torrie, Tough, Townley, Towns, Townsend, Trilloe, Trotter, Tudhope, Tully, Turbett, Turkington, Turley, Turnbull, Turner, Tweedie, Tyson, Upton, Ure, Valentine, Vanhegan, Vannan, Vaughan, Veitch, Vuckovic, Waddell, Wade, Wagstaffe, Wait, Wakeford, Waldie, Walker, Wallace, Ward, Wares, Warrington, Warwick, Waters, Waterson, Watherston, Watson, Watt, Watters, Waugh, Wear, Weatherhead, Weatherson, Weatherston, Weatherstone, Webb, Webster, Weddell, Weir, Wells, Welsh, Wemyss, West, Weston, Whamond, Whelan, White, Whitecross, Whitefield, Whitehead, Whitelaw, Whitie, Whiting, Whitson, Whittaker, Whittle, Whitton, Whyte, Wight, Wightman, Wilk, Wilkie, Wilkinson, Williams, Williamson, Willison, Willocks, Wilson, Windram, Wingate, Winlaw, Winslow, Winter, Wintrup, Wood, Woods, Wotton, Wray, Wren, Wright, Wylie, Wyllie, Wyper, Yeaman, Yellowlees, Yorkston, Young, Younger, Youngson, Yule, Zawadecky, Zerek, Zielinski, Zumbusch, Zumwalt, Zwozdiak.

The recording of Galashiels Old Ladhope burial ground was completed in 2007 and is also available on CD, price £10 plus postage.  The older Gala Aisle burial ground has been recorded by Selkirk Genealogy, in booklet form, price £4.95 plus postage.

Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Monumental Inscriptions are available on CD at £15 plus postage.

To buy these publications, please contact Mary Thomson on our Contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications.

Family and Local History Fair and Conference in Melrose, Scotland on 9th October 2010

Well, the event is over, though there's still a bit of work to be done mainly in following up notes of actions and requests for information.

It was really good to meet so many of you.

We had visitors from USA, Northern Ireland, Wales and England as well as Scotland.

We'll be keeping the Conference page up a bit longer, so if you missed it you can see what we're talking about.

I think the event went well, but we're sending out a short survey by email to get visitors' feedback.

If you would like to add your own impressions, please click the Comments link below.