The Clyne Chronicle

Clyne Chronicle No 17 – Spring 2014
Comment From the Chair
My prediction, in last year’s Clyne Chronicle that 2013 might prove to be the
most important year in the history of Clyne Heritage Society, fell a little short of
the mark – through no fault of the Society, I have to state! However, I think I
can safely say that 2014 should be the year which takes the honours in that
particular department, my fingers being firmly crossed behind my back!
I am, of course, still referring to the Old Clyne School project, where Scottish &
Southern Electricity (SSE), the company who constructed and now operate the
Gordonbush Wind Farm, have offered the Society the opportunity of taking over
a renovated former school building for use as our ‘hub’, incorporating all of our
activities under one roof, including a museum. Watch more of this space next
year and see the report on the progress already made on page 18 in this edition.
On to more sombre matters and August of this year marks the centenary of the
outbreak of the bloodiest conflict the world has witnessed. Sixty men and one
woman of our parish of Clyne lost their lives in this Great War and they are
commemorated on our beautiful war memorial on South Brae.
There are many commemorations taking part around the country to mark this
event and reflect on the hardships the military endured and the suffering
undergone by the families of the bereaved and the wounded. We, in Clyne, are
no different and the Society’s contribution to the memory of the participants and
especially of our fallen is outlined below.
Originally, we had planned to dedicate the greater part of this edition of The
Clyne Chronicle as a mark of respect to the above and others of our parish who
have taken part in military service through the ages. However, with the amount
of material already gathered and promised, we have decided to compile a
separate, special military-themed publication, which will be available later in the
year. We also intend to have a special commemorative exhibition, which will
accompany the publication.
Morag Sutherland and Ellen Sutherland, who gave us a fascinating talk in
February, have both been researching the life histories of those commemorated
on our war memorial. In the talk, they related some of the fascinating and also
sad stories behind the names on the plaque, which they had uncovered after
countless hours of detailed research. Much of this material will form the
backbone of the exhibition; however, if you, too, have any stories or memories
which you might share with us, or documents, photographs or objects which you
might loan to us, we would be very grateful to hear from you.
Without your contributions, our thriving Society would be very threadbare, so
please search your memory banks and attics and contact us – you will find our
details on the rear cover.
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