North Ayrshire Heritage and Cultural Services, Manse Street, Saltcoats (2026)

01/09/2026

Harry Ranken was born in Maryhill, Glasgow on the 3rd of September, 1883. The family moved to Irvine when he was 8 years old as his father was the minister of Irvine.

He attended Irvine Royal Academy, where he was Dux and went on to study medicine at Glasgow University.

At the outbreak of the First World War, he signed up to serve in France. He had been with the Royal Army Medical Corps before the war and joined The King’s Royal Rifle Corps.

He was not long in France before he was awarded the Croix de Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour due to heroic conduct at Mons.

Promoted to Captain the Royal Army Medical Corps, he was badly wounded during the Battle of Aisne in September, 1914. During the battle, a shell shattered his thigh and leg and, despite serious need of medical attention himself, he continued to attend to the wounds of his men. He spent a day tending to the wounded before allowing himself to be evacuated.

He was evacuated to a dressing station via stretcher before being sent to a clearing hospital where he had his leg amputated on the 25th of September, 1914 at the age of 31. Harry died of a blood clot soon after.

On the 16th of November, 1914 it was announced that Harry Ranken would be awarded a post-humous Victoria Cross in the first list of honours of the war.

On the 29th of November his father was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace.

Irvine Parish Church unveiled a bronze memorial tablet to him on the 6th of January, 1917. Ranken Drive and Ranken Crescent in Irvine are named after him as is a room in Irvine’s Townhouse.

As today is day, here is a question for you:

Where is his Victoria Cross currently on display?

A) Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow

B) Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot

C) The Rifleman’s Museum, Wi******er

Let us know in the comments below!

31/08/2026

We had a fantastic day yesterday at Eglinton Country Park where we opened the Robert Burns Garden....

North Ayrshire Council's Heritage and Ranger services worked alongside Irvine Burns Club to create a Burns themed garden to celebrate the 200th anninversary of The Irvine Burns Club.

Located within the courtyard at Eglinton Country Park, the garden has been inspired by the life and words of Robert Burns and contains flowers and plants that he refers to in his poetry and songs.

Burns was walking through Eglinton Woods with Captain Richard Brown, an Irvine born sailor, when Brown suggested to Burns that he should consider publishing his poetry.

We were delighted to welcome the Earl and Countess of Eglinton, Provost Anthea Dickson, directors of Irvine Burns Club and its President Peter Latham, representatives from other Burns clubs in North Ayrshire and the Marymass Royal Party.

We were wonderfully entertained by the North Ayrshire Senior Schools Orchestra and Ayrshire tenor David Douglas at David Douglas Music and by two special guests, Robert Burns and Captain Richard Brown, also known as Riley McClory and Johnny Cripps!

Artist Jack Sutton from Jack Sutton Draws created our beautiful portrait of Robert Burns and Donald Wilson from Irvine Burns Club gave up so much of his time to source all the plants and create this beautiful garden.

A huge thank you to everyone involved!

29/08/2026

Out and about in Saltcoats today? Why not pop in to our Heritage Centre and see our current exhibition 'Bound by the Sea' which comes from the collection of the Scottish Maritime Museum.

Also on display is a selection of football related objects to celebrate the launch of a new book on Saltcoats Victoria: 'Play Up Victoria: A History of Saltcoats Victoria Football Club'.

If that isn't enough, there's also the Declaration of Arbroath replica which is on display, from our friends at the Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society.

We are open 09:30am - 1pm & 2pm - 04:30pm and entry is FREE.

27/08/2026

We're celebrating all things Saltcoats Victoria, since Mark Alexander Pettigrew has written a book about the history of that team from 1879 to 1945! We've got a few of our football related objects out on display in the Heritage Centre.

Mark's book will be on sale at Campbell Park on Saturday 29th August from 1:00-4:30 during the game and at the book launch in Cafe Del Grecos from 5:00pm on Saturday. The club will keep people updated on other opportunities. You can also buy it online here https://www.lulu.com/search?sortBy=RELEVANCE&page=1&q=Saltcoats+Victoria&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00

It's a really fun, informative book full of sporting and social history, all really important to the area. We're reliably informed that Mark has already started on the next Volume so watch this space! All proceeds from the book will be donated to Saltcoats Victoria FC.

Unfortunately, we don't have any for sale at the Heritage Centre for now.

Pop in and see our Saltcoats Victoria objects alongside our 'Bound by the Sea' exhibition from the Scottish Maritime Museum's Collection. We're open this Saturday, and our usual opening hours from Mon-Weds each week from 0930 to 1300 and 1400 to 1630.

Saltcoats Victoria F.C.

25/08/2026

Duncan Macrae was born in Maryhill, Glasgow on the 20th of August 1905.

He was the fourth of six children born to James Macrae (a sergeant in the police force) and Catherine Graham. Both his parents were Gaelic speakers from Assynt.
He attended Glasgow University and studied engineering but he did not graduate as he preferred acting.

He instead became a school teacher in Glasgow and acted in amateur productions. It wasn’t until 1943, at the age of 38, that he would become a professional actor. He co-founded the Glasgow Citizen Theatre in 1943 and was soon acting in both films and TV!

Some of his acting highlights include ‘Whisky Galore! (1949) and ‘Tunes of Glory’ (1960). On television he starred in ‘The Prisoner’ (1967) and ‘The Avengers’ (1969). He did not forget his theatre roots, starring alongside Laurence Olivier in ‘Rhinoceros’ in 1960.

In Scotland, he became a part of the Hogmanay celebrations in the 50’s and 60’s, with his rendition of ‘The Wee C**k Sparra’ which you can read in full on our website!

So what relevance does he have to North Ayrshire?

He had a second home in Millport, Dundonald Villa at Kames Bay, which he used to relax from his acting work and to escape the hustle and bustle of the big cities. He was known for chatting to the ferry crew, the local children and the island’s elderly. His wife Peggy helped to establish the Cumbrae Queen celebrations!

He died on the 23rd of March, 1967 and his funeral was attended by many from Millport, including Provost George Barr.

Here is a question for you on Duncan Macrae:

Which of the following films did he star in that released after his death?

A) Kidnapped
B) Casino Royale
C) Our Man in Havana

Let us know in the comments below!

18/08/2026

John Kerr died on the 15th of August, 1907, at his home in La Crosse Terrace, Glasgow. He was 82 years old at the time of his death.

But who was he?

John was born in Ardrossan, on the 17th of December, 1824. He was the 4th child of Mary Miller and Thomas Kerr. The family moved to the Isle of Skye, where John was educated, before he set off for Glasgow University as a young man.

Kerr was an excellent student, graduating with an M.A. with honours in 1849. He had attended Professor Thomson’s (later Lord Kelvin) advanced class in mathematical physics and natural philosophy.

In 1849 he married Marion Balfour. She was from Caithness and their marriage would last for over 40 years until her death in 1891.

John taught mathematics at the Free Church Normal Seminary in Glasgow from 1857 to 1901.

It was during this time that Kerr discovered the double refraction of light in solid and liquid dielectrics in an electrostatic field, known as the ‘Kerr Effect’, also called the quadratic electro-optic (QEO) effect. The following year he discovered that light reflected from a magnetized material has a slightly rotated plane of polarization. His work was used in early television apparatus as a means of modulating beams of light. The ‘Kerr Effect’ has also been applied to digital photography to create a type of shutter with very short exposures and rapid reaction.

He was awarded the honorary degree of LL. D. (Legum Doctor – Latin: “Teacher of Laws”) by Glasgow University in 1868 and elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1890, receiving the society’s royal medal in 1898.

As today is day, here is a question for you:

John Kerr championed something else in the UK during his life. Can you tell us what it was?

A) The metric system
B) Union rights
C) Public transport

Let us know in the comments below!

11/08/2026

Today's is a special one as it involves two men from our Stories section: Thomas Clifford and Duncan Currie.

Both men were footballers from North Ayrshire who went on to fight and die at the Somme in World War I.

Duncan Currie was born on the 13th of August, 1892 in Kilwinning. He was born into a footballing family: his father had played as a goalkeeper and both of his brothers were footballers.

Duncan would begin his career at Kilwinning Rangers, before moving to Hearts in 1912. He made 45 appearances as a fullback for the Edinburgh side before the outbreak of the First World War. He was part of ‘McRae’s Battalion’ which consisted of 16 Hearts players and over 1000 fans who joined at the behest of Lt. Colonel Sir George McRae.

Duncan had been promoted to sergeant and led a platoon into battle at the Somme. He died on the first day of the battle, on the 1st of July, 1916. He died in no man’s land at the age of just 23.

Thomas Clifford was born on the 14th of August, 1874, in Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire. He was a talented footballer and was spotted while playing for Annbank in the 1895/96 season.

This would see him commence a career as a journeyman footballer. He played for Ayr Football Club, Glossop, Luton Town and also had spells with Celtic, Motherwell and Beith F.C.

He retired from football in the 1905/06 season and we aren’t sure what he did up to the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers, being quite old at the time and likely lying about his age to join, before being sent to France in 1917. He was there for a few weeks being killed during operations at the Ancre river, on the 19th of January 1917.

Both Duncan Currie and Thomas Clifford died in action in France and their names are forever engraved on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

As today is day, here is a question for you:

The Thiepval Memorial has names of UK and South African forces who died in the Somme and have no known grave. How many names are on the memorial?

A) Over 25,000
B) Over 50,000
C) Over 70,000

Let us know in the comments below!

05/08/2026

Here's another artefact from our latest exhibition at the Museum of the Cumbraes, Titanic: story of the legendary liner.

This lifeboat nameplate was removed from a Titanic lifeboat after it arrived in New York. The White Star Line ordered dock workers to remove the nameplates from each of the Titanic's lifeboats.

One of the dock workers kept this nameplate as a souvenir and it passed through the family until it was put up for sale and sold in the 1990s at a specialist maritime auction.

This exhibition preserves the history of the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic, sister ships that sailed under the swallow tailed flag of the White Star Line, and has been brought to us by Titanic Honour and Glory Exhibitions

Museum of the Cumbraes
Garrison House
Millport
Isle of Cumbrae
KA28 0DJ
Open 7 days 10.00am - 4.00pm

Free entry

On until 21st September.

04/08/2026

Edith MacArthur was born on the 8th of March, 1926, in Ardrossan. She was the eldest child of Donald MacArthur (a civil engineer) and Minnie Ross.

As a child she attended Ardrossan Academy, where she had planned to become a music teacher but she fell in love with acting, joining the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Players: an amateur dramatics group who travelled extensively to perform.

She went to the Royal College of Music in Glasgow to study music in the 1940’s, working in the Admiralty’s Chart and Chronometer depot in Saltcoats while she did.

Making her acting debut at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, she would work with a variety of Scottish stage companies including the Perth Rep, Edinburgh Gateway and the Glasgow Citizens. She made her London stage debut in 1960 at the Savoy Theatre in a production of ‘The Gazebo’.

She quickly made her way to film, starring in various movies and becoming a staple of television. She performed in ‘Z Cars’, ‘The Omega Factor’ and ‘Hamish Macbeth’. Her most notable role was as the Lady Laird Elizabeth Cunningham in ‘Take the High Road’.

In 2000, she was made an MBE for her contribution to the dramatic arts.
Edith died on the 25th of April, at the age of 92, in Edinburgh.

As today is the , can you tell us how many episodes of ‘Take the High Road’ she appeared in?

A) 87
B) 192
C) 278
Let us know in the comments below!

(and tell us if you watched it!)

03/08/2026

Our next heritage walk by Tasting History Ayrshire Tours. THAT.Co is at Eglinton Country Park is on Wednesday 5th August.

Beginning outside the racquet hall at 2pm( the oldest surviving racquet hall in the world) you will hear all about the famous Eglinton Tournament, visit the Tournament Bridge, the doocot, ice house and more.

The walk is easy and level on walking tracks, and lasts approximately an hour and a half to take into account the chatting along the way!

Please come prepared for all kinds of weather! Sturdy boots are recommended.
The walks are free but must be booked, so don't delay!

Eglinton Country Park
Kilwinning
KA12 8TA

To book your please, please click here:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/tastinghistoryscotland/2231030

North Ayrshire Heritage and Cultural Services

01/09/2026

31/08/2026

29/08/2026

27/08/2026

25/08/2026

18/08/2026

11/08/2026

05/08/2026

04/08/2026

03/08/2026

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