From our Files: May 25, 2023

TEN YEARS AGO

 

Thursday May 30, 2013

 

Cash pledge to get football club out of the mire

 

"attachment_941116" "" "300"] 2013: John Watssman, vice chairman of Fort William FC; Stewart Maclean; Mike MacEachan, assistant manager; Gerald McIntyre and Ronnie Maclean chairman. All look to improve the fortunes of the club.

 

A rallying call has gone out this week to the people and businesses of Lochaber urging them to get behind an ambitious drive to transform the fortunes on and off the pitch of the area’s senior football club.

 

It comes after Fort William FC’s annual general meeting, when four leading local businessman come forward to pledge major support for the Highland League’s

 

basement side.

 

With the unanimous backing of the club committee, coaches and playing staff, Stewart Maclean, Drew Purdon, Stewart Leitch and Gerald McIntyre will work closely with office bearers in a bid to revitalise the cash-strapped club and take it out of ‘the last chance saloon’.

 

As well as injecting their own finance and sourcing new funding and sponsorships,

 

the businessmen will seek to transform the overall governance of the club.

 

This could include transferring the club from an association model to a community

 

interest company, a move which could open up a number of new funding avenues.

 

It is hoped this change could be complete in time for the start of the 2013-14 Highland

 

League campaign, with Fort hoping to improve on last season’s disappointing last-

 

place finish.

 

Addressing the annual meeting, property manager Stewart Maclean said: "We all

 

believe in this club, the sole West Highland representative in the Highland League.

 

"We recognise the important role the club plays in the development of youth football

 

in the area."

 

Fort William solicitor Mr McIntyre will lead the community interest company proposal. He said: "If we opt for this set up we can open the club up to community membership and it also opens up avenues for grants not currently available to the club."

 

Mr Leitch who runs the Moorings Hotel urged local businesses to come forward and

 

invest in the club. He said: "The club is important for the community and we really

 

need to get everyone behind us."

 

"attachment_941119" "" "300"] 2013: Building on the success of last June’s Diamond Jubilee street party residents young and old of Camanachd Crescent, An Aird, Fort William, held a pirates party.

 

TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO

 

Saturday May 30, 1998

 

New role for hall?

 

Established local property company, Tourism Developments (Lochaber) Ltd has confirmed that agreement has been reached with the present operators for a takeover

 

of the £1 peppercorn lease of the local-authority owned multipurpose hall at An Aird, Fort William.

 

The company is understood to be seeking the introduction of a commercial/retailing element into the lease terms which, the company believes, will be necessary for the

 

viable future operation of the multipurpose hall, which has come to be known locally

 

Marco’s An Aird.

 

The £4.3 million leisure and recreation centre was built six years ago on a quid pro quo basis, for Lochaber District Council, owners of the reclaimed land which is An Aird.

 

Since it opened the multipurpose hall has been run primarily on a leisure/recreational

 

basis with occasional one-day sales being staged there by out-of-town enterprises.

 

Councillor Neil Clark who is chairman of the area cultural and leisure services committee said: "I want to see the facility remain basically as a multipurpose sports and leisure centre, run at no extra cost to the ratepayers. If it remains so I would have no objection."

 

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

 

Saturday May 29, 1948

 

Fishing

 

The fishing season has opened and judging from the catches to date promises to be a good one.

 

During the past week fishing in the waters of the Fort William Angling Association, Mr Duncan Macdonald landed a salmon of over 20lbs and Mr Dan Nicholson a beautiful fish of 20lbs. Mr James Murray landed one of 10lbs and Mr William McLean one of 12lbs.

 

Benbecula

 

We are pleased to see Mrs Kerr of Adelaide, Australia, back with us for a short spell.

 

Mrs Kerr is a daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Alex Nicholson, Grimsay, North Uist, and she has been resident in Australia for well over 20 years.

 

She is spending most of her holiday with her sister, Mrs MacLeod, Grimisdale Post Office.

 

Her husband, a native of Arran, is a marine captain, sailing in foreign seas.

 

Mrs Kerr goes back to Australia in the autumn.

 

Dance

 

A grand Whitsun dance was held in the hall in Balivanich on Tuesday under the auspices of the Benbecula Airport Club.

 

Music was given by Houston’s band, who travelled to and from Glasgow by air for the occasion.

 

The MCs were Messrs Roderick McIntosh, and Callum MacMillan. Pipers Malcolm J Campbell and Archie McPhee also assisted with the music.

 

Princess’s visit to Paris protest from Free Church Assembly

 

A protest against the Sunday programme in Paris of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke

 

of Edinburgh was made last week at the Free Church Assembly meeting in Edinburgh.

 

The clerk to the assembly, Reverend John Shaw, moved that the assembly express their grief and concern that the itinerary included attendance at racing, theatre and nightclub dancing on the Lord’s Day.

 

The Assembly unanimously accepted the motion which took the form of an addendum

 

to the deliverance of the committee on public questions, relations and morals.

 

The convener, Reverend William Fraser said: "We very deeply regret the account

 

given of this event."

 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

 

Saturday May 26, 1923

 

News from Saint Kilda

 

Messrs John McCallum and Co, 87 Union Street, Glasgow, received a wireless message from Mr Blair, Purser of the SS Hebrides, stating that the steamer left Lochmaddy after breakfast on Sunday May 20 and anchored at Saint Kilda the same afternoon.

 

Mr Blair says there has been no change in the numbers of the population, which at

 

present total is 80 souls, since the last call in August of last year.

 

The general health of the little community is reported to be good, but the welcome visit of Dr Shearer, of the Scottish Medical Board, was nevertheless fully taken advantage of in the few inevitable cases of minor ailments and as also by an old age pensioner, whose condition is more serious.

 

Mr Urquhart, of HM Excise, on official duty, also landed.

 

The past winter on Saint Kilda was exceptionally mild, the first weather of any severity, not counting an occasional seasonal gale, being experienced in the early days of the current month.

 

Their little patches of tillage appear to be in a quite forward state, but the fowling operations so far have been confined to the gathering of some eggs of the fulmar

 

petrel.

 

The application by MacLeod of MacLeod, the proprietor of Saint Kilda, to the Land

 

Court for re-adjudication of matters between himself and his tenants is not without its

 

excitement for those interested.

 

The last occasion on which governmental intervention in the affairs of the islands was

 

solicited was in 1897, when the islanders made a similar application to the Crofters

 

Commission.

 

A personal visit by the proprietor and the resulting interview with his tenants

 

prevented further action at this time.

 

"attachment_941125" "" "300"] 1923: Party of migrants who left the Western Isles earlier in the month were photographed on their arrival at St John, New Brunswick.

 

"attachment_941128" "" "300"] 1923: The West Highland Line could transport catches landed at Mallaig to London overnight.