East Ayrshire Fhs

09/04/2026

So we had a lovely day today with Linda Brown and her Twa Gawston Men Down Under…a story about two family members who disappeared and were never heard of again until Linda started researching them.
A fascinating story enjoyed by all our members and guests.
Thanks Linda, hope you’ll come back with another of your stories to entertain us.
On the right is our Chairman Dan,and on the other side is our ex Chairman Bill Morton. The good looking one of course is oor braw Newmilns lass. Linda.

05/04/2026

Hi everyone.
It’s Sunday and we’ve had all the seasons today, but I’m indoors, got the log burner on and I have a great book to read. What’s not to love?
Thursday 9 April is our Speaker day and Linda Brown is our Speaker.
Her talk will be about Twa Gawston Men.
Linda is a born and bred Newmilns lass, is a published writer, and a talented wildlife photographer, so looking forward to her talk.
Usual place, first floor at CVO Belford Mill. 16 Brewery Road Kilmarnock KA1 3HZ.
I say it every time I post…all are welcome, you don’t need to be a member.
We request that everyone (including our workshop members, who pay every week) pay £3pp. This goes towards the hire of our room, and allows us to keep our workshop going.
Coffee and tea are provided by CVO at a cost of £1.50. Flavoured water and biscuits are provided by EAFHS at no cost.
Come and enjoy this week’s Speaker and stay for a blether afterwards. Find out what we do if you’re interested in your family tree, and how we can point you in the right direction in your research!
Look forward to seeing some new faces, and of course welcoming our stalwart regulars.

12/03/2026

A wee addition to my previous post.
Should anyone wish to see some of the stuff we saw today, go to:-
ayrshirehistory.com and look for Kenny Baird.
Kenny says the website is designed around a real pc and a mouse for navigational purposes rather than mobile phones and touch screen stuff. These are Kenny’s words “I need to think about options for these gadgets now, but haven’t done a fix yet”
A down to earth man, whose talk everyone enjoyed. Reminded me of when we all spoke with guid Scots words in the Ayrshire dialect, as in ‘right we’ll wheech oan’. Lots of laughs.

ayrshirehistory.com - est 1997. A large archive of historical documents and photographs from Ayrshire. Mauchline, Sorn, Muirkirk, Catrine, Galston, and many more feature.

12/03/2026

So Kenny our Speaker for today arrived. Sadly we had to stop his talk as our time is up at 4.30, but he could have gone on for at least another hour I’m sure.
Such great pictures of Mauchline in bygone days, some with stories to tell. Buildings that are still standing and some which have disappeared. Some also which are badly in need of some TLC.
Loved the dress code too when men wore suits to do even the most menial of jobs. Children barefooted.
If we think life is tough in this day and age, then we really don’t have a clue. Imagine going to a standpipe with zinc buckets to collect your water for the day.
Thanks Kenny for a lovely afternoon, and the opinion regarding your talk, ensures you’ll get another invitation (I’ll try to make it a bad weather day) so you won’t lose a day’s work.
I’d also like to thank Alice at reception at CVO, and Ross who are both so helpful and accommodating when we need assistance.
Below are some pictures taken during Kenny’s talk.

09/03/2026

Good afternoon folks. This post is to let you know that Thursday 12 March is our ‘Speaker Day’. Kenny Baird is our speaker and he will be giving a talk on ‘Auld Mauchline’.
Please feel free to come and join us if you have an interest. You don’t need to be a member for us to welcome you to our ‘Speaker Days’.
Our meetings are held at the CVO, Belford Mills, 16 Brewery Road, Kilmarnock, KA1 3HZ. The meeting starts at 1.30pm.
To retain and continue with the use of our room, we are required to pay £3 per person. We have tea and coffee at a cost of £1.50 per person. The society provides plain water…flavoured carbonated water… and biscuits free of charge. It would be good to see some new faces.
A wee addition to this post:- Chairman Dan was 70 last Thursday (he’s the baby of our group). We took a photograph to add to the rogues gallery 😂.

02/03/2026

Morning all.
Just a wee post to let everyone know what we actually do at East Ayrshire Family History Society.

12/02/2026

Here he is. Wur Dan…..his tee shirt logo is Help for Heroes, and for us at EAFHS, he really is OUR hero in many ways. Not least for stepping in to fill the void our booked speaker had cancelled.
A bit of a geek, he has a fantastic memory, with a huge amount of information and facts in his head.
Today, his talk (or ramble) as he called it, covered everything from Kilmarnock celebrations back in the day, post boxes with ER 2 printed on them, which apparently caused fury in Scotland, and stamps of Robert Burns. Would you believe Russia was the first to print a stamp to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of his birth? The Uk Post Office had refused to do so.
So much stuff, he’s a mine of information, so for wrinklies like me/us every day’s a school day.
Thanks Dan, you really are a star.

09/02/2026

Good afternoon everyone.
Snowdrops are up and daffodils are appearing in the shops, days are getting longer and a brand New Year stretches before us.
It appears that the speaker booked for this Thursday’s talk, 12 February, will be unable to fulfil his appointment with us, as he has moved on from his post concerning fraud etc and is elsewhere in the constabulary.
Numerous emails have come and gone, and I have, at last, secured another name who is willing to give us a talk on the above matter. Unfortunately because of a court commitment tied to his previous post, he is unable to fulfil the appointment the department had with us.
That said…..our Delightful Dan (Chairman) will do a talk on ‘Random Ramblings’…..who knows what delights will be exposed in his talk, but stepping into the breach for our society has saved the day. Again!
Hopefully our syllabus will run smoothly from now on as it’s been necessary to change both January and February speakers due to different and unexpected circumstances. Grateful thanks to Ian Hamilton and Dan for stepping in to assist.
Our usual welcome is extended to all, when we would be delighted to see some new faces. Same place….same time.

08/01/2026

Well…here he is. The one in the purple jumper is Ian Hamilton (or John his Sunday name). Ian’s talk was about ‘Faimly’, and a truly interesting talk it was. There were many things that our group could relate to, just plain speech on generations of a family’s working life.
A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Thanks Ian.

04/01/2026

Good morning, and a Happy New Year to all.
Thursday 8 January 2026 is our first meeting of the year, held as always at the Belford Mill’ 16 Brewery Road, Kilmarnock. KA1 3GZ.
Our original Speaker for that day was Kenny Baird, who was going to speak about Auld Mauchline. Unfortunately he has had a family bereavement and is unable to attend.
However we have managed to swap our March Speaker, Ian Hamilton with Kenny, and Ian will be giving a talk on ‘Faimly’. Kenny will be doing the March talk.
As always, we welcome you all to come and join us at 1.30pm on Thursday, with (I hope) a wee ginger wine taster provided by a long standing EAFHS member John Stevenson. John has provided this treat for some years, and is a welcoming start to our meetings.
Looking forward to our first meeting.

05/12/2025

‘Afternoon folks. Yesterday we had our Christmas lunch at the Park Suite. As always they did us proud. A beautiful Christmas lunch professionally served. Couldn’t ask for more. Below are some pictures of our afternoon when a great time was had by all…..(hopefully).
I’d also like to give a special thank you to Ainsley (our resident artist) and her assistant Lillian (Ainsley’s mum), for the work involved in designing the festive hats, and putting together the prizes for our games. What would we do without you?
We, at our wee family history group, would like to wish you all, our faithful followers, a very Merry Christmas and the happiest New Year.
Watch this space in 2026.

13/11/2025

‘Evening people.
Today we had Bill Roger’s as our speaker, and we had a good turnout for the event.
Bill gave a great talk on Culzean Castle and the Kennedys, with fabulous pictures of the castle itself and its interior. Extremely knowledgeable on the subject of the Kennedy family, Bill is indeed a mine of information. Everyone was really engrossed in Culzean and the Kennedy family’s history.
Thank you Bill for an interesting afternoon.