St. Andrew's Home, Millport

[finge...@googlemail.com]

This was the subject of postings on the Ayrshire History website. In
response to a recent email from Jim Davidson, I am reprinting the
original postings and the recent correspondence with Jim here, hoping
that it will atttract more responses.

Hi
I am the author of the original posting on the Ayrshire History
website.
St. Andrews Home, Millport
I am seeking information regarding St Andrews Home, a convalescent
hopsital in Millport, which was opened sometime in the late 1930's and
closed in the early 1950's. As a young 7 year old I spent 2 years in
that establishment with suspected TB.
I have now, I suspect rather belatedly, discovered the undernoted
responses.
>From Bill Braniff, 6 Jan 05: My Auntie Nan was in Millport Sanatorium
in the 40s and I would be interested in any information anyone has on
this place.
>From Margaret Murphy, 17 June 2006: was patient in St. Andrews
MILLPORT in the early 1950's looking for info of actual site. Spent 2
yrs there until it closed.
>From Donald Manson, 30 March 2006: I have an uncle who died there in
August 1939 from TB. I recall on a visit to Millport some years ago
going to the local library where I found the location of the hospital.
The library also had photographs of the home. The original boundary
wall still exist but there is now a housing development on the land.
Can you tell me if there is any way I could make contact with any of
the above ?
Jim Davidson

hello Jim,
Email addresses were never posted on the site for reasons of
confidentiality, and I cannot retrieve them that far back. This was
one of the reasons for setting up the AH Google Group - members can
contact each other directly. My hope is that over a period of a year
or so, enough people will join to make it really useful. If you post
your interest in the home in the group it may come to the attention of
the any or all of the three who responded to your original enquiry.
Allternatively I could post your enquiry and all of the responses to a
new page in the group.
Have you looked at the Largs and Millport newspaper (I forget the rest
of the title), the archives of which are in the Largs Museum? There is
an printed index (I know there is a copy in the Carnegie Library in
Ayr).
best wishes,
David.

Hi David
Thanks for your reply. I would appreciate it if you could post my
enquiry and responses in the new page of the AH Google Group.
I did try Carnegie Library some years ago for information but did not
not gain much satisfaction, although I will now ask about the Largs
and Millport newspaper,
Thanks again
Jim

[Martin McIntyre]

I know my input here comes 7yrs after the preceding one but I've recently decided to research my father's life and times as a doctor at Millport's Garrison Hospital and St Andrew's Home in the early 40s thru till St Andrew's closed in 1953 (I think it was '53). Web searching threw up the entry below, so let me add to it in hope I can help somebody with what I know and hope I can get info back that I don't know already about my father, Dr William Q McIntyre.

If anybody's still reading this, post a comment

Thanks - Martin

[msash...@gmail.com]

I was a patient during the war till after the end. I remember Dr, McIntyre and Dr Paul. I was treated for TB of the hip . I would be interested to hear from anyone who was a patient at that time . I would love to see some photos if anyone has them . I remember being wheeled outside every day rain or shine.

Sandy Ashcroft

[rhona scally]

Hi everybody. I know I’m coming to you years after the original posts so please bear with me 😊

I’m Millport born and bred, although I don’t live there any more per se, I’ve never been away from the island without a home visit for more than 1 month until the first big lockdown last year. My mother, in her 97th year,  still lives on the island and I now visit her twice a week, so I still regard myself as local. 

My mother worked in St Andrew’s home from 1951 until it closed and has many happy( and some not so happy) memories of it and the patients who spent so long there, especially the children. 

I’m part of a group who are researching many aspects of local life as a heritage project. We have some funding, and hope to gain more soon, to open a new centre which will be located in the basement of our old Town Hall. It is being refurbished with the help of lottery funding and the group see an amazing opportunity to build a knowledge base for the future, pulled together by people who have island knowledge and memories. It won’t be like the local museum in as much as we are looking more to gather information on island life in the last 100 years or less. 

My task is to research St Andrew’s Home. I have some photos, and stories from my mother, but I was wondering if anybody might have photos or correspondence from former patients that they would be willing to share? Also copies of the hospital magazine would be wonderful if any still exist.  I’m also interested in photos of any staff who worked there or any of the folks who provided entertainment and teaching for the children. It’s a bit of a long shot but maybe somebody who reads this can help. 

Thank you so much

Best wishes

Rhona Scally

❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Martin McIntyre]

Hi Rhona,

Apologies first for two things:

1. Repeating myself if I already responded to you, but I can’t see that I did.

2. Taking so long to respond if I didn’t previously …… I no longer use the gmail account associated with the Ayrshire group and just spotted yr request when a new iPad automatically started loading e-mails.

Anyway, I’d be interested to find out what you’ve learned ….. and I’ll happily share bits and pieces of my knowledge.

My late father was Dr William McIntyre …. more commonly known as Phil to family.

He and Dr Alec (Alex) Crearer ended up partners in St Andrew’s Home, I believe, after the death of Dr Paul, who my father always referred to a “my old Chief”.

Father was the bone & joint doctor whilst Dr. Crearer was the pulmonary specialist …. so I believe. 

I also recall a Dr Honeyman mentioned in days of old, but since my father’s time in Millport ended long before I was born, I wasn’t tuned into those times in his life and only started trying to piece things together after he passed.

My mother and father married later in life than many others did. My mother ran the nurses household at St Andrew’s ….. though I don’t know what that amounted to.

My aunt - mother’s sister - was one of the nurses for a time, though my knowledge is even weaker on her time there.

If this is of any help, and if you’re still researching, I can delve into further info and try to find some pics which I know I hv of the home and patients ….. moreso patients and general surroundings than the building itself.

Regars

Martin McIntyre (myPad)

+44 7733 227 400

martin....@btconnect.com

On 6 Apr 2021, at 09:01, rhona scally <rhona...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi everybody. I know I’m coming to you years after the original posts so please bear with me 😊

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[Murray Gemmell]

Yours was the only response. My family all originated from the Gemmell family that settled in Ayrshire in the 1100’s…..I believe back to the Temple House Gemmells. I was hoping to find out about any history that involved the Gemmells.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

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